Coaches & Coaching, Part 1

My sophomore year of high school I tried out for the school’s  basketball team—along with 120 other boys! At the first practice we were divided into two groups based on our junior high coaches’ assessments. I was placed in the “lets-cut-them-quickly” group. By the end of the first week of practice, I was one of two boys left from that group! And by the end of the season I was playing with the best fifteen players. I have Coach Ben Newcomb to thank for my survival and elevation. He alone saw and encouraged the talent that I had. Though he yelled and threw clip boards and kicked chairs—mostly in response to my errors!—I loved him because he believed in me and pushed me to become a batter player. His coaching nurtured a passion for basketball and, more importantly, a confidence that if I worked hard I could accomplish an important goal.

But I also had negative experiences with coaches. When I was in fourth grade I tried out for a Little League team. On the day that cuts were announced, I was one of the boys cut. As I dejectedly climbed on my bike, the coach asked if I would lead calisthenics. I agreed, wondering if I was being given a second chance. When we were done, I stood around not knowing what to do next. But the coach said, “That’s all, Schock, you can leave now.” I felt humiliated in front of the other boys. Had the coach intended that? I don’t know.

Former NFL star Joe Ehrmann has written: “One of the great myths in America is that sports build character. They can and they should. . . . But sports don’t build character unless a coach possesses character and intentionally teaches it.” Your children’s coaches can have a great impact for good or for evil in your child’s development. During the 20-25 years that my boys were competing in youth sports, I was a coach and an observer of coaches. Both sides of the coaching experience offer unique opportunities to live out our faith and influence kids’ development.