I have been coaching in the farm league for 6 years in TFL Baseball and Flag Football. I have been head coach and assistant at times due to the travel nature of my Job. I was the head coach the Flag Football 6U Titans for two seasons, and head or assistant of the Baseball Owlz from 5U-10U. In those 6 years I had Farm League Champions, Runner Ups, and other as well as you know, and each year had a great time.
I think the most important thing as a coach is to teach both sports and life skills to help them grow as young men. When it comes to the sports skills you have to put in the preparation time to have planned practice with multiple drills to ensure each child has the opportunity to be involved and improve and not just stand around while one or two do the drills. It is important to have parents involved and good assistants to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of each player, and to focus on the skills they need to help each child get better, gain confidence, and learn to love and enjoy they sport they are playing. You will have kids of all different skill and playing levels on your team every year, and if every child gets better and learn to love that sport it is a win for everyone. Teaching the kids life lessons along with the importance of pushing themselves to be the best they can be, and have confidence in themselves they can do their part helps them become not just a better athlete but a better young man. You have to emphasize we win and lose as a team, and if we work hard together we will have a lot of fun winning as a team. Lastly, having the parents on the same page, and being supportive and aligned on what the focus of the season is as a team is a huge part of the success each year. The kids learn a ton by watching the behaviors of coaches and parents at the games as well, and when they see us act passionately, but appropriately at tense times in games they see the importance of the drive to compete and win, but not at all cost. In the end a lot of times we learn as much from the kids as they learn from us. Overall, I have been very fortunate to having dedicated and very supportive parents, and want to especially thank my parents that helped me coach because with them we could not accomplish what we did with the kids every year.
