Thank you Coach Sacco.

The first year I was eligible to go out for middle school basketball, I choose not to because I didn’t think I was good enough. The next year I went out for the team, only to get cut. I never tried out for the basketball team again.

Later, after my freshman football season, my football coach (Coach Sacco) asked me to join the tennis team. I had never held a tennis racquet in my life but Coach Sacco told me that didn’t matter. He just cared that I worked hard to improve and be a good teammate.

To say I was awful my freshman year is an understatement. Our team did not win a single match and I was a big reason why. I went 0 for however many matches I played and was easily our worst player. Coach Sacco could have easily “cut” me from the team going into my sophomore year; it would have been a lot less of time and energy from his standpoint, but he stuck by me and continued to invest in me. Fast forward to my senior year and our team went undefeated and I (along with my doubles partner) finished 2nd overall in the entire conference.

I am not saying that if my 8th grade basketball coach didn’t cut me, I would have went on to become a basketball star, however my next door neighbor was the head varsity basketball coach. His son was my best friend, and I grew up going to basketball camp every summer. I wasn’t the most talented player, but I was considered a “try hard guy” and an overall “good kid”, earning well-respected grades (high school cum GPA was a 3.8) and even went on to be the captain of the football team. Trying to take the emotion out of it, as someone who has studied coaching and has coached for a number of years, “what was the point in cutting me?”

Had I been kept on the 8th grade basketball team would I have cost others the chance of winning an 8th grade title? Doubtful. Would I have worked hard as a scout team player for the next 5 seasons? Likely. I’m not sure what basketball coach wouldn’t want the captain of the football team (assuming he can run up and down the floor) on his practice squad, making the varsity players petter.

The reason the basketball coach cut me is he was focused on winning an 8th grade title and keeping me wasn’t necessary. If you are fortunate enough to serve as a youth coach, remember while you should strive to win, the more important job is to teach the fundamentals of the game and keep players coming back the next season! You cannot do either if you cut a kid loose. Thank you coach Sacco for taking a long-term developmental approach to coaching!

Coach Nelson holds a doctorate in sport and performance psychology and currently serves as a high school football coach, trainer for the positive coaching alliance (PCA) and adjunct faculty member at Grand Canyon University. He has worked for multiple professional sport franchises, a Fortune 100 Company, a division 1 athletic departments and has won numerous awards for his LEADership abilities.

His mission is to positively influence the world through Love, Effort, Attitude and Discipline (#LEAD). To learn more about the LEAD philosophy follow him on Twitter Levi Nelson or reach out via email at rlnelson1@gbaps.org. He’d love to learn about or help you in your journey!