When I signed my daughter up for soccer I had no intention of coaching. I have never been a coach much less played organized sports. The last thing I am is athletic. I saw the box I could check on the sign up form to be a coach. Silently, I laughed at the idea of me coaching any sport. Being the YMCA, they need volunteers to make some of their programs successful. For me this was simply not the right volunteer opportunity. But then my phone rang and everything changed.
The woman on the other end of the phone told me that she could not find anyone to coach the team. Just as I thought she was going to tell me soccer was canceled she asked me to coach. I was in shock and tried to explain that I never played soccer much less coached soccer. She said that I was the last one on the list and if I could not do it then they would have to cancel. My daughter had begged me to play soccer for a year, I just could not let that happen. So, I accepted the coaching position knowing I had a secret weapon; my son.
My son may only be 12 but he knows everything about sports and previously played soccer. He was all too eager to help coach. So eager he decided I would be his assistant. I asked him to come up with a plan for practice. He supplied me with an amazing plan that rivaled anything he had ever turned in for school. I looked up soccer drills and practice schedules only to find he was spot on. When practice day came he displayed maturity and leadership. The kids were all boys, except my daughter, around 8 years old. They loved him because he show them purpose for each drill and when they played a scrimmage he played along. They learned more by playing with him than any instructions he gave. I was blessed that all the kids were well behaved. It was a fantastic team! We only lost one game. Most of the credit goes to my son. He had the plan, motivated the kids, and created a line up that crushed the other teams.
It was an experience that taught him maturity, planning, and handling an authoritative position responsibly. He also taught him how to convey his knowledge to others in an effective way. I highly recommend allowing your young athletes some coaching experience if possible. The Y is always looking for volunteers. It was a fun activity to do as a mother/son team.