The one in front of you

Class picture day today. 

After you have had a chance to enjoy the awesome laser beam shots, I highly encourage everyone to take a moment and check out your son or daughters class picture. 

You will be amazed by the varying height differences within a kindergarten class of 15 kids. An ample reminder that kids who share birthdays in the same calendar year develop physically at such differentrates than their classmates. And yet, while the physical differences are easily recognizable, the mental and emotional ones are not so much. 

Attend any youth soccer game on a Saturday afternoon and you’d find yourself perplexed /angered by the amount of senseless comparing that goes on from the sidelines. The perception that kids on the same team should be on par with one another is not only misguided, it’s dangerous. Eventually, that perception turns to reality in the form of an acceptable narrative created that then is both delivered and subscribed. The result more often than not is sadly a slew of predetermined outcomes for kids who are just starting the beginning stages of their development. 

An alternative approach.

My philosophy is simple; coach the player / kid who stands in front of you. Concern yourself with their development not their age. A player’s age and grade are purely numbers and number only. 

I’ve learned when you coach the player in front of you, you have a significantly higher probability to inspire. And when a player is inspired, the real excitement begins. The player chooses action (practice) because it is desired not required. When they are inspired, they commit. When they commit, they see results. With results, their confidence begins to develop, And with confidence, the world not just the field is theirs for taking. 

For when you focus all your energy in understanding, connecting, and inspiring the individual kid, you are committing to something much larger than wins and trophies. You are inspiring our next generation of leaders.

Thank you for taking the time to reach a lacrosse coach’s perspective.

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