When you coach kids in sports you need to be a motivator. This takes many forms, but usually it's verbal motivation that helps gets kids to grow. It was with this in mind that I read the news of a gentleman named Vincent Coleman winning a coach of the year award.

No, it's not the former Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals.

This Vincent Coleman left a successful corporate job to run an inner-city organization devoted to spreading baseball called Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities.  

The story lists his accomplishments, but I found his quotes more fascinating.

Here is Mr. Coleman discussing respecting the sport:

I was trying to teach the adults to respect and honor the game. But I realized I wasn't really getting anywhere with them. Maybe this will work with kids better than adults. 

How true is this? If you've spent anytime in youth sports as a coach, you know that adults are the toughest to get through. The kids are infectious, though. Once you reach them the adults follow.

His next quote involved encouraging kids to understand they can acheive goals in their sport:

It's important to let the kids know we believe in them. They can do anything they want to do as long as they try hard. When a kid tells me, 'I can't do this,' that just kills me. 

Photo Credit: Paul Anderson

The news today was John Elway accepting a quarterback coaching position for his son Jack. His son is a senior student at Cherry Creek High School and a quarterback.

Remember, John Elway himself was coached by his father. Things appeared to turn out ok then.  Curious note, his father is named Jack as well.

John Elway does admit this is a way for him to stay connected to the game:

That's the thing. To be in the football wars with him. And I know a little about the job. It's a way for me to be back around the game again, to get excited about the game again. I'm sure I'll be more nervous for his games than I ever was for mine.

Imagine having a hall of fame player coaching part of your team. The head coach must have some sense of worth. Heck, some youth coaches get frustrated when parent watch practice, let alone coach.  

Photo Credit: hisc1ay
Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hisc1ay/182055282/
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en-us

When you step up to coach a sports team for your kids you might give pause. As a father the pause revolves around wondering if you can do it. The last thing you want to do is embarass yourself or your kid. It was heartening to see the story of Clay Bellinger, a former New York Yankee. When he was with the Yankess he won the world series.

Clay walked away from baseball when faced with the prospect of going back to the minors. As he says:

Then you're back to the 12-to-14 hour bus rides, and I just wasn't into that, you know. The kids are in school and I'd be away from them again. It would be like playing all over again.

He settled down, became a full time fire fighter and started to coach his son's baseball team. At first blush you might think he did poorly, as many former players don't end up as good coaches. 

Wrong.

His son's team is playing in the little league world series.  

What does he believe the kids think about him:

The Atlanta Falcons coaching staff and players finally had their say on the Michael Vick situation. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the responses were muted.

Coach Bobby Petrino said:

I've got a lot of emotions going on but the hardest thing for me is in the time period I worked with Michael he gave us everything that he had. He was at every meeting, in every workout, he spent extra time on his own. So I'm disappointed in the entire situation, no question about that.

Talk about a vanilla repsonse. I don't think you could work harder to avoid dealing with the issue. The funny thing about this is that what he says publically doesn't matter. What Coach Petrino says to the team is the most important.

So, on a youth sports team how should you handle communicating kicking a player off the team?

The first thing you need to determine is whether the kids need to know all the details of the infraction that led to the dismissal. This is a decision based on the age, maturity and time the kids have spent together.

An interesting story popped up on the wires concerning youth coaches who continue to coach after their children have passed through programs. It covers Tom Nauss and Tommy Morris, a pair of 58 year old best friends, who have continued to actively coach in Little League long after their kids are out.

When my daughter was in grade school I coached her in two sports, and I even stepped up and coached other teams without her on it. I enjoyed coaching, felt the volunteer spirit was in me and I knew I could make a difference. When she left the programs, though, I stopped coaching. To me I thought it was a little creepy hanging around. These gentleman have me reconsidering that choice and perception.

When parents ask for their help, Tommy Morris said:

I just ask what time and where.

The spirit of involvement has moved them to work in the little league organization since the early 1980s. That's closing in on 30 years of involvement, most after their kids finished playing.

I look at this and think hard about it. Every organization needs people who are committed more than others, but in today's society there are people who confuse commitment with obsession.