CoachUp Blog

In honor of Father’s Day it is time to honor the sports dad.  Many times the first coach an athlete has is their father.  An athlete’s father can appreciate greater than anyone (except maybe mom) the sacrifice and journey it took to reach that pinnacle sports moment.

The best coach I ever had

My dad was my first coach, and to this day he still says he was “the best coach you ever had.”  And I am not going to argue with him, at least not in this post.  Regardless, I can only imagine how it would feel to celebrate at the highest level in sports with my first coach, my dad.

A friend of mine recently went to a Memphis Redbirds baseball game. During the playing of the national anthem, he noticed that quite a few kids and dads kept their hats on throughout the song. A lot more people didn’t bother placing their hand over their heart.

He said, “I think it’s pretty sad that so many Americans only feel patriotic shortly after a national tragedy or acts of terrorism like 9/11 or the Boston Marathon bombings. We should feel patriotic every time the national anthem is played.”

You’ve heard it, and probably said it.  To improve in a sport, youth athletes must “work on their games.”  If you follow any sport, or any particular player, you will probably hear about the work an athlete puts in to get better.

It is commonly understood, to get better you must work on your sport.  You must work outside of games, and in addition to team practices.  But does this mantra only apply to athletes?  What about coaches?  What about you, the youth sport coach?