Volunteer coaching and your work schedule
As kids get older, there are more and more activities for them to do. Many kids play sports in either recreational leagues or at school, and, nearly all teams are made possible by volunteer coaches such as parents.
But, according to sports leagues, it’s getting harder and harder to get parents to volunteer, and, speculation is that one reason is more people are working parents, and, it’s hard to fit coaching a team into an already busy schedule.
Even though it’s easy to blame working parents for the lack of volunteers, I think another large factor may be that potential volunteers don’t feel like they have the proper coaching skills demanded by other parents, and, it’s easier to blame a busy schedule that it is to say you can’t volunteer because you don’t know how to coach.
My husband has coached a number of school sports teams, and, sometimes it’s tough, but, it can be done with some creativity when you work. Sometimes, you have to hold practice later than you’d like, and, it can make for some crazy days rushing to practice from your job, but, you don’t always have to rule out coaching a child’s team just because you work.
But, there are also people who over extend themselves, and, find out they can’t make the coaching commitment until after they’ve already signed up, so, it’s important to make a realistic assessment of your schedule.
What about you? Are you a coach? How do you make it work with your job?
Tags: Career and Kids, coaching-kids-teams, New-Jersey-Star-Ledger, work-schedule, Working-ParentsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Schedules, Work and Life
1 opinion for Volunteer coaching and your work schedule
JayMonster
Oct 8, 2007 at 9:56 am
I actually feel completely opposite of you on this, and I believe it is the current work situation in this country and not the lack of coaching skills that is the problem.
There are plenty of parents (I would say mostly men, but not entirely) that are competitive enough (this is the reason I say men… women I know that are coaches do it for the kids, yes the men do it for the kids too, but there is that added competitive nature) that they would love to show off how good a team could be if they were coaching the kids.
However, the workplace has changed. The term “Bankers Hours” used to apply to all “White collar” jobs. You knew when you day began and when it ended. People were “usually” home at the same time every night (often by 5 PM), and you could get some sort of routine that could be started before it was “too late.”
Now jobs are far less consistent in that many people have to put in more hours, work later or travel more than in the past.
I know myself, I had always sworn I would be a coach of a sport or two to help teach kids to learn the sports I loved. But I don’t have a consistant schedule and neither does my wife. Add to that, the fact that we have to deal with more homework from my daughter in second grade than I remember us having at any time in grammar school, and suddenly all you can ask it, “Where does the time go?” How can I fit in time to coach a practice or two a week plus a game, when I don’t seem to have enough time now?
I will also lay a bit of the blame on something else. Trust. Not of your kids, but of the world around us. By the time I was about 10 and actually earlier, depending on which field I had practice at, I was getting myself to and from most practices (and some games) myself. Today, parents are shuttling their children to and from each and every activity… another big chunk taken out of the available time.
So honestly, I don’t think it is really about people hiding behind the lack of time excuse. I just think there is only so many ways you can slice your time.
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