Wyatt Smith
Mrs. Pearce/Pre-AP English II
Research Paper
April 27, 2016
Sports are huge in America, and behind the scenes of both snotty-nosed five year olds and professional athletes with bodies alike to Greek Gods are coaches. Although eighty percent of children quit these activities before reaching the age of fifteen, over forty-five millions kids participate in an organized sport in the United States alone. With all of these kids playing sports, being a youth sports coach has been an integral developmental role in a child’s life. Not many coaches can win eleven national championships, or three straight Super Bowl titles, although some coaches do act like their son’s T-ball game is game seven of the World Series. From the looks of the games young kids play, while tackling each other in the outfield and conducting a wrestling session in the dugout, it may be fair to say that the coaches of younger kids have a much harder job. After my experience of coaching my little brother’s T-ball team this season, I feel like the strongest, most underpaid workers in the country are Kindergarten teachers. I almost lost my mind after dealing with the kids for a mere 2 hours a week! Even though coaches don’t have ample time with kids,all coaches have a great opportunity to alter the lives of athletes across the country. Coaches can impact society by teaching children morals and sportsmanship at a young age, motivating athletes to do their best on and off the field, and leading not just through knowledge of the game, but respect and integrity.
Many tales of the soap-opera that is youth sports would lead one to conclude that a simple T-ball game, an elementary level football match, or an Upward basketball league showdown is the most important part of an entire family’s existence. Unfortunately, this is often the case, with old ladies gossiping in a nail salon traded out with middle aged men selecting an All-Star team at the local Dairy Queen. In today’s society, the collective ego is so large that sports once used as building blocks for fundamentals and sportsmanship have took a 180 degree turn for winning and screaming parents. If coached correctly, winning isn’t sacrificed for sportsmanship. According to truesport.org, “Even though the quote: it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game’ is true, every player who has a competitive bone in their body will want to attain victory. The key of coaching is playing fair, along with playing to win.” This stance explains that contrary to popular opinion, it is possible to teach kids how to not only participate with good attitudes, exemplary sportsmanship, and Christ-like kindness, but also trying their best to win. Similarly, John Wooden, widely considered as the best coach of all time, at any sport commented,”What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a player.” These two ideas are connected through the belief that coaching is more about wins or losses, but about making athletes learn the lesson of working hard through perseverance. Considering the fact that most Little Leaguers don’t even make it to the high school level, and not very many high school players make it to the professional level, the obvious reason parents place their kids in sports is for them to gain wisdom on life. Apart from parents, what role models have more time to change a life than untrained, volunteer coaches? Thus, it is paramount that these coaches can motivate athletes to the best of their ability, but this does not mean that a Bobby Knight chair throwing session is in order every time a call doesn’t go in the right direction. When Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks was asked about how the seemingly unnerved Coach Dungy could possibly motivate the juggernaut football players on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brooks said, “People thought that [Dungy] wasn’t [a motivator] because they think the louder you get, the more you’re getting after it. But coach was motivated to win. He just channeled it in a different way.” Athletes that may be scared of the traditional spit-in-your-face type of coaches, or even those who need a more caring coach to motivate them could be impacted a great deal if more coaches would realize what Brooks did about his coach. Also, screaming and being mean may cause resentment between coach and player, which would make it hard to permanently impact an entire life. Overall, coaches can impact society by building motivating athletes on and off the field.
A few weeks ago I was coaching my six year old brother’s T-ball team, when one of the children in my team didn’t get an out because he didn’t field the ball cleanly. Although all the coaches told him good job for hustling after the ball, the red faced kindergartener got the ball and slammed it hard right into the turf. Trying to set a good example, I told him after the inning that it doesn’t matter if he never gets an out but keeping a good attitude was the most important aspect of the game. In today’s society, it’s common knowledge that most old folks think that the children of today are spoiled brats, and they could very well be right. However, the attendance of kids in youth sports has been skyrocketing over the past years. Does this mean that sports encourages kids to behave in an unpleasant manner? Yes, according to truesport.org, “85% of adults believe youth sports should reinforce positive values like honesty, fair play, and respect for others. 35% believe that youth sports actually emphasizes these values.” These stats are extremely alarming and befuddling. Coaches of youth sports have to realize that they have an amazing opportunity to make a lifelong impact on athletes. Instead of a fun learning experience, youth sports has turned into a problem for kids learning how to get along in an evil dictatorship ran by parents who never touched a field in high school but know for sure that their son is going to be the next Lebron James, Derek Jeter, or Peyton Manning. The Post Courrier states about youth coaches, “More than 35 million children participate in youth sports, however, many coaches remain unaware of their potential role as mentors and role models and rarely receive training.” At such an impressionable stage in a kid’s life, they shouldn’t be instructed by just any competitive freak who’s hell bent on winning a tiny first place trophy to hang up on the family trophy case. All coaches should be trained by a commissioner of some sort that puts the coaches through an easy day of training on how to deal with problematic players, and to instill values into the team. Therefore, coaches who aren’t even paid, such as myself, can impact society by preaching values of fair play, respect, and teamwork to children in the hope that they can carry it with them for a lifetime.
Obviously, any situation to interact with a child plays a huge role in society. Surprisingly, I became disgusted with the fact of the blown chance that little league coaches continuously repeat year after year. It’s time for parents and coaches to understand that sports teach kids teamwork, respect, and a healthy lifestyle. Instead, the kids learn nothing while coaches go at it. Therefore, all little league coaches should be verified by a league commissioner or a coach who makes money for coaching who can instruct the league. Because of a small, meaningless trophy, kids aren’t gaining the skills that are necessary for becoming champions in real life.
Works Cited
Sapakoff, Gene. “Mentoring through Sports: Area Coaches Filling ‘father Figure Void.” Post and Courier. Evening Post, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. April 19. 2016
“Coaches.” TrueSport. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, 2014. Web. April 20. 2016
ESPN.com Staff. “The Wizard’s Wisdom.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, June 4. 2016
Bleacherreport.com Staff. “Top 50 Coaches of All-Time.” February 8. 2016
“What People Are Saying « Types « Tony Dungy.” NextGEN Gallery RSS. Web. May 9. 2016
“Coach’s / Manager’s Role.” Coach’s / Manager’s Role. Web. May 9. 2016