Coaching... this is a topic I've been meaning to cover for a couple of weeks now but haven't known where to start or what parts of the subject I should cover, which perhaps means I should simple start somewhere and go from there. Since moving back to Martha's Vineyard I've been doing my best to become more involved in the island's running community; this has been both a part of my personal goal to make running a larger part of my life, as well as a way to give back to the community. An opportunity to fulfill both of these goals came along in the form of a Facebook request for local runners to guest coach with the Martha's Vineyard Hurricanes Youth XC Club while one of the Hurricane's coaches was away. Initially the plan was that I would help out for two sessions, however that was about two months and a dozen sessions ago and I'm still there.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Hurricanes Youth XC Club they are a relatively young club run by Kim Kirk and Reean Steenkamp; both of whom are parents of youth athletes and runners themselves. The club was originally founded by MVRHS track and field coach Joe Schroeder, however given his busy schedule his involvement these days is more limited. The club was founded with the idea that it would be an island wide XC club that would give young runners an organization with which to train and compete, and it's done just that.
Coaching with the Hurricanes has been my first experience working with youth in this age group, and while they can be a handful at times it's been a fantastic experience. As things progress and I've become more involved I'm beginning to realize how much I have to learn about coaching and specifically about how to coach young kids who have little previous experience running, or who don't yet have a passion for the sport. I've also come to realize that contrary to all the things I hear in the news teenagers are pretty great to work with, and the group that we have on-board with the Hurricanes are a particularly engaged and energetic subset of that population.
As I continue to move forward in my own youth coaching skills, and as my thoughts on the art of coaching continue to progress I'm sure that I'll be coming back her with additional thoughts on the subject; while I may still be new to this aspect of the running world I suspect that it will become an increasingly active part of my own life.
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