When Mom Becomes Coach

I always thought I’d want to coach my kids. How hard could it be? I grew up playing just about every sport and I knew a lot of what worked and what didn’t work to motivate me to do my best. So, why not pass that on to my kids. It was, indeed, a great way to influence my kids and teach them how to work hard and give it their best. And I could firsthand help them to be successful. As the mom of four young kids, it’s almost impossible for me to volunteer to coach because my husband and I are always chasing our kids on the sidelines when our other kids are on the field. So, when the rec soccer league came to me last spring and asked if I could coach a 3rd/4th grade co-ed soccer team because they needed coaches, I hesitated at first and then gave it a go. I was genuinely excited to co-coach the team, but I also realized that not only did I now have to get to the field on time (something that is difficult when you have four young kids and a full time job), but that I also had to figure out a way to both motivate my daughter on the field and motivate a whole team of rec league kids (some who don’t have the same goals in mind that I might have as a coach of my daughter’s team – like wanting the team to actually win the game). It was a lesson in patience as others teams were stacked with highly skilled kids, and the goals from our team were few and far between. The season was fun, my daughter smiled a lot at me, and I even got exercise. But it wasn’t without conflict as one of the other coaches caused a big incident in which I needed to stand up as a leader and take the high road (and cancel the game, bringing my team to scrimmage themselves to avoid conflict). After that game, my role as mom and coach became solidified. My daughter told me “mom, I love to see you out there as a leader. It is really cool to see you out there in charge”. Wow. Well, that was pretty cool to hear an eight-year old say that. I suppose I will have to coach her (and my other kids) again!

Visit us at www.besporthappy.com for more info on the 35 sports available for kids in Saratoga ages 3-13. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/besporthappy or join our Be Sport Happy Saratoga Equipment Exchange group on Facebook and exchange used sports equipment with other Saratoga families: www.facebook.com/groups/besporthappy. Also find us at www.healtheconcessions.com and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/healtheconcessions.