Youth Coaching
Dan Parsons had the greatest impact on my Youth Coaching career.
Bar none.
Of all the wonderful Coaches I have had the sincere pleasure
of meeting and working with over the years, he, by far and
away, is the one that stands out to me.
I was 22.
Young and very ambitious.
Dan was a seasoned veteran and had worked with literally
hundreds of young athletes through his career.
And wow… what a role model he became to me.
He taught me about the scientific concepts of long-term
athlete development.
He showed me how to communicate with young athletes of
varying personalities and skill levels.
He explained to me the ART behind the SCIENCE of strength
and conditioning.
He put me in difficult youth coaching situations, gave me just enough
rope to hang myself and then demonstrated how to do it
right.
I worked with Dan for three full years.
And to this day, it stands as the greatest learning experience
I ever had.
You’ve never heard of Dan Parsons.
Some of the greatest Coaches on this planet are men and
women that none of us have ever heard of.
They don’t write books.
They don’t make presentations.
They don’t have websites.
They don’t promote themselves.
They just Coach.
And like me, I’ll bet you’ve been affected by someone no
one else has ever heard of.
So, to kick off 2010, I want to pay tribute to the ‘Dan Parsons’
of the youth coaching and training world.
I want you to write a three point tribute to the one Coach who
had the greatest impact on you.
Include these three factors:
1) Who are they?
2) Where did you work with them?
3) What was the most valuable lesson they taught you?
I’ll start…
1) Dan Parsons
2) Sport Science Track & Field Club – Toronto, Canada
3) How to see the ART behind the SCIENCE
Be as descriptive as you want.
Let the 2010 tributes begin…
– Brian
As an athlete:
SiFu Phil Young
Shaolin Gong Fu, Hampton, VA
taught me to see the value of technique and understanding in movement
helped me find the belief that I could be powerful
As a teacher:
Suzy Celentano
Pilates / Mind Body Workshop, Northern Virginia
taught me even more about the beauty in and behind movement
1) Floyd Strain
2) Leland High School, San Jose, CA Track and Field Coach ’77/78
3) Ability absent Desire will yield inferior results. You’ve got to want it.
Don Hutton
High School Ice Hockey Coach
Though he never knew how to skate, he taught me that you can overcome any obstacle you are willing to put your mind to and adapt to any situation. Positive reinforcement is a key to MAKE success.
1. Kal Greenburger
2. Football, off-season training
3. During the dark ages of training (the 70’s) when preseason football training consisted of 2 or 3 weeks of “weight lifting”, Coach Greenburger and I worked out after school throughout the year. At some point Coach Greenburger started calling me Mr. (last name withheld). That one simple little thing taught me to find a way to let your athletes know how much you respect and appreciate their efforts. It may last a lifetime for them, it did for me.
Coach: Dave Walker
Where: Waimea High School Track Coach, Kauai, Hawaii
Why: He trained me to sprint faster… when I was in high school in 1986 and now I coach and help kids sprint faster… I think he was an olympic athlete in the days… He still runs fast!
1) Fran Willett
2) High school golf team
3) Learned the importance of having a passion for competing, putting it all out there on the field in practice as well as meets.
1) John Porazin
2) Golf teaching pro
3) For teaching the importance of being to see/visualize success and where you want to/are capable of going in your sport.
1) Wanda Flora
2) University of Connecticut, Goalkeeping coach
3) Taught me self-restraint and patience.
Frustrated in practice after getting scored on, I once threw my stick in disgust.
She calmly walked up to me and said, “If you ever behave that way again, you
will no longer be a member of this team.”
It was all she needed to say….never happened again.
Dave Miller Head Boys CC & Track coach 30+ years
Genoa Area HS Genoa, Ohio
Taught me and many others many things. probably what stands out the most is his value for work ethic. I try to instill that in the kids that I coach.
1) B.J. Baker
2) Train Boston
1) B.J. Baker
2) Train Boston
3) That being a coach comes with the opportunity to make an impact in the lives you touch way beyond the training room. He said “If I was coaching and one of my peers or mentors was outside the training room, looking though a window, would they be pleased with what they wintessed…B.J. honors our craft and those who have shared their knowledge with him.
1. Mel Brown
2. High School Baseball coach Nashville, Tennessee
3. Hard work, determination, and attention to detail are the keys to success. Also champions don’t always win on the score board, but they overcome in spite of any obstacles placed in front of them.
I worked with a track at Sidwell Friends name Jeff Gold. Jeff taught me how to apply plyometrics to sport training. I was 45 at the time , and I had not able to dunk since 42. He put me through a series of plyometric drill and in six weeks I was dunking with two hands easier than I could ever remember. Jeff is now coaching at Georgetown Prep in MD.
Max Heiman,he was my Phys Ed teacher and Rugby coach,he taught me the value of applying myself mentally as well as physically,that nothing was unreachable,that”I can’t do it.”was not an option.In retrospect,i suppose,he gave me some good life lessons,although we parted with some bad blood,he was a excellent coach.
1. Steve Chamko
2. Track and Field Coach – Sandwich Secondary LaSalle Ontario
3. His strong belief in me from the moment we met gave me incredible confidence and he also inspired me to go into teaching and coaching myself.
1. Greg Glassman
2. Crossfit.com
3. It’s all about intensity and intervals, varied GPP and most of all – hard facts and DATA. In spite of all of the envious naysayers, at 42 years old (10 of them as a Marine) I’m in the best shape of my life and doing things that I’d never even dreamed possible 20 years ago.
1. Lee Rittenmeyer
2. Varsity Basketball (High School)
3. He taught me to work hard from start to finish, no matter what. If you didn’t, you were going to sit the bench. So, Team work, and hard work, got you where you wanted to be. I have always carried that with me, and use it in life! God Bless You, Ritt! We miss you 🙂
1) Ralph Silva
2) Baseball coach from little league to high school, claremont NH. he actually coached Carlton Fisk back in the day
3) Patience, hard work, don’t stop fighting for what you want
1. latif thomas
2. athletes acceleration
3. periodization (programdesignforsprinters) (completespeedtraining)
Funny you bring this up. After the inaugural IYCA Summit where we touched on the coache(s) that we remembered for the good that they did as well as the coaches that we disliked. I came home, typed up a letter to my old little league baseball coach and told him how much I appreciate everything he had done for me. I mentioned my career choice as I hoped to leave an impression or two along the way just as he did for me.
Bill Puffer
Little League Baseball Coach, HS mentor
Belief
Coach: Dave Walker
Where: Waimea High School Track Coach, Kauai, Hawaii
Why: He trained me to run faster and stronger… when I was in my senior year of high school in 1976. I ran for 30 years becuse of Dave. I think he was an olympic athlete in the days and he was a Firemen in the town of Waimea.