Get off the Sidelines— Moments Parents Can Only Experience as a Coach

For many parents, watching their child play sports is an exciting experience in itself. But when you are the coach, you step into a different world—one that gives you access to moments most parents never get to experience. Coaching your child’s team is not always easy, but the rewards are worth it!

Here’s five reasons you should get off the sidelines and experience the rewarding side of youth sports:

1. As a Coach, You’re There for the Small Moments Too

As a coach, you are there for everything, not just the big plays or the final scores. You get to see the quiet confidence building during warmups as well as the goofy moments in the dugout. These are not the things you can capture on camera during a game. They are the everyday, unscripted memories that happen between the highlights. And those are the moments your child will remember. Moments that you’ll be in as a coach, but not as a parent on the sidelines.

2. Parent Coaches Have Shared Goals with Their Kids 

There is something powerful about working toward a shared goal. When you coach your child’s team, you are personally invested in the victories and setbacks. You feel the highs and the lows with them as they happen. That kind of emotional bond rarely happens in everyday family life. It’s earned through time together striving for progress and victory during the high energy of competition.

3. You Get to See Your Kids Through Others’ Eyes 

One of the gifts of coaching is seeing how other kids respond to your child, and how your child responds to them. When you coach, you witness your child not just as your kid, but as a teammate. You see them overcome frustration and respond to pressure in ways that might surprise you. You also see the challenges they face that you might not have recognized otherwise. These observations can be eye-opening and help you support your child in deeper, more meaningful ways. 

4. You Learn the Balance Between Coach, Friend, and Parent

Let’s be honest, coaching your own kid can be tricky. You have to balance being fair with being a parent. You might overcompensate to avoid favoritism. Or you might push too hard without realizing it. But even in the mistakes, there is value. Over time, you learn how to separate the coaching hat from the parenting hat. You learn when they need a friendly shoulder for support versus when they need structure and feedback. When you find that happy medium, you create a space where your child knows that you see them not just as your son or daughter, but as their own person, growing in their own way. 

5. The Memories Are Yours Forever 

Ask any coach-parent years down the line what they remember, and it will not just be the trophies or the winning seasons. It will be the time their kid nailed their first free throw or how they watched their child support and encourage their teammate who was struggling. Being a coach gives you a front-row seat to your child’s favorite memories, and as a coach, you’ll occasionally get to be a supporting actor in those memories. It’s not just about the sport. It’s about the shared experience, the bond you build, and the memories you create—together.

Become a Coach Today

At i9 Sports^®, we make coaching easier than ever! We provide professionally developed drills and practice plans for you so you don’t have to think about it. All of these resources can be accessed on-the-go via our i9 Sports^® GameDay app, available for Apple and Android devices.

You bring the fun, we bring the practice plans! Volunteer today.