Growing up as the son of a football coach was definitely an interesting experience, to say the least. If I ever needed any sports advice or additional practice, I always knew who to go to. I always had the best sports equipment, knew the right plays, and always felt prepared at practice. So yeah, I guess you could say that being the son of a coach has a lot of perks. While many of these benefits are obvious, I feel that it is important to discuss some of the pressures that come along with being the son of a coach. Before we jump into that, I just want to specify that I am not saying that being a coach’s kid is all bad. I just wanted to speak on some of the points that many people may not be aware of.
Everybody who grew up as a coach’s kid will be all too familiar with the following phrase: “You only got that position because your parent is a coach.” Any success you have in sports will be attributed to the fact that your parent is a coach. Many people, especially parents, feel that you were practically guaranteed the position. Whether it’s tryouts or what position you are given on the team, many of them are not willing to acknowledge you based on your own achievements. Now this is not to say that all parents react this way, nor is it to say that situations where a child is given a position because of their parents don’t happen. But it is unfair to simply write off the hard work and dedication that many of these kids have in regards to their sport.
When you are the child of a coach, many people have very high expectations of you. If your parent is a coach, you are expected to perform at least above average in comparison to the other kids. I know this conflicts with the point I mentioned previously about many people feeling that you have everything handed to you, but this really does happen. Why should you be expected to have talent well above that of your peers, but also be essentially punished when you do? This is not to mention the pressure that the child may place on themselves to perform. In my experience, I always felt pressure to do well because of who my dad was. This was not pressure that my parents placed on me; rather, they were pressures that I placed on myself. It took a while for me to accept the fact that I can only do my best, regardless of the fact that my dad was a coach.
There are many benefits that come along with being the son of a coach, as well as many pressures. Many of the pressures stem from society, and some of them come from the child’s own desires to look good in the eyes of their parent. I hope that after reading this, many more people will acknowledge these pressures, and give the kids a little bit of a break.
