Any Coaches out there?

[Clone up North]

Thanks to you all for your responses, it’s great to hear from so many coaches out there who care about their kids and have a passion for the job.

Having recently watched the piece on Will McDonald, I was so impressed with his High School coaches. Those guys had a tremendously positive impact on Will’s life.

That kind of thing, the love and caring that coaches show to their kids, happens all the time in all sports, all over the country. Thank you to all of you who dedicate your time and energy to helping people develop skills, gain confidence and grow.

 

[CloneFanInKC]

I've "coached" multiple years of youth soccer and helped plenty with swimming, basketball and volleyball. I really enjoyed being able to help/involved. The girls are past youth age now and my boys are not football or wrestling age yet; getting close and I'm excited for that. I've learned that my kids are more eager to do a new sport if I'm involved and helping. Oldest daughter is pretty close to sport performance training and I'm really excited to be a part of that. She had PT this spring and I was able to help at home with that and that accelerated her rehab.

In a prior life I worked with D1/pro football and baseball players. All 4 sections had their pros and cons. Wouldn't change any of it b/c those experiences really helped me grow a skillset that I use today in managing direct reports and indirect reports.

 

[SayMyName]

I’ve been at it a few years with youth stuff. Kids today are so different. And I’m not THAT old. You have to figure out how they tick and how they are parented even if you really want to be effective.

Practice habits are everything. Putting that in their heads is a tough animal but the ones that get it are fun to watch develop.

Funny how you also perfectly described the current environment of managing employees (especially the entry-level crowd) at work

 

[dafarmer]

I’ve been coaching for 16 years (high school cross country) and I absolutely love the practice of coaching. I love watching the kids improve and gain confidence and pass along what they learn to the younger kids.

I also really appreciate the coaches that we currently have at ISU, we’re lucky to have these people. I’ve been so impressed with their demeanors and passion and perspective.

I’m wondering if any of you coach (your sport and level) and what you like/don’t like about it.

WTF? Everyone at Jack Trice or Hilton have plenty of coaching experience! Even some of the fans on here know more than Matt and T.J.

 

[soccercy]

Going into my 28th season as a high school soccer coach, 26th as head coach. Also going into fourth season as assistant cross country coach. Coaching is my favorite. My son will be a senior on both teams this year. Not sure how long I’ll continue coaching after he graduates.

 

[KnappShack]

This is Cyclonefanatic, we're ALL coaches (& Refs)!!

I'm a decent shadow AD too.

Saw some did the refereeing deal. I did that way back in high school. Payoff was a year membership to the Y.

I was the last person showing after the 4th week. Every other ref quit. I assume 1/3 of the players spent time in the NFL.

I've spent much of my career in people management. That's like being a coach, parent, cheerleader, ref, etc. wrapped into one

 

[BCClone]

I love coaching. I have coached mostly club basketball and youth tackle football. I currently coach with Team Iowa youth tackle football. I wish I could Coach more school sports, but I am not a teacher, so schools are reluctant to give non-teachers a chance.

I love everything about coaching, and the parents really don’t bother me. I love focusing on the little footwork and decision making that makes someone a little better everyday.

Go to a smaller school and they will hire you quickly as several assign teachers to sports.

 

[mb7299]

Before I retired I coached for about 25 of the 36 years I taught. Varsity football assistant for 4 years and then the head coach for another 7. Middle school football for 5 seasons, and both middle school boys and girls basketball for 22. Also did middle school track for another 10 years.

I liked being around the kids and getting to know them in a different light than the way they were in the classroom.
I stopped coaching for the last 7/8 years of my career, was getting burnt out on all the late nights, having to beg kids to go out for a sport like football.
I was told by a veteran teacher to give up on the varsity level and move down to the middle school level, less pressure and shorter seasons. He then said the schools is always going to struggle to get to .500 in football, and why put yourself through that. Took me 5 years to figure it out, but he was correct, and the school has only had 2 winning seasons since I left in 2010. Last year their varsity football won one game.

I absolutely needed to hear the part of the school is always going to struggle to get to .500 so why put yourself through it. I keep finding myself giving so much to my xc program and I just can't get much for traction going, it doesn't matter who is coaching it's going to be a program that has a few motivated kids but not enough to do anything team wise.

 

[Antihawk240]

I absolutely needed to hear the part of the school is always going to struggle to get to .500 so why put yourself through it. I keep finding myself giving so much to my xc program and I just can't get much for traction going, it doesn't matter who is coaching it's going to be a program that has a few motivated kids but not enough to do anything team wise.

Hang in there. Keep going. I was there, we were bad. I refused to be bad. I worked endlessly to change the culture. I was at a school who had the "Our test scores beat yours and we'll grow up to be your boss" attitude. AND THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. Eventually I was able to change the culture- in Track- to: be their boss at a winning business. I credit the community in helping me most. We were so thirsty to win (quote from American President) "You could lead them into the desert and they'd drink the sand." Granted I cheated, I started dodging some track meets and entered meets I knew we could win, just to build confidence. I marketed our team winning to the community and the community loved every minute of it. Then the culture changed and I started getting us back into the meets we belonged in. Again this took 11 years! Now I have the trust of the kids, parents and community so it was an easier build in Cross Country. Athletic kids wanted to win so they decide to be on a winning XC team instead of a 500 football team, so now we are competing at the state level instead of local meets.

It's so easy for me to say I know, but hang in there and keep building. I was in your shoes before and lets face it, I'll be in your shoes again. Ebbs and Flows of high school athletics in rural Iowa.

 

[8thfloor]

I've coached youth sports for about 8 years and have mostly enjoyed it. For the most part, good kids, parents, opposing coaches and refs. I enjoy watching the kids get better, and I really enjoy putting lineups together that allow kids to do what they do best and be successful. To this day, my favorite game I ever coached was the last game of a winless basketball season with a team of kids who (mostly) had never played before. We won and everyone contributed and to see the smiles on their faces was priceless. As my kids are getting old and into school sports I could see my time coming to an end, maybe I'll volunteer somewhere but it would be weird not coaching one of my own kids. I will truly miss that time as well, the extra time getting to spend with them.

 

[cyclonespiker33]

I've coached girls club volleyball for 8 seasons. At the club I'm currently coaching at, I started with 12U and moved up with them until 17U before going back down to 12U last season. Three of the girls started on my 12U team and stayed with me the whole time, and two other girls started with me at 13U. It is pretty crazy to think of the improvement that takes place over those 5 years. What is even crazier is to just see them grow up as people.