I have coached youth sports for more years than I care to admit. Before I had kids, I coached lacrosse in Baltimore. When I had kids I coached kids in soccer and lacrosse. When I moved to Western PA, I coached soccer for my kids. After my kids were grown, I helped the Y start a lacrosse program by coaching.
I never played soccer and certainly never coached it. I did it because I loved sports and believed that playing team sports can impact kids in many ways. My goal was never to produce a D1 athlete. I focused on fundamentals and team play. I wanted the kids to have fun, but the fun was from playing and working on the game.
I was famous for saying the two best days of the season was the first practice and the last game.
In Baltimore I had the pleasure of coaching two kids who were the exact age of my two oldest boys. God gifted those two kids tremendous athletic ability. I coached them, my guess from 91-97, till I moved to Western PA. Yesterday my wife read me what the youngest kid posted on Facebook.
Unfortunately, the older brother lost the fight on the streets of Baltimore about two years ago. One of the saddest days of my life and still hurts my heart anytime I think of him. (Man, I hate the leadership in that city since the day of William Donald Shaffer)
Long story short, if you coach or think you might want too but are afraid to commit, read below. I would often think was it worth it. Am I benefiting these kids? I am not a great athlete nor a tactician of the game.
RIP EJ. Congratulations Tevin on your journey and the man you have become. I love and miss your whole family.
The Facebook post;
Soccer Part I.
I had to reflect deeply on soccer after Ej died. The most interesting thing was I played soccer competitively for about 18 years and I didn't even like it that much. My favorite sport is Lacrosse. I didn't choose to play soccer…. I started playing soccer at the age of 2 because I was a child given options based on my parents'beliefs. Even if I said I wanted to play…. I know now, I had no clue what the **** I was talking about. My parents never once in my life forced me to play sports and I always enjoyed playing but to this day I don't understand WHY. I absolutely hate running and I didn't like speaking. Running and communication is all the game is. Skill is optional and there isn't a right or wrong way to play.
My indoctrination into playing soccer was all motivated by my older brother. At a young age, he was the example outlined in my subconscious of how I played the game. It's just a game I always thought. I didn't understand why he took it so serious. My experience of playing soccer competitively started at Rosedale Rec and ended with the U-20 New York Redbull Academy.
Just like that, you can lose passion for something you spent some much of your time in which meant nothing in so many ways. I lost the passion I never truly had for something that was given to me. To be honest I never really understood soccer until I stopped playing and learned about the art behind it “joga bonito” . The understanding of language is the understanding of how you perceive it but that doesn't good well with an angry soul that doesn't read well and speaks American English. I tried to kill everyone on the soccer field. I thought you had to hurt everyone and then make as many goals as possible and nobody ever stopped me. Nobody ever asked how I felt about soccer. When things become so normal you just do it. It's weird.
Its just a game. Find your way and be creative. There are so many skills you can learn about life doing anything. Soccer taught me so much. ❤️
Soccer Part II
I realized I only loved playing soccer because of the soccer community. I loved my teammates, coaches, the families that supported me, the friends I made, and the challenges it put me through. I understand now, it is about lessons from the experiences of playing each match which helped me in life. It was never about winning. I never cared about winning. All I cared about was the community that helped me when they knew we didn't have electricity, food, and water at home. The community knew we didn't have a car or enough gas money to get to the games. Friends and family looked after me because they cared about me. A community that allowed me to be creative in a skill called soccer. I was terrible in school and couldn't read well, so soccer was the only thing I was good at according to my view of society.
I mentally played a game for so long the wrong way. It was just a part of life and I didn't have the composure or emotional skills to carry on with it. The best thing about it is I lived the experiences and now I can enjoy the art the way I see it. It’s just life. You can be great at anything. Just depends on how much you want it and the humans that are around you.
The people around you make you who you are.
#soccercommunity#friends#family#internationalhealing
I never played soccer and certainly never coached it. I did it because I loved sports and believed that playing team sports can impact kids in many ways. My goal was never to produce a D1 athlete. I focused on fundamentals and team play. I wanted the kids to have fun, but the fun was from playing and working on the game.
I was famous for saying the two best days of the season was the first practice and the last game.
In Baltimore I had the pleasure of coaching two kids who were the exact age of my two oldest boys. God gifted those two kids tremendous athletic ability. I coached them, my guess from 91-97, till I moved to Western PA. Yesterday my wife read me what the youngest kid posted on Facebook.
Unfortunately, the older brother lost the fight on the streets of Baltimore about two years ago. One of the saddest days of my life and still hurts my heart anytime I think of him. (Man, I hate the leadership in that city since the day of William Donald Shaffer)
Long story short, if you coach or think you might want too but are afraid to commit, read below. I would often think was it worth it. Am I benefiting these kids? I am not a great athlete nor a tactician of the game.
RIP EJ. Congratulations Tevin on your journey and the man you have become. I love and miss your whole family.
The Facebook post;
Soccer Part I.
I had to reflect deeply on soccer after Ej died. The most interesting thing was I played soccer competitively for about 18 years and I didn't even like it that much. My favorite sport is Lacrosse. I didn't choose to play soccer…. I started playing soccer at the age of 2 because I was a child given options based on my parents'beliefs. Even if I said I wanted to play…. I know now, I had no clue what the **** I was talking about. My parents never once in my life forced me to play sports and I always enjoyed playing but to this day I don't understand WHY. I absolutely hate running and I didn't like speaking. Running and communication is all the game is. Skill is optional and there isn't a right or wrong way to play.
My indoctrination into playing soccer was all motivated by my older brother. At a young age, he was the example outlined in my subconscious of how I played the game. It's just a game I always thought. I didn't understand why he took it so serious. My experience of playing soccer competitively started at Rosedale Rec and ended with the U-20 New York Redbull Academy.
Just like that, you can lose passion for something you spent some much of your time in which meant nothing in so many ways. I lost the passion I never truly had for something that was given to me. To be honest I never really understood soccer until I stopped playing and learned about the art behind it “joga bonito” . The understanding of language is the understanding of how you perceive it but that doesn't good well with an angry soul that doesn't read well and speaks American English. I tried to kill everyone on the soccer field. I thought you had to hurt everyone and then make as many goals as possible and nobody ever stopped me. Nobody ever asked how I felt about soccer. When things become so normal you just do it. It's weird.
Its just a game. Find your way and be creative. There are so many skills you can learn about life doing anything. Soccer taught me so much. ❤️
Soccer Part II
I realized I only loved playing soccer because of the soccer community. I loved my teammates, coaches, the families that supported me, the friends I made, and the challenges it put me through. I understand now, it is about lessons from the experiences of playing each match which helped me in life. It was never about winning. I never cared about winning. All I cared about was the community that helped me when they knew we didn't have electricity, food, and water at home. The community knew we didn't have a car or enough gas money to get to the games. Friends and family looked after me because they cared about me. A community that allowed me to be creative in a skill called soccer. I was terrible in school and couldn't read well, so soccer was the only thing I was good at according to my view of society.
I mentally played a game for so long the wrong way. It was just a part of life and I didn't have the composure or emotional skills to carry on with it. The best thing about it is I lived the experiences and now I can enjoy the art the way I see it. It’s just life. You can be great at anything. Just depends on how much you want it and the humans that are around you.
The people around you make you who you are.
#soccercommunity#friends#family#internationalhealing
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