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- #626
Depending on the day I might tell you to RUN!
The Youth Sports Coaching Thread
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I’ve gone over this through my head many times today. The team was 0-8 last year, I know the area kind of…Depending on the day I might tell you to RUN!
the biggest thing for me would making the game enjoyable. Not sure what the knowledge of the game would be for these kids as they would range from 10yrs old through 8 grade.
….my thought is I love sharing & growing the game of golf. At the same time I don’t want to sacrifice days where it would be coaching versus golfing.
Decisions, decisions.
That’s a wide range of attitudes. I helped “coach” a PGA Jr. Golf League team in that age range about 4 years ago. Some days it was herding cats, other days it was herding angry cats. We had a few kids who were into it which made things easier as everyone kind of looked to them for behavioral cues.
I put coach in quotes because I didn’t really work with them on their technique. We had a few golf pros that handled that part. They’d ask me to help with technique, but I didn’t feel comfortable. If you see my swing, you’ll understand. I was more of a herder and cart parking attendant, guiding them on how to get around the course better.
I’ll say that I felt just as much pride when something clicked for them as I did when coaching baseball, a sport I know intimately. At that age they got more joy out of the game when they could perform a task. It was tough but rewarding. If it’s competitive with some sticks then it might be totally different.
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Yeah it was a wide range from the standings in the district. The 8-0 team are kids that probably at that age have their own instructors based on knowing the location those kids live. I’m going to sleep on it for a few days. I believe the previous coach left to move to high school.
There was a big difference in gear and talent when my son played PGA JGL. One of the better teams played at the former home of the Lotte LPGA stop (easily 10+ on the stimp and Sunday pins), probably had private coaches, and had bags that looked appropriate for this forum. One of the pros pointed it out and then corrected to make an exception for my son’s bag. Some of the youth clubs didn’t have real grooves and other kids were playing XR or M2 irons.
I thought of that league more as a grow the love of the game league. It was easier for me to help out with that mindset instead of a technical fix mindset. Honestly, I’d probably do it again even though that was supposed to be my range time. I’d help with chipping and putting only. There’s something about getting kids to smile and have fun while getting better that gives me the warm fuzzies. The drawback was when they didn’t improve or listen I wanted to pull my hair out.
Good luck with your choice. It’s a tough call.
Had our first game Saturday coaching my 2 youngest boys in soccer. Going to be chaotic coaching 10 pre-school and kindergarten aged kids, but it'll be fun!
MrBlast
Well-known member
I was asked to coach travel basketball again this year. 16U. I turned it down for the 3rd year in a row. There are times when I really miss it but I've become a lot more selfish with my time these days. My love for people has diminished considerably. Unfortunately.
- Thread starter
- #634
I am at one of those points where I am again confronted with the reality that adults have an amazing capacity to screw up youth sports. It is April. This summer season has barely started. I have already had another program contact one of my players offering them a spot / inducing them to leave my team. A baseball organization in the city next door is starting a softball program. They hired a P/C coach to start it. She has reached out to one of our coaches offering her a job, asking her to leave the current team and start a new one with them. She (P/C coach) is also openly recruiting the girls in our program to leave and join her new program; they were openly talking about their new team in the dugout during games this weekend. Etc, etc., etc.
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- #635
I drove past a field yesterday and saw a group of t-ball age kids out there practicing and had one of those "ah, they are so young and special..." moments. Perhaps I get the benefit of distance from remembering some of the other stuff
Last week two kids took soft baseballs off their foreheads...and they were trying to catch the ballI drove past a field yesterday and saw a group of t-ball age kids out there practicing and had one of those "ah, they are so young and special..." moments. Perhaps I get the benefit of distance from remembering some of the other stuff
My daughter’s coach from her club soccer team approached me tonight along with the director of our location about coaching. They know my background and passion for the game and want me to think about getting my coaching certs and joining the club.
a lot to ponder and very humbling.
a lot to ponder and very humbling.
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- #638
You leaning any particular way? I don't have kids so I don't know how it would be as a parent, but it's super rewarding
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- #639
You've done it before so you know what is involved. I think it is very cool that they recognize your talent for coaching. I also like that you have another opportunity to positively influence the lives of some young people. I look forward to seeing what you ultimately decide.
