When I receive course submissions such as the one below, in response to a unit in the KSI Child to Champion Course, its rewarding to know the lessons shaped over 45 years of coaching and shared in this educational tool for parents and coaches of the young athlete is worth the effort.

This is what this dad shared with me…

Unit 2 – The purpose of sport

I totally agree with Ian’s approach and message here. If you think about the big picture, how many kids are going pro? Or Division 1? Very few. But that shouldn’t be the goal. If your kid plays a sport growing up, and comes away with it healthier, feeling good about themselves, made a bunch of friends, memories, learned lessons that carry over to life etc, but never play in college or beyond, then in my mind it was a total success.

Absolutely. At 49 years old, I’m amazed by the impact of the lessons I learned from the best (and worst) coaches in my life. In terms of ‘positive’, I had an amazing sensei when I was 7, and the best hockey coach I ever had was when I was 11. I got so spoiled I thought all my coaches would be like that (they weren’t) But what I took away from just those two men was amazing, and shaped so much of who and what I am today. It was a huge thrill that I was able to take my older son to that same sensei when he was 8.

When I find a youth sports coach in any sport that makes the kids’ self-esteem a priority, I work to maximize the amount of time my kids spend with them. The opposite can be tougher (minimizing time spent about bad coaches), but it’s still something I do.

I don’t think I’ve seen many coaches that are malicious, and actually set out to humiliate kids, etc (though I’m sure there are some malformed people out there) but I do see a great many coaches that pay lip service to ‘having fun, creating a fun environment’, etc, but when push comes to shove, parents are yelling, heat of the game, they revert back to ‘just win baby’ mentality. I will admit that while I’ve never bought into the youth coaching ‘win at all costs’ thing, I have caved to parental pressure and changed my approach for the worse. Especially when I was young.

I’m going to talk to both of my sons today about their mindset. How they approach each practice, game, training session, etc, and focus on how they see themselves, what they’re capable of, etc. Prioritizing their self-esteem, that growth mindset, that it’s not all about the scoreboard, etc.

I think this section should be required reading for youth coaches, gym teachers, anyone working with kids in a sport/training environment.-John, USA

This has got it all – relating to the message through personal experiences that have seen the highs and lows of youth sport, living through it again with his kids, and being inspired to act in the now to shape a better outcome for the next generation.

And that response was just to one of the early units, in a course with over 60 units.

Thanks dad John for sharing those well considered reflections!

Learn more about how we are helping parents and coaches of the young athlete here.