According to Merriam-Webster, a coach is defined as, “a person who teaches and trains the members of a sports team and makes decisions about how the team plays during games.” A coach is much more than what Merriam-Webster defines it as. To be a coach is to be a leader, a mentor, and a role model. A coach must set the standard and lead by example. Five years ago, I began volunteer coaching my son’s youth sports teams. Whether it was football, soccer, basketball, or baseball, I enjoyed coaching and interacting with the children. Through coaching, I found a way to give back to the community. I realized I could make a positive impact by combining my passion for sports and my ability to connect with youth athletes. To be an influential youth sports
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Effective coaching involves getting to know each athlete as a person. It was late January and I was on my second season of coaching youth basketball. On my team, I had a player, Terry, who I had coached from the previous basketball season. Terry was always a friendly and outgoing kind of person. Midway through the season, Terry started showing up late and even missing some practices. When he did show up to practices, to me, something seemed a bit off. Terry became less talkative and distant from his teammates. It was very uncharacteristic of him. I tried asking him how he was doing and if anything was bothering him. He denied anything was wrong. A couple weeks later Terry showed up to practice with some unusually placed purple and blue bruises on his upper right arm. Red flags immediately went off in my mind. I knew something was going on. After practice I questioned Terry about the bruises. Right in front of me, Terry started breaking down crying. “I don’t want to go back home!” Terry cried as tears flowed down his face. My heart sank. I instinctively hugged him and told him I was going to help him out. It was an intensely emotional moment. I spoke with the youth sports director and voiced my concern regarding Terry’s situation. Speaking with the sports director sparked an investigation. It turned out, Terry was being physically abused at home by his mother’s boyfriend. Knowing Terry as person and not just as an athlete
Effective coaching involves getting to know each athlete as a person. It was late January and I was on my second season of coaching youth basketball. On my team, I had a player, Terry, who I had coached from the previous basketball season. Terry was always a friendly and outgoing kind of person. Midway through the season, Terry started showing up late and even missing some practices. When he did show up to practices, to me, something seemed a bit off. Terry became less talkative and distant from his teammates. It was very uncharacteristic of him. I tried asking him how he was doing and if anything was bothering him. He denied anything was wrong. A couple weeks later Terry showed up to practice with some unusually placed purple and blue bruises on his upper right arm. Red flags immediately went off in my mind. I knew something was going on. After practice I questioned Terry about the bruises. Right in front of me, Terry started breaking down crying. “I don’t want to go back home!” Terry cried as tears flowed down his face. My heart sank. I instinctively hugged him and told him I was going to help him out. It was an intensely emotional moment. I spoke with the youth sports director and voiced my concern regarding Terry’s situation. Speaking with the sports director sparked an investigation. It turned out, Terry was being physically abused at home by his mother’s boyfriend. Knowing Terry as person and not just as an athlete