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- #640
Well I'm glad this thread popped up because I really wanted to share this somewhere. I've coached soccer and the same group of boys for four years. I stepped away last season because I felt it was time for them to have a new voice and for me to move on with them almost in high school. Well our club doesn't do the greatest job of preparing for things and when I stepped away, they didn't have a backup plan (even though I gave them plenty of heads up). They went through three coaches last season and they weren't going to have a coach for the spring so I told them I'd come back for one last season (I'm only the assistant this year since I dragged my assistant back as well and he's the HC now)
Anyway, this season has been a really rough go for the team. We haven't won games we should have and it was wearing on the boys. We recently missed qualifying for our premier league tournament. This last weekend was going to be really tough tournament in Coeur d'Alene and I'd be lying if I wasn't worried how it was going to go.
We ended up losing the opening game to a team we should have never lost to. I told the parents to give us 20 minutes after the game and we had a very honest talk with the boys about where their heads were at, where our heads were at and what it's going to take to get out from under this tough season.
The next three games were the most passionately played soccer I've ever seen from this team. They bought in, played together and played for each other every single second. They talked the most I've seen all season, they were physical and they didn't give up when stuff went against them.
In the end...We ended up winning the damn thing! I've been buzzing about it since Sunday and couldn't be more proud of this team and just wanted to share!
Anyway, this season has been a really rough go for the team. We haven't won games we should have and it was wearing on the boys. We recently missed qualifying for our premier league tournament. This last weekend was going to be really tough tournament in Coeur d'Alene and I'd be lying if I wasn't worried how it was going to go.
We ended up losing the opening game to a team we should have never lost to. I told the parents to give us 20 minutes after the game and we had a very honest talk with the boys about where their heads were at, where our heads were at and what it's going to take to get out from under this tough season.
The next three games were the most passionately played soccer I've ever seen from this team. They bought in, played together and played for each other every single second. They talked the most I've seen all season, they were physical and they didn't give up when stuff went against them.
In the end...We ended up winning the damn thing! I've been buzzing about it since Sunday and couldn't be more proud of this team and just wanted to share!
- Thread starter
- #641
My coaching travails involve weather and injuries. We had the wettest recorded April in history. That has bled into May. Combine that with a Covid exposure and we have had more canceled games than I can shake a stick at. On top of that two pitchers decided to hang'em up and my #1 P has a bum shoulder. So...I came into this season thinking my squad had a legit chance to win state but honestly not much has gone right and given the P issues our fate is likely different than I had imagined. Bummer.
- Thread starter
- #642
I absolutely love this! Congrats!
Yes that is awesome! Well done!!!
The best way I can describe it is they are teaching a possession based attacking style. The goal is for the girls to control first touch, maintain possession and attack or positively distribute from that position. It's very cerebral (which I love) and focuses the kids to dictate the pace rather than absorb or counter.
Having coached both my girls on the rec league level, I will not go back to coaching them, but the thought of developing some confident and aggressive kids, especially young ladies, appeals to me.
That is the main draw. I lean heavily on my faith and I would be lying if the last few months I haven't been praying to have something placed in my path to help me "contribute" more to my community. A lot to ponder, but it's exciting.
I want to like this 1million times. Great job and congrats!!!
Last night was a fun one for my 12U team. First time playing the team that beat us in the state tournament and in the conference semi finals last year. Both teams were 6-0 too. Our boys came to hit! Only giving up 9 runs was a win for us as they average 16 per game 
- Thread starter
- #646
This has been one of the hardest springs ever. 4 of my 12 girls were ineligible to play due to HS ball. Several injuries, including some key players. We haven’t been able to run full practices because of lack of numbers. It’s had the wettest April in recorded history which led to 2 full weekend rainouts and 2 Sunday rainouts; we also lost a Sunday to a Covid outbreak/exposure. Through it all we are 17-2-2. The record is great but it hasnt felt super satisfying. Weird weird season.
- Thread starter
- #647
Great stuff! I am blatantly jealous - we haven’t been able to break through against our nemesis team yet and it is very frustrating.
The only thing we changed was our approach at the plate. I challenged every single one of them to be as aggressive as possible. Their ace throws low 70's (MLB equivalent to 94) with some really good offspeed and breaking stuff too so we had them sit fastball and fight off the junk. It worked perfectly. We jumped on him in the first two innings and they pulled him. He threw a no hitter against us in states so I was thrilled with this result
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- #649
My team participated in a fundraiser for Uvalde victims by buying stickers honoring 4 of the victims, who were softball players. I took a picture of the girls holding their helmets and posted it to social media. Apparently it got picked up by the local CBS and NBC affiliates and was a segment on our respective local news.
That's cool! Well done!