This blog was started a few years ago with the title and idea of helping coaches, and maybe some parents and athletes, to navigate the fluid world of youth sports in a sometimes feral atmosphere.
The depths can be frightening and paralyzing, sometimes causing the principle irreparable harm and a possible future career guiding young people into adulthood with sport.
Yet the heights can be overwhelming and almost spiritual. Seeing a player you helped guide, like a sherpa on K2, accomplish their goals and dreams is nothing short of euphoria, giving you confidence for the next athlete that comes your way.
While we as coaches can make careers and businesses on these accomplishments, it's always important to put our egos aside and recognize that however large we feel our contributions were, the athlete is the nucleus of that growth atom.
A 12 year old boy leaves a note for his Mom. "Could u please wake me up at 7:00. And could u leave me a couple of dollars. James Harden. P.S. Keep this paper. Imma be a ⭐.
His love of the game drove this 12 year old to get to the courts early, to play, work on his game and an inner confidence that shone through this note has made Harden a future Hall of Fame guard in the NBA.
Maybe a Mother knows or maybe she just wanted what made her son happy at the time. Harden probably couldn't have known the path his career would take but that inner confidence was a catalyst for his work ethic and skill acquisition. Along the way, Harden probably had coaches he would credit for his success but it was 12 year old James who made the decision to get up early and work. It was James who put the time in and learned. And it is James who will retire as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history.
When she was in fifth grade, a skinny but athletic youngster from Burleson, Texas told her teacher she would be in the Olympics some day. Her teacher scoffed and rebuffed her, telling her she was dreaming and she should set her sights on realities and leave the pipe dreams aside.
That night, the young girls painted this.
Crying a river of tears as she dreamed of being an Olympian, this young 12 year old, who was playing softball, volleyball, basketball, track and every other sport she could muster, put her confidence in overdrive and the work she put in followed.
Stacy Sykora joined the USA National team in 1999 and wound up a three time USA Olympian, a multi year winner of Libero of the Year and finished her career in 2011 after a life altering bus accident in Brazil. Her high school, club and college coaches had a hand in her success and perhaps it was a fifth grade teacher who could take most of the credit. But it is Stacy who is a model of grit and determination, of beating the odds with her work ethic and confidence.
On a Christmas morning in 1987, a three year old boy is gifted a play hoop and ball. His other toys surround him in the picture, but the smile on his face holding the tiny basketball is infectious.
Thirty seven years later, this young boy has toppled nearly every NBA record printed. He is playing in his 21st season still revered as one of the best in the game. His work ethic to get to this place is the lore of legends.
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LeBron James' first hoop at 3 didn't make him the conversation starter of greatest players of all time. He has a confidence, a standard he continues to hold himself AND his teammates to. He has won four NBA Championships in ten appearances. That is not luck. That is drive, intelligence and the goal to stay physically superior to all he plays against. While a three year old might have the dream, it is the next 37 years that dictate the epic saga that is LeBron's career.
"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." - Jesse Owens.
If you are a Coach, (or a teacher), we can all be Sherpas. We can help guide our athletes up and down the mountains and valleys. We can urge them to take the steps, forge their own way in the paths we have laid out for them, but make no mistake, it is their lungs burning at the top of the mountain.
Be humble, accept that we can only be part of greatness, not the only reason. Great athletes recognize who their guide was along the toughest parts of their journey. Sometimes they will remember and tell you, other times they may not. Either way, relish the moments you have as the Sherpa in the life of your athletes. NBA stars, Olympians, Super Bowl Champions, Premiere League winners or simply kids who needed someone to believe in them, build their confidence and teach them the meaning of hard work in the sport they love. Both are equally paramount.
Coach, what you do is important. You are important. Whether they say it or not, your athletes thank you and appreciate you when we do it right.
Happy Holidays.
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