Parent Profile

PARENT PROFILE BJ Hamilton

BJ Hamilton is father to three and spends his extra time coaching youth football. His Owensboro Daviess County Youth Football League Team was undefeated in the regular rookie season and won the 2021 championship and his 8U Allstar team with ODCYFL won the KY Cup Championship at Waymond Morris in 2021.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.

I am currently engaged to marry my best friend, Whitney, who is a blessing, especially during my busy football seasons. I have two sons Aiden (11) and Asher (7) along with my soon-to-be stepdaughter, Caidence (13). I work full-time in hospitality management, currently at the DoubleTree by Hilton Evansville as the Assistant General Manager and I consult at Wendell Foster for their Transportation Department as needed.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO COACH?

I started coaching football when my oldest son was 4 years old. There are several great coaches in this area and like a lot of them, but I had trust issues allowing other people to teach my son proper tackling technique and fundamentals. Let’s face it, contact football is fun, but dangerous. I’ve seen kids hurt in the past due to lack of knowledge on their part, which in turn, is on their coach. Initially, I had only intended to coach a couple years and give it up to be a parent in the stands. Now, seven years later, I couldn’t imagine not being on the field and instilling the love of this game into Owensboro’s youth.

WHAT VALUES DO YOU INSTILL IN YOUR PLAYERS?

FUN! At this age, there are many important values that need to be instilled in players to prepare them for the next level of sports that they will be competing in. At the age group I coach (7-8 years old), having fun should be at the top of that list. I’m not always the easiest coach to play for, several times a year I stop to remind myself that these kids need to have fun. (Many of my parents will not disagree with that statement.) I demand effort, discipline and drive from my players that 90% of them have never experienced at their age. I require that they work as a team, everyone has a job to do and they will not be successful if they do not do their individual jobs. They win and lose as a team. If one player fails or has a negative attitude that reflects on every one of them. It looks great when a running back scores a touchdown and fans love to cheer when it happens. What they do not see, are the efforts in place by all the other players to make that touchdown possible. Football instills values that I believe will last children a lifetime. It teaches them self-discipline, sportsmanship, teamwork, resilience, leadership and most importantly a sense of self-worth.

WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY OF CHILDREN COMPETING IN SPORTS?

Sports help children grow emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually. There are more important aspects in sports than winning games. Children should learn to love the sports they play, and have a great time doing it. Everyone loves to win. Losing is hard. I’m a firm believer that my kids will learn more from one loss than they will in 10 wins. Character isn’t built from just winning games, it’s built when a child takes a loss and learns from it, they overcome it and want to better themselves and their teammates because of it.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR PARENTS WITH KIDS IN SPORTS?

Enjoy watching them, one day they will no longer play and you’ll miss the days when you were in the stands—rain or shine—yelling out for your baby. Let your children have fun. They are not in the NFL, MLB, NBA or MLS. Children are here to learn the fundamentals of the sports they are competing in. The likelihood of them playing professional is slim to none, so allow them to enjoy it. Allow your children to be coachable, even if that means you need to step back and allow the coaches to do what they love to do—COACH. Most of all, tell them how good they are doing and don’t dwell on a play they didn’t do well in. They are aware of their mistake and hard on themselves about it enough. At the end of the day, your children just want to make you proud, so let them know that you are! OP