Now that I have put numerous years into coaching a sport that I love, I can understand why all the coaches I had, did it too. In my mind, I understood the power of sport, the ability it has to shape the person you become, I can see it in my day to day interactions in the office job I have. But the first time I realized that what I was doing on the sidelines, coaching a varsity team, running practices, planning the season ahead of me, impacted the players outside of the arena was when I witnessed the transition of one of my college players.
A once shy person, a player that didn’t have the confidence in herself, has now become an EMT. She is saving lives as a first responder,
and I truly believe that the seasons she had playing ball had a tremendous impact in helping her become the person she has.
Sport teaches life skills. It’s not about being a jock, a butch, or a tomboy – it’s about learning valuable things like leadership, teamwork, goal setting, and responsibility. It’s about having to own up to the consequences of your actions, and about getting back up again after you fail. It’s about having the guts to go out and take on an opponent, even against the greatest of odds.
There’s a lot of ups and downs in coaching, some highs and lows. But seeing the real world success of players I have coached is extremely rewarding, especially when I think that I may have played some small part in that success.
