Volunteer Coaching: A Great Way to Share with Your Kids

Between 40 plus hour work weeks and the rest of our busy, hectic lives, it seems like few dads are spending enough quality time with their kids these days. If you are looking for a great way to bond with your child and spend extra quality time with them, consider becoming a volunteer coach for a local sports team.

Youth sports teams are almost always looking for volunteers! When we signed my son up for his first year of soccer, I noticed a line at the bottom of the sign up sheet, asking for parents interested in volunteering to be coaches. I asked my husband, who played soccer as a youth, if he would be interested. You don't have to know anything about the game, but if you do that's even better. Maybe you can even pick a sport that you are passionate about and help share that passion with your child! One of the other coaches we met was also in his first year of coaching. He decided to coach because he loved soccer and wanted to share that love and passion with his sons. Now all five of his sons play soccer and they take turns begging him to be their coach!

As their coach, you immediately become your child's role model. He will look to you for answers on and off the field (my son took to calling my husband "Coach" at home). The more involved you become, the more involved your child will become, too. My husband has now been coaching for 3 years and was asked to join the board of the volunteer league. After games we stick around and clean up the playing fields, moving goal posts and removing flags from the fields. We generally stick around hours after the games and my son plays pick up games with other soccer stragglers. Even after soccer season, all he wants to do is take my husband out into the soccer field to run around and practice. It has become a bond that the two of them share and it is definitely something special to them both.

Remember that a coach is meant to teach and encourage, not yell. While you may be tempted to make your child a winner, this is a great time to teach them your beliefs about playing fair and being respectful and responsible. We have had a number of excellent teaching opportunities to share with my son because of the things he has seen on and off the field. Because his dad is sharing these experiences with him, he has instant credibility and our son laps up everything his "coach" tells him.

These are the best years of your young child's life and being involved in it will be a blessing to you both. You don't have to have any particular athletic skill to be a coach, just an open heart and the desire to do right by your child. Believe me, it will not be an experience you will soon forget, and it just may stick with your child even longer!