Get Your Coaching Badge – It's the Number One Way to Stay Connected to Sport
Don’t turn your back on sport when your playing days come to an end – bring it to new group of players.
Let’s face it: retiring from your favorite sport to enter “real world” business is one of the hardest transition a sports lover can make. From teammates to colleagues … practices to meetings … games to presentations … trophies to performances reviews … coaches to managers … the list goes on. It’s impossible to fully replace the rush of competing through moving up the corporate ladder – but there IS a way to do both. You actually can work and feel the rush at the same time.
From pickup games to picking teams
I’ve been playing basketball all my life. Even after retiring from organized play, I continued participating in city leagues, work leagues, pickup games – really anything that simulated the rush of high-level hoops competition. I thought this was the best way to maintain my relationship with the game … but I was wrong.
It wasn’t until I was asked to coach in my spare time outside of work that I really learned what it means to stay connected to the sport you love.
You can’t truly be an expert at anything until you experience it from different perspectives. That’s what the transition from player to coach does – it allows you to expand your sport horizon into places you never considered.
Personal growth through team development
What better way to stay connected to your sport than to cultivate its growth for future generations? I’ve played in championships; I’ve had teammates who were more like family; I’ve traveled up and down the coast playing basketball – but I haven’t felt as close to the game as I did when I was teaching my fifth graders how to dribble through their legs or how to defend against the pick-and-roll.
Coaching outside of work allows you to let the rush of competition flood into other areas of your life – productivity skyrockets, teamwork heightens and a continuum of learning takes precedence.
You don’t ever have to retire from your favorite sport. If you can find an opportunity to coach, you’ll rediscover the same rush in an entirely new way.
I’m a youth girls soccer coach here in Portland, Oregon. My love for the sport goes back to my 3rd grade year. My mom had to find an activity to keep my brother and I busy while she was at work, so she signed us up. Forward to junior year in high school—my ankle rolled pretty bad, let’s just say my track sprinting days were over. A year later my kid was born and as she grew I wanted to involve her in sports. Today she’s 10 and it’s her 5th year playing soccer. I was asked if I would be interested in volunteering to be a coach, as a parent the natural answer was YES. The thought of coaching kids to help innovate their talent and teach them lessons that don’t just apply to sport but also to their daily life’s was a no brainer. Empowering others is an inspiration of mine specially when coaching the future generation. Making the move from player to coach is an absolute gift, not doubt!
Thank you for this exiting article Melissa.
Sincerely
Cristian Mancilla