Not adults who simply enjoy the titles.
“Kids need Mentors.
Not a guy who feeds them cliche advice.
Kids need Leaders.
Not people they are forced to comply with.
Kids need Coaches.
Not a person they call coach.
Many adults love the titles, but few love the consistent actions their titles’ definitions call for.”
-Ray Zingler on Twitter
I am who I am and who I am growing into because of Mentors, Leaders, and Coaches who poured and continue to pour into me.
I am also not who I am and not who I am growing into because of people who were titled mentors, leaders, and coaches in my life, but weren’t worth a lick of salt when it came to living the verb aspect of their titled noun.
There are a lot of adults out there who are in important titled positions for good reasons. (Cherish those people.)
There are also a lot of adults out there who are in important titled position because of politics, tenure, and administrative convenience.
And that to me is nonsense.
It’s not about “who has done it the longest” it’s about “who does it the best.”
We seem to understand this concept in all realms of life except for the ones where our highly impressionable children are involved.
We want the best design company to renovate our kitchen, but leave Coach Billy on as the <insert sport> coach who hasn’t had a winning season in years & is destroying the culture because he’s a “good guy”?
I mean how does that make any sense? Yet, situations like that are excepted everywhere in America because “he’s close to pension.” Give me a break. That’s not how the real world works.
Our kids need Real mentors. Real leaders. Real Coaches.
They need qualified people who take their jobs seriously, not some of the time, but all the time.
I swear it’s like some of these people get “so busy” they “forget” that the job they SIGNED UP for is ALL ABOUT THE KIDS.
It’s not about what else you have going on. If you’re doing too much and can’t adequately serve the kids, remove yourself from the obligation. Don’t just hang on because you have low levels of accountability from superiors.
If you’re going to devote your life to the betterment of our youth. Devote it to them. All the way in, all the time.
If not, go to work pushing papers, don’t steal from them because you can get away with it.
It’s a “job” to most.
But it’s their lives that are at stake.
Serve them right or get out of their way.
