Like most children, when I was young I played a variety of sports; volleyball, softball and baseball, soccer, dance, swimming, gymnastics, field hockey and so on. However, unlike most children, I was the coach's kid, so my athletic experience was just a little (lot) different. Both my parents went to Western Michigan University on athletic scholarships, my mother for volleyball and my father for baseball. So naturally my brothers and I were thrust into sports as soon as we could walk, and "mom" and "dad" quickly became synonymous with "coach". My dad coached my softball teams (as seen in the cover photo) and my mom coached my volleyball teams. Now if you've never been the coach's kid, you won't fully be able to relate to my next statement, but if you have been the coach's kid you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. There's a very fine line between parent and coach, and that line should come equipped with lasers, horns, and flashing signs to warn the child when his or her parent is crossing over.
Growing up the offspring of the coach changes your position as a player drastically. And I don't mean the position you play on the team, but rather the mental position you play with your peers. The label "coach's kid" instantly makes you a target, whether the other kids mean for it to or not. Once you're outted as the coach's kid then the other players almost always begin to wonder if you'll get special treatment or if you have insider secrets. On more than one occasion I was asked if I knew the starting lineup for a game before it was announced or accused of getting a better spot because I called the coach, mom/dad. I'm here to kill that assumption; NO, coach's don't always have nepotism for their kids. Actually, most of the time our parents hold us to a higher standard. They expect us to always follow directions to the T; they expect us to run the fastest, jump the highest, and work the hardest; they expect us to be leaders on the field/court and always speak up. I never got to know the line-up before the game, and if I asked for a specific position I'd end up getting the exact opposite.
(My mom is the one in the grey and I'm the awkward one in the front row)
Your position as a daughter (or son) also changes because your parent doesn't always switch back to mom/dad mode from coach mode. If my brothers or I made a mistake in a game or didn't play well, we didn't always get the supportive parental pep talk on the ride home. Instead, we'd get a lecture or step-by-step guide on what we should have done differently. We've also been on the receiving end of a coaching-outburst. If mom or dad was especially upset about an aspect of the game or practice, whether I had control of the situation or not, I would often hear an angry "McKenzie, get in your ready position!" or "Hustle toward that, McKenzie!" simply because my parent needed to release stress and they could yell at me without getting in trouble. This also was exemplified by being target practice. If my dad needed to show how to correctly hit a pitch or my mom needed to demonstrate an attack, I was always sent out to be the victim in case something went wrong. If I got hit in the head, then coach (mom/dad) would take care of it later, but if another player was injured then there would be a huge problem.
However, coach's kid also has a few pros. Like free one-on-one practice and a guaranteed fan. And even though there were times I wished more than anything my parent wasn't sitting on the team bench with me, I definitely appreciate all the years I spent as a coach's kid. And I'm 99% sure my future kids will also be the coach's kid, so maybe one day I'll write something on "How it Feels Coaching Your Child"...
