Am I missing something?
Something has been bothering me for some time, something I just don’t understand. If someone has a child in a sport or other activity, why do they choose to not get involved? Why would the parents NOT want to positively affect his or her child’s experience? I just don’t get it. Yes, I am a coach. Yes, I am good with the kids. Yes, I may know the game. Yes, I may have patience that some others may not have. But, I am also simply a parent, a parent who was asked to help when my son entered the league.
It was very difficult this year to find coaches for the two lower divisions. Everyone just wants to sit and watch their child play ball, and bitch a little about how things are. A quote from a fellow coach in our division tells it better than I could ever say: “I didn’t want to coach, I didn’t have enough time with work and all. But, after being asked for the 3rd time, I said I would do it. I had to change my work schedule around to fit it all in. Now, I am so glad I did. It’s the best thing I have ever done. I will be the first in line next year.”
Why can’t more people be like him? Get involved into your local community, try it out for a year and if you don’t enjoy it, give it up and mark it under lessons learned. Speaking from personal experience, I feel the same. It’s hard to find a better feeling that having a child you coached run up to you in a store, away from their parents, saying “Coach, Coach, hi!”. One time I found little Austin in the grocery store crying. He had lost his parents. I reassured him that everything would be fine and he walked with me, without hesitation, to find them. Once reunited with his parents, he walked away smiling from ear to ear, without saying a word. Maybe that’s the part people are not getting. I am putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into these kids, but it’s for me too. I get a lot out of it, a whole lot.
To prove my point: The other day, while it was raining outside, my son and I set down with paper and crayons. I told him to draw what he likes best about playing baseball. He could have drew anything.
The picture shows him and I throwing in the back yard. I was stunned. No baseball diamond, no other kids, no bat, just him and I on a nice day throwing out back. That is why I do what I do.
It was very difficult this year to find coaches for the two lower divisions. Everyone just wants to sit and watch their child play ball, and bitch a little about how things are. A quote from a fellow coach in our division tells it better than I could ever say: “I didn’t want to coach, I didn’t have enough time with work and all. But, after being asked for the 3rd time, I said I would do it. I had to change my work schedule around to fit it all in. Now, I am so glad I did. It’s the best thing I have ever done. I will be the first in line next year.”
Why can’t more people be like him? Get involved into your local community, try it out for a year and if you don’t enjoy it, give it up and mark it under lessons learned. Speaking from personal experience, I feel the same. It’s hard to find a better feeling that having a child you coached run up to you in a store, away from their parents, saying “Coach, Coach, hi!”. One time I found little Austin in the grocery store crying. He had lost his parents. I reassured him that everything would be fine and he walked with me, without hesitation, to find them. Once reunited with his parents, he walked away smiling from ear to ear, without saying a word. Maybe that’s the part people are not getting. I am putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into these kids, but it’s for me too. I get a lot out of it, a whole lot.
To prove my point: The other day, while it was raining outside, my son and I set down with paper and crayons. I told him to draw what he likes best about playing baseball. He could have drew anything.
The picture shows him and I throwing in the back yard. I was stunned. No baseball diamond, no other kids, no bat, just him and I on a nice day throwing out back. That is why I do what I do.
posted by mattandriver at 1:15 PM
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