The influence of a coach

Why do we coach? That answer will differ from coach to coach. Some coach to spend time with their children Some coach for recreation and their own enjoyment of it and some, sadly enough coach to regain the glory (or missed glory) of their past. What I have come to realize through my years of coaching is that many coaches fail to realize the importance and the enormity of the platform that they have been given as they carry the title of "coach". Think about this for a minute. A coach, in most cases is the only position of authority in a young persons life where that young person makes a CHOICE to be there. They can not choose who their parents are nor who their teachers are at school. However, THEY (in most cases) are the ones who make the choice to be there whenever they step on to the field under the leadership and authority of their coach. Those athletes are looking to their coach for instruction, direction and leadership. The influence that a coach has on their athletes is enormous. But....the coaches influence doesn't stop with those athletes. Lets take a look.

Depending on what level you coach (recreational, travel, high school or college) you will carry anywhere from 11 - 25 players. Let’s just take 11 players as a conservative number.

11 players = 11 people influenced...
Add to that the average family of four (including the player) brings us to...
44 people influenced so far...
plus all the different umpires that you would have during one season (10?)...
54 people influenced so far...
plus all of the other teams you play (11 players & 4 coaches on lets say 10 different teams)...
204 people influenced so far...
plus all of their families (150 players & coaches multiplied by 3 for average family size)
654 people so far.....

Now, add anyone randomly watching a game....
Now, add the whole world if you have a website.....

WOW! The influence of a coach is enormous! If you are a coach, remember how many sets of eyes are watching you next time that you step onto the field with your team and how many lives that you can affect by the example that you set.