I am the coach of my son’s under-11 basketball team.  This is the third season with the same group of boys and the progression of the team and the players has been fun and rewarding for all involved. 

As a novice, I approached coaching with initial trepidation, as I imagine most parents would.  I remember asking some of my mates and those who had done a little coaching how I should run sessions (like, session 1!) and act on game day - should I split time evenly; what type of focus should we have on winning v participation - but once the dust settled, we quickly got into the swing of things after a few practices and games. 

It’s been great fun living out my basketball aspirations through my son and his friends rather than risking my own creaky old bones.  Coaching also helps develop my interpersonal and organisational skills – it’s always a good challenge relating to a bunch of 9 year-olds and keeping them focused and having fun, while at the same time getting them to train and play to the best of their abilities.

I highly recommend parents getting involved – it’s an easy commitment with an hour of practice and another hour for the game on the weekend (and I was on the sidelines in any case).  It made sense to combine practices between two or three teams and that way us coaches can work together and bring different training drills and ideas, support each other, and cover for the other coaches if they are unable to make it to training.  Others have seen how easy and fun it is and begin to offer to help at training as well as score at the game or even fill in as coach if I am unable to make it.

In this way I get the additional benefit of the social aspect of meeting and mixing with parents which fosters a sense of local community and participation, while at the same time I enjoy the responsibility of guiding and facilitating a healthy lifestyle in sport for their children.