Children and Sports

This year I decided to help coach my son's basketball team. Probably not a big deal to many as there are so many who give their time as volunteer coaches. But making the decision to coach got me thinking about my own sports background and how it influenced my life not only as a child but as an adult.
Being Canadian, you would expect that I played hockey from an early age. But that isn't the case. I remember pestering both my parents to sign me up for hockey but they always claimed it was too expensive.
My first organized team sport was not hockey, but soccer when I was about 12. It was great. The man who volunteered to be coach was terrific. He was always very positive and encouraging. Sure he wanted to win, but he never lost sight of the fact that he was there for the children and not the other way around. I think some coaches can lose sight of that.
So my goals (more like guidelines really) are to keep the kids' fun level way up. Hopefully, along the way they will learn a few basketball fundamentals. But more importantly, I am hoping they learn some life fundamentals. Things like the importance of trying your best, whether you win or lose; showing good sportsmanship and respect for others (players and the officials); and the enjoyment of participating in a physical activity.