And spotting the difference between the two is insanely simple.
“A real coach cares about your total well being not only as an athlete, but as a person.
Mentally, physically, & emotionally.
Their advice will be you-centric.
A person called coach will care about what you as an athlete can do for them.
Their advice will be me-centric.”
-Ray Zingler on X
Nice guys will say the right things when potential to earn more money is on the line.
But not all nice guys have good intentions.
The fastest way to clean up the broken landscape that is our current youth sports model would be to take the money out of it.
When you take away the charlatans’ incentive to road ride your kids into the ground with the abundance we see today, they have no reason to act in the irrational manner they do.
If you’re paying, they’re pushing.
But as we know, the money in youth sports isn’t going anywhere but up.
So how do we fix it when the wolves in sheep’s clothing will continue to prey upon the naive?
Heaping volumes of maturity and integrity.
It’s crazy that it has to be said, but it does.
It’s going to take coaches forgoing short cash off the backs of kids and instead, feeding them sound advice over their own financially motivated recommendations.
Do they need the extra lesson? Or do you want the extra $100?
Obviously not every adult is going to have the character and discipline to do this, but if enough of the good guys do, we can start to push the pendulum in the opposite (correct) direction.
It’s sad, but we’re here.
And we need coaches who are actually coaches to start putting their feet in the ground and preaching to kids the importance of rest, balance, taking time off, focusing on their physical preparation, mental health, emotional readiness, & etc.
It’s laughable to me that when writing this stuff and reading these words out loud that they are counter culture in today’s world, when the words above are not my opinion, but concrete fact.
The real coaches know & preach this.
They’ll let a couple grand sit on the table, while the short cash chasers continue to preach more more more..
But take emotion out for a second.
Ask yourself, does this coach want what’s best for my kid?
Or does this “coach” want what’s best for himself?
It’s so painfully easy to tell the Pro’s from Joe’s in this game, but it’s critically important we not only make the distinction, but then steer clear of the Joe’s.
If we all do our part, those who lack integrity in youth sports lose their leverage & power.
