Coaching

We all love sports. It does not matter what sport it is, we just love it. We have a passion and a drive to dedicate our time to teach the youth the sport, whether it is pee-wee to college sports. I think that most people do not know how difficult it is to coach any stage. Besides of the difficulties of coaching, it is such an awarding position without a doubt. As for myself, I picked up a coaching job at my old school district as a middle school coach.

Before the season started I was wondering who these kids are and what am I getting myself into with coaching. Hearing what one coach said about these group of kids is one thing but hearing it from others is another. One that has coached these individuals said that they are slow and big. Varsity coaches that keep their eyes on lower grade kids believe this group will not be very successful throughout their football careers. The group of kids I coached this year had not won a game in two years. I had the mindset that I was going to have my hands full and doing a lot of yelling. As football camp started, I asked those about what happened last year. They said that they never blitz on defense and they were in spots that they weren't suppose to be in. I told them you have new coaches and we know what we are doing. So things changed in a hurry.

As a coach, it is difficult to get these kids motivated and wanting to win games. It is also difficult to come up with drills and a script for everyday for practices. Even worse, middle schools do not have up to date film on opponents like the Varsity team does so that makes things challenging to prep for games. The three weeks we had to manage and figure out what we need to do before the first game. We figured everyone team will be in the defense set up; which thankfully they were in a 40 front line. For those who do not know what that is: 40 front is just four linemen on the line of scrimmage on defense. Anyway time was running out and we had a lot of plays to go over and get them ready. One coach decided to come up with an incentive for the kids. If they beat our rivals, he will give them a pizza party the next day. Myself, I decided to do a sticker award system. Both ideas got our kids motivated to win this game. Sure enough we got them ready and got them worked up just before the game in warm ups. After two years of losing games they managed to pull it out and won their first game. After that first win, I had an adrenaline rush and was shaking since it was such a thrill giving it all with coaching.

Next week we lost since we were one day short of preparation and the kids never had the experience of stringing wins together after a big win. After that we had a week off and scouted our next opponent. Scouting Sandusky was a good advantage. They were our third game of the season. We shut that team down and smoked them on their own field. After that game I felt dominate and could not be touched. It felt so great. Then the winning started. We won each week till the seventh week against Tiffin Columbine. We both had one loss and were unbeaten in the conference. A once win-less team is now playing for their first ever conference title. Unfortunately, we lost this game and let them back in the game when we were up by two touchdowns. It is what it is and it happens. Even though they did not win this game, it was a learning experience. They finally got a taste of how to win, taste of how to play in an important game, and taste of what it is like to be successful. The final week was difficult. Practices were not there and the kids were not there before the game. I get it that they were not there mentally since they are not playing for anything. We also lost this game not by much. It did not help when the referees kept penalizing your team for dumb things. After watching the film we got screwed on calls and should have won the game if not tied.

In conclusion, coaching is a rewarding job to be in and teaching the youth about the game that I am passionate about. First year in and hearing how bad these kids are in the sport; we turned things around and proved everyone wrong about this class. If you ever think about picking up a coaching job for any sport, it does take a lot of you and your time. I work night shift at a local factory and I have lost sleep along with points. My advice to you is that you should take up a coaching position. It will make you look at the game very differently. It is a tough position but rewarding.