We live in a country where 20 million youngsters participate in youth leagues and the coaches play a major role in teaching important values to our children, such as teamwork, practice, handling and learning from mistakes, developing confidence and winning and losing gracefully. In a community as diverse as Pittsburgh, sports provide a needed social glue for young players. It's so nice to know that Highmark and the local hospitals in western Pennsylvania recognize that local youth coaches are essential to their communities, yet they might not always have the important recourses they need in facing many of the challenges that come with coaching young children. The Coaches' Camp helped the coaches learn to deal with angry parents and to understand that we reveal our true selves through sports. Like it or not, our children are watching us, looking to us as role models of good sportsmanship.
Most parents are conscientious about their parenting role.
As adults, we tend to think in terms of end products. Children see things as a process. When children come off the field, they're talking about their snack or uniforms. Children just want to have fun. Children know how to laugh and play.