A Coach’s #1 Job in Youth Sports

There’s no doubt about it. Coaches feel the pressure to win. Whether that is felt from parents, league leaders, school administrators or coaching peers, the unspoken and the spoken implications are that winning is a priority.

As a coach’s wife for 31 years, I will be the first to admit that winning is fun and the reason we engage in any competition. And yes, winning is the goal in youth sports, but it should not be the number one priority of youth sports coaches.

Neither is it the coach’s number #1 priority to please parents, showcase players, or advance their own personal agendas. 

A youth sports coach’s number one job is to develop players and leaders. 

My husband had a hard football season last year and faces the possibility of another one this fall. He hates to lose, and I hate to watch him lose. But once he is over the pain of a lopsided scoreboard, he remembers that the best thing he can do for these kids is to teach them how to work hard, how to be leaders, and how to work together with teammates.