This upcoming city flag football season will mark the first in at least three years that I did not coach. I’ve heard a lot about the upcoming season, namely about the conniving and hustling going on between coaches trying to recruit star players to their team. There were under 45,000 people in my town as of last year’s census numbers. Given the small population, the idea of stacking a flag football team in order to defeat the handful of other kids who actually have talent is stupid. I’m surprised it took so long for me to get to that realization.
This is really about the coaches and the families and the parents who want to see their kids be superstars vs. see them grow and develop. When I coached I worked to create a system that put the players in the best position to succeed. I liked the challenge of facing these so-called superstar teams and got an ego thrill from beating them, but coaching wasn’t about that. For me coaching was about being there for and being involved with my kids and their friends in their element. I still coach for those reasons, but I also have become more intrinsically aware of the growth aspect and understanding what these kids are working towards. Playing the city league can be fun and the practices can be an important learning tool, but it can’t be the end all. You can’t treat it like the Super Bowl.
Can you believe at one point I did? I sure cannot.