Compound Coaching

Youth Soccer, an American tradition.

Tonight will be my son’s first ever experience playing organized soccer and as you can imagine, he is pretty jazzed. All day he has been organizing what jersey, shorts, and socks combination he will wear. They never tell you this, but sometimes one of the best things about having kids is just being able to witness the intensity of their emotions. It’s like getting dunked from a fast-moving river of humanity. A nice break from the sterility of adult life.

Tonight will also be my first time as assistant (to the regional) coach of his team. Lots of memories are coming back for me. My first day playing house league soccer with Coach Rick on the maroon team. Some of the special goals I scored in club, high school, and adult league games. The excitement of going to practice, getting your cleats on, and what the snack was going to be. Usually Kool-aid and Dunkeroos. The 90s were a wild time, folks.

Rock-A-Dile Red - cursed by mom’s everywhere for it’s magical shirt staining abilities.

Maybe it’s the growth of my kids or the fact that I’ve eclipsed thirty, but I find myself tending to look more at the big picture. This tweet was particularly eye-opening:

𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐫 | 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫-𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 @jeremympryor

Stop investing in things that don't yield compound interest. Things that don't compound: * One-time Goals * Salaries * Small Groups * Modern family Things that do: * Rhythm improvements * Investments * Disciple-making * Multigenerational Family

I want to put more effort into things that grow with compounding interest. If I’m honest, calling it coaching feels a bit overblown. These are five and six year olds. My biggest goal is just to make sure everyone has fun. At the same time, I think about the hours that coaches (including my parents) have poured into my life and the impact that it had. Every tree was once a seed. Every architectural wonder, a napkin sketch; It’s time to build!