GROWING THE COACHING PROFESSION BY SHANE MESSER - SA O'CONNOR HS

growing the coaching profession

By shane messer

san antonio o'connor hs & thsca r.o.c.k. program mentor

Since I was young, I thought I wanted to be a coach. As a young boy, I played in different sport leagues like Little League and Pop Warner. Every one of my coaches from those teams made me realize this. And because my father was not around, these coaches were the male role models I wanted to emulate. It was not until I got into high school, however, that I knew for sure that I wanted to be a football coach and that was because of my high school coaches.

My high school football coaches were who I looked up to and who I wanted to become. I saw them with their families at games or practices. I saw them coming to school early and staying later after games. I saw them not caring about winning or losing but truly caring on the type of man I would become after high school. I saw them take kids aside, not to yell at them for messing up on a play, but explain to them how to handle different situations when things were not going well. But most importantly, I saw them as they taught me, and everyone else on the football team, how to become better men so that one day we would become better husbands and fathers. As a result, they made me know that I also wanted to be a role model for young athletes who, like me and others, might not have a father figure in the house.

When I got my first coaching job at a middle school in San Antonio, I knew that this was my dream job. I woke up every morning excited to make the 30 minute drive to work to help these young men become the best version of themselves not only on the football field but in life. Someone once told me that "if you love your job then you never have to work a day in your life." I truly believed that and took pride in that saying everyday I woke up.

The next year I took a high school job. My goal remained the same, but now there was less time to impact lives. I knew it was that much more important to be a role model for these young men since they did not have long until they would be in the real world and own their own. During this stretch, kids would ask me about being a coach and what it took to become a coach. I would have these conversations with them and could see they also knew what they wanted to do, at a young age, just like me.

As I have gotten older, I have seen former players join the coaching profession. I have also been a mentor in the R.O.C.K Mentoring Program and helped young coaches stay and strive in this profession. The R.O.C.K Mentoring Program is one of the best in the nation at making sure our

young coaches stay in the profession but it is not the only way we need to make sure the coaching profession keeps growing.

In addition to the R.O.C.K Mentoring Program, we need to ask our kids what they want to do when they graduate and help them achieve that goal. We need to make sure that if they are interested in coaching, that after graduation we will still be there to help them and guide them while they are in college. Plus, we need to show them the great things that this profession offers. If we don't, our profession is in trouble

Our profession needs new coaches. Every level is experiencing this shortage and some schools are leaving vacancies unfilled. As I mentioned, the more support these kids get from us while they are in high school, the better chance we have to hire qualified, young coaches out of college. We must create and recruit new coaches, now! We cannot wait or sit idly bye, for some of the best coaches I have worked with are new to the profession. They have a different view on some things and can connect with the younger generations with commonality. They can give us a different perspective on things we have always done and provide insurance that WE will go on.

Remember why you and I got into this profession - to change lives. Again, to keep us growing, we must mentor young men and women while they are in high school to want to be a part of this profession. We must also mentor young men and women who are new to the profession and help them along the way. Be a great mentor to younger coaches, whether you have been coaching for 3 years or 30 years. It is a calling and a duty! Coaching is the best job in the world and the more great coaches we have, the better the role models will be for the young adults.