There are a lot of people that can influence the lives of children. For 6-year-old Jayden, his football coach is one of those people.
A Coach That Is Making A Difference
Jayden is part of a flag football team. He has a strong passion for this game. Jaydenโs mom believes this is all because of a great coach.
Giving Of His Time
Rich is the coach who is responsible for helping Jayden fall in love with this game. Jaydenโs mom cannot say enough good things about the coach. She makes it clear about how much Jayden thinks of Rich.
Jaydenโs Message for Rich
Jayden is part of a flag football team. He has a strong passion for this game. Jaydenโs mom believes this is all because of a great coach.
Jaydenโs Gift
The last day of practice for most little athletes is one that is full of mixed emotions.
Jayden wanted to tell his coach what he thought. He started by giving Rich a gift.
The gift was a coffee cup that said:
โA good coach can change the game, A great coach can change a lifeโ Then, on the back of the mug โCoach Richโ was engraved.
Rich responded with a big smile.
Still Not Enough
Although the mug was a great gift, Jayden didnโt seem like he thought it was enough. He had also written a heartwarming thank you note, which read:
โDear Coach Richard,
You have been the greatest coach of my life. I love you, Richard.
As Jayden was reading the note, he became emotional and broke down in tears as he said:
โYou help me love football again. Thank you for being my favourite coach. Love, Jayden.โ
Coach Rich Responds
No matter whether it was the words or the tears or both, it moved Rich, and he grabbed Jayden to give him a huge hug.
The Follow Up
Mom had video taped the thank you and put it on Facebook, where it went viral.
When Coach Rich saw the video the next day, he could no longer contain his composure as he had done the day before, and he himself broke into tears.
Coach Richโs Coaching Experiences
Coach Rich was quite nervous when he first started coaching even to the point where he didnโt want to raise his voice.
A Lifetime Impact
While the thank you was a touching moment, the impact that Rich has had on Jaydenโs life will last a lifetime.
Do Coaches Really Make A Difference
It doesnโt matter whether it a volunteer coach, a high school coach, or a professional coach they often can have a dramatic impact on a youthโs life.
Two Ends of the Spectrum
There was a UK Coaching article that was written by an anonymous athlete that was heart-wrenching. The UK Coach doesnโt usually public articles without the author, but this one was an exception.
The young writer was an athlete that ran into a devastating eating problem that was taking over his life. He was fast on the way to being a professional athlete with aspirations of competing in the Olympics.
As of the result of an injury, this young athlete was told he would not be an athlete anymore. His coachโs response was โsee you around.โ The young athlete hit rock bottom. Mom reached out to the first coach the young athlete had ever had, and the compassion of this coach gave the young athlete new hope for a life beyond being an athlete.
The world needs more volunteer coaches like Rich who can and will make a difference in young athletesโ lives.
Watch the video of the touching moment here:
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