Photo Credit: NAYS
It was a random conversation among many that Rance Gaede had that day.
But this particular exchange was incredibly significant, as it was a powerful reminder of the mega-important role volunteer coaches play in kids’ lives.
“I recently had a conversation with one of the participants of our adult-coed softball program,” recalls Gaede, the Athletic Supervisor for the City of Tamarac (Fla.) and a Certified Youth Sports Administrator (CYSA). “He was watching the game preceding the one in which he would play, and pointed out all of the players that he had coached when they were kids. You could tell by the way he talked about each of them that he was proud of who they had become. It puts a smile on my face because it really drives home the importance of working with our volunteer coaches every day. They have such an important role in our programs—so important that it warrants the time we spend providing them with training and support. Through them we create the experiences that children have in sports today, and it’s up to us to make sure those experiences are positive.”