Sideline Chatter: Hear From Mom + Dad, Vol 2

This summer’s CoachUp MVP Awards were such a smashing success that we wanted to bring you some of the other awesome tidbits that we received as well. We were pretty bummed at the time that we could only highlight the greatness of just a handful of our coaches, so we’re excited to give you an inside look at our leaders that didn’t get any shine way back in June. Although these sessions take place between the coach and the athlete, there’s no better person to ask about the progress than the parents themselves! Their ability to see their athlete grow, learn, and improve at the sports they love is so wonderful, so we couldn’t deprive you guys any longer. As always, we as a company live for these type of connections, so if you ever have an incredible story you want to share with us, feel free to send us an email at ben@coachup.com!

Brett Love — Glendale Heights, Illinois — Basketball \”Our athlete fell in love with the game of basketball fast and hard. He loved Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, LeBron James. In his progress, he decided that the first step was to make the local travel team, which starts in 4th grade, so we had some work to do. As our first meeting with Brett Love approached, Kal was a bit nervous, but equally excited. We had no idea what to expect because I simply found Brett on the internet. I watched from above the court as Kal met his new coach — Brett was wearing a Superman shirt and looked the part of a great basketball player. Kal was in love with his awesomeness paid full attention for an hour. Coach Love was hard working, funny, kind, smart, and really expected Kal to give his all. I even found myself tearing up as I watched. As a parent, it’s wonderful to see other adults provide inspiration for your kids. Kal not only improved greatly, but he also felt important. He was worth the time of this awesome, muscular, and cool basketball player. Everything Brett said had ten times the impact of what I would’ve said. We worked with him for many hours – all of them were worth the money and the drive. We love Brett Love. He is a blessing in our lives.\” Guy Cohen — Cincinnati, Ohio — Soccer \”Coach Derek defines going above and beyond. Before my son’s first session, Derek sent me a long message detailing what he should eat and drink to maximize his training and recovery. After the session, Derek did not just provide great feedback, he gave us a chart with diagrams, positives, techniques to work on, and even how to apply the trait of the session to life in general! Derek never makes us feel like he is watching the clock. He sticks with a session until he feels my son has what he needs. He is always available for questions and responds promptly. When Derek was unable to schedule a session before my son’s soccer tryout, he sent us a detailed message with tips for practicing beforehand, eating, water intake, and performance. Derek takes the time to sit with my son to talk about his goals. I feel like Derek is not just t concerned about developing a soccer player, he understands that he is helping develop a young man.\” Rich Harper — San Francisco, California — Track & Field \”I’ve seen many great coaches over the years, but from the moment I met Rich, I could tell he was different. He was so enthusiastic just to meet us and his positive energy and exuberance were contagious. He had my son run a couple of laps for warm up and pointed out his raw talent by saying things like: See how he raises his legs? That’s what I’m talking about! He can be a great hurdler! See that? See how his trail leg is angled better? That’s what I’m talking about! Coach Rich, Am I holding my shoulders right? Great question! I love it when he asks me questions! That shows he’s paying attention and thinking! And that trend of always finding the positive and seeing the potential in my son has never wavered. He even motivates me as a parent by appreciating my interest in my son’s work at learning hurdles and by sharing my observations about his performance and attitude. But, all this enthusiasm isn’t a substitute for pushing my son to do things a little better and a little faster each time. Thanks to Rich, he is pushing himself to excel and has set goals to reach by the time he finishes high school. Thanks, Rich, for all that you do! And thanks CoachUp for letting us find Rich!\”

Simply put, CoachUp wouldn’t exist without our awesome coaches — those who put in the extra effort, work, and time to make sure that their athletes aren’t just improving at their sports, but in their lives as well. For any coaches that read this blog post, consider taking some of these great traits to your own training sessions, so you can improve your coaching and the lives of the athletes around you! Our coaches strive to instill confidence and joy in everything they do, so thank you to those that won awards in June, those that are featured here, and especially to those that continue to grind without getting special recognition. You help make this company tick — so thank you, thank you, thank you a million times over!