Youth mentorship
- Are you tired of your child playing video games all day?
- Are you tired of making the excuse, all the other kids are doing it?
- Do you want your child to figure out what they love, what they shine at?
- Do you feel you can’t reach your child?
I coached youth basketball for over 15 years. Every year it starts the same way. You go to the draft and you watch 100 kids dribble down the court and take one shot at each basket. You have less than 30 seconds to pick the right player for each position. Then you have to have a back plan because there is a good possibility the player you choose will be taken by another coach. You have a number of players that have natural-born athletic abilities.
You have a number of players that have limited athletic ability, but they are teachable. Then you have one or two kids that have no athletic ability. They usually are uncoordinated and probably never played organized basketball. In the first practice, we start with the basics, dribbling, shooting, and footwork. At the end of each practice, I spend extra time with the undeveloped child. There is no greater feeling than watching that kid build confidence and belief in himself. Watching him pump his hands in the air after making his first game shot.
Moving and motivating people is something I would do even if I didn’t get paid. I have had countless parents come up to me and say you are one of the best coaches I have ever seen, you really get the kids motivated. But what leads me to this calling is when that undeveloped child comes up to me at the end of the season and hugs me and says” thank you, coach”. It brings a tear to my eye, because I know I have given them a tool. The tool is resilience.