Fall Youth Sports: Reflections From a Dubuque County Volunteer Coach

For the last 10 odd years, I have helped coach youth soccer in Cascade, Iowa. It can be a thankless job; contacting parents, planning practices and drills, keeping schedules in line for the season and tournament, plus any last-minute changes, injuries, or absences. Sure, it is a lot, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy all the time spent with the kids, some who I've coached for all their competitive years in soccer.

I think that's what we're missing so much of when it comes to youth sports these days: good volunteers. People who can bring knowledge of the game and great support for kids in the sports they so love and want to learn. We were all young once; my dad probably rubbed off on me a lot more than I let on. He volunteered to coach all through peewee baseball. He was there again coaching when I started in Monticello's little panther wrestling. I guess that's probably a big part of the reason I see value in doing it today for my kids and few others as well.

Get our free mobile app

This year was especially enjoyable for me. My twins are now 5th graders. Their friends along with them are all hitting that fun age where very short and quite tall mix and mingle. Where teenagers are beginning to bloom and maturity is mixed with the odd fart joke or burp. Where the phrase "6, 7" has become the bane of my existence (don't worry it will be something new next year). Needless to say, it's a fun age. Even better my kids managed to learn a great deal this year and finished strong by winning the 5/6th grade silver bracket in Dyersville.

In a short number of years these kids will be on my high school club team, where things accelerate into a much more competitive category. By the way, my high school team from Cascade performed phenomenally this year. They were winning the championship game 1-0 when lightening ended the match and their season. I enjoy working with both skill levels; but mostly, I hope I've instilled some good values for life, as well as good mechanics on the field in these kids. My wife goes a long way in that regard as she has helped coach over the last few years and sees many of these kids daily while working at the elementary school.

So here are my thoughts, first to the kids. That's any and all kids. Keep challenging yourself. Listen to the coaches and volunteers that work with you. They only want to see you succeed and grow. They remember being right where you are now. A lot of those people probably wish they would have taken the sport a little more seriously, and some just want to pass all the fun they had playing it on to you. Take both those types of coaches and run with what you can learn from them. Then keep at it. You're only ever as good as the time you spend honing your skills.

Secondly to the volunteers and adults helping: keep doing it. We have such a shortage of good people taking an active roll in building up our area youth. So, what if you don't know everything about a sport. Sometimes just being there and being responsible can let kids find their own moment to learn and build on fundamentals. Besides, I bet you could learn the rules pretty fast and pass that along to the kids at the least. Additionally, if you DO have some knowledge for a specific sport, I would encourage you to serve there. Who knows, you may help mold the next Collin Rea, Marshall Yonda, or Shawn Johnson. Life's crazy in that way.

In closing, I look forward to my next several years in Cascade's tight knit sports community, among the many other areas of our kids' lives that I'm involved in. You may see me drumming at Cornerstone Church, Cascade's Vocal Affinity, or with the high school band, maybe I'll be serving up some burgers at the high school concession stand, or sitting next to you cheering on your kids during the big game. Either way, say hi and then get yourself involved. You won't regret it and the kids will have one more support pillar as they grow up.