Over the past several weeks, I've had the opportunity to watch a LOT of softball/soccer games, both games in which my daughters played and games where I just sat and watched kids I knew play. I wanted to take an objective look at how various coaches manage the game and their players. As I embark on my first season of coaching high school ball...I want to have a good cross-section of experiences. Just as I have taken something from every manager I've had in my 30 plus years as a manager in the business world, I try to take a nugget or 2 from every coach I've worked with, coached against...or simply watched.
This missive will be primarily about coaches that coach girls softball/soccer, since those are the 2 sports which I am involved in and I know that coaching boys is dramatically different than coaching girls, so if coaching boys sports is your world, this essay may not pertain to you, but I think a lot of the impressions are transferable, so you may get something out of it.
As I've watched games...I've made notes on my scoresheet or in my notepad. I keep these notes as references for situations that I may be involved with. The first thing I have noticed recently is the amazing dedication so many coaches have towards their sports and their players. My daughters have been blessed with some amazing coaches...and like any enterprise, some ones that forgot why they were there, but overall...the amount of time and resources given by men and women who dedicate themselves to the betterment of your kids is pretty remarkable. Yes, a lot of these coaches get paid, I'm getting paid a stipend for coaching high school, but the amount is almost trivial compared to the time on the field, time away from family. If you have a good coach, paid or not...feel blessed, because they do more than you'll ever know for your kids.
A second thing I've noticed more recently is the proliferation of..for lack of a better term..drop-offs. I see so many kids dropped off for practice or games, with their parents leaving them for a couple of hours while they run to other activities. I am just as guilty on this one as any...with 3 kids, and just 2 parents, there are days where it is just impossible to do and get everywhere we need to be. I am SO GRATEFUL for the village we have created that take my girls to games, bring them home, feed them if necessary, watch them...and make sure they are safe. I guess this is a by-product of the society we live in where we can no longer just let our kids run to the park...so we have to have them in an organized structure with parental supervision. I wish my girls could just jump on their bikes, go to the park, and just hang with their buddies like we did when we were kids...but we cant, and I'm very blessed to have a group of parents that I trust implicitly with the safety of my girls.
A third thing I've noticed is the specialization at such a young age. Kids today are being asked to pick a sport as early as age 10. Because of either the financial commitment, the time commitments, the proliferation of club/travel sports...kids just don't go from sport to sport anymore. When I was young, it was baseball in the spring, swimming in the summer, football in the fall, and basketball in the fall. Now kids go year-round in one sport...and I've heard some coaches at the club level tell the parents/kids that they wont be on a particular team if they intend to play other sports. Sorry..that's just crazy. No kid is getting a scholarship at age 11. Yes, skill development is important at an early age...but I've yet to see a kid get denied a scholarship because they played 2 (or 3) sports at a young age. Heck..I'm seeing ads for under 6 Club soccer!!! 5 year old's...playing travel ball!! Maybe I'm in the minority, but that just seems crazy to me. Now, I'm heavily invested in the club/travel world...and it has its positives. But someone will have to explain to me the positives of traveling 2 hours to play a game when all the kid wants to do is go to the playground.
Lastly, and I cant stress this enough. I am constantly in awe of all the moms, dads, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents that continually get out of their chair, get their shoes dirty and help teach/coach not only their own, but other peoples kids. Coaching is a noble profession. Like teaching, completely undervalued financially,. but the rewards can never be measured by a paycheck. I know not every parent is cut out to coach for various reasons, but it bothered me when we couldn't find enough t-ball coaches at Bonita Valley this year. When Sarah was born, I counted the days until she was old enough to play t-ball so I could coach her. And I know there are hundreds upon hundreds of parents out there who give up their time, energy, financial resources to make your kids lives better..and I hope you take a moment to thank those coaches. For they are a huge part of your child's life. And they deserve to hear a Thank You once in a while.
My schedule will be a little crazy for the next couple of months, so I don't know how much time I'll be able to devote to writing...but rest assured, I'll be making my notes, watching my peers and writing observations on my scoresheets.
Thanks for reading..and I'll be chatting with all of you soon.
Mike
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