Coaches Care

 

Most youth leagues could not function without parents that volunteer as coaches.  It’s almost rare to find a team of youngsters where the coach isn’t also a parent of one of the players.

I did it.  The first sport for my kids was T-Ball and that first year, I was determined to allow someone else to coach my kids.  It worked well—they both had really great coaches.  I still appreciate them for taking on six year old kids. 

But the need was so desperate over the next few years that I started coaching. And, before you could turn around, I was coaching everything that they did.

One year, I agreed to help coach a youth soccer team.  The head coach was “the only certified youth soccer coach” in the area.  I have no doubt that he knew a lot about the game of soccer but I have to tell you that he struggled in coaching 7 and 8 year old boys and girls.

So the next year, a friend and I decided we would take a Parks & Rec soccer team.  Go back a year and I will tell you that the first soccer game that I ever saw, I coached. If you could call it that. 

About all I knew about the game was that if we kicked it in their goal more than they kicked it in our goal, that we would win.  I also knew enough about sports to know that we didn’t need everybody to always run to the ball.  That second year, we did quite well with those basic principles.

Years ago, Charlie Finley and Tom Ware had started an AAU basketball program here called Blount Stars.  When my kids got old enough for that, I restarted their program then ran it and coached a couple of the teams for the next few years.

But that’s it.  After that, I put away my coaching hat. So, I’ve put in my time.  Been there.  Done that. And probably made every mistake in the book.

As an Athletic Trainer, I have had pleasure of being on the sidelines for literally hundreds of games that my kids and now my grandkids participate in. Keep in mind, though, that I was on the sidelines of Maryville High School football long before my son was on the team and was there for many years after he graduated.

With all that being said, I believe I can make this statement without prejudice and with a great deal of credibility--coaches will be better for an athletic career than parents.  Sound strange?

Here’s the thing—parents never want you to fail while coaches will push you to failure so you can discover what you’re capable of.  It’s really that simple.

In 45 years of doing this stuff, I can tell you that almost every coach I’ve ever encountered had the best interest of your child at heart. They my push and may coach hard, but they want the best for your kid.

And there’s something pretty special about somebody that will invest themselves in a kid that isn’t even theirs.