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Youth coaching techniques learned for life
(by Steve Novak - April 07, 2010)
Youth coaching techniques learned for life
By STEVE NOVAK
Late last month, John Callahan stood before parents and coaches in Solon who had come to hear him talk about two subjects of mutual interest -- coaching and parenting.
It didn't take long for Callahan to get the full attention of the audience. He told the assembled about the first time he volunteered to help coach his son's municipal football league team. In no time at all, he saw he had used sarcasm as a coaching method.
"I knew what I was saying was wrong," he said. "Kids want to be noticed. They're looking for a coach's approval. They need that approval. But we also have the power to leave an emotional scar."
Callahan speaks on behalf of a group called Coaching 4 Life. With an office in Twinsburg, Coaching 4 Life is a nationwide organization aimed at character development of coaches and players.
Callahan said his group deals with professional, college, high school and volunteer coaches. However, he said a lot of his work involves people who coach at municipal levels in youth leagues.
"All youth coaches are volunteers. Often, they have no background in coaching," he said. "We want to give them some tools to work with. We want to give them a game plan, a road map."
During his appearance at the Solon Recreation Center, Callahan gave the appearance of a coach giving a halftime talk to his team. He told the group his primary aims, but then he called on members of the audience for their opinions.
Callahan went around the room asking the audience:" What qualities make a good coach?" Their answers ranged from "understanding" to "winning" to "motivation."
None of the answers was wrong, Callahan told them. However, he then added his assessment. The game, he said, ultimately belongs to the youngsters.
"I want the kids to please themselves," he said. "That's what I want to instill in them. I want to show the joy of just playing sports."
Callahan, 44, of Hudson, has done youth coaching for more than 10 years. He has been affiliated with Coaching 4 Life for nearly five years. He said more than 600 coaches across the country have taken part in the program.
The biggest thing about Coaching 4 Life, Callahan said, is that it is an expanding network for coaches to exchange ideas through e-mails, newsletters and video chats.
Hudson resident Ron Bachman was one of the people attending Callahan's presentation at Solon. He said he had heard Callahan speak before, but he returned again for a "refresher" course.
"A lot of coaches coach for the wrong reasons. They coach for themselves, not for the boys and the girls," Bachman said. "John (Callahan) is different. When you hear him speak, you see his passion. He talks about when you coach ... and have an effect on even just one of the kids."
Callahan said that he wants to keep improving as a coach as he continues to work with youth groups. This is part of his message as he speaks to newcomers to his technique.
"If you say the wrong thing, you can see the life drain out of a kid," he said. "You wish that you had a rubber band to take your words back. I want to have less regrets as I keep on coaching."
As for a measure of success in this wish, Callahan told about something one of his sons told him more than a year after his first season as a volunteer coach was completed.
"One year later my son said to me, 'Dad, you haven't apologized to me once this year,'" he said.
Callahan is scheduled to give another presentation at 6:30 p.m. today (April 8) at the Solon Recreation Center on Portz Parkway. The program is open to everyone.
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