DO YOU want to GIVe BACK?
“A society grows great when it’s men & women plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”
This is an opportunity to truly transform lives, connect with our team and help kids have both valuable and memorable life experiences. The first thing that comes to mind in Coaching and Mentoring kids, is everything we do must be to uplift them, inspire them, instruct them.
When I don’t know what to say to a kid think of three things:
be inspirational tell the they’re “brave”, that you see their improvement every practice, make them feel good about themselves…that they have a good chance at succeeding!
be productive then give them the “facts”, for ex. “Shooting from the outside without a setup is a low percentage shot.”
be instructional “You’re here to score points & pin, so you need to move your opponent MORE, off-balance him or her, use your TIE UPS, get in close with your ties and shoot hard and keep driving until your Take Down is secured. Be relentless. Keep driving until you get YOUR TAKEDOWN”
instill confidence “You’re a kid with the ability to do this really well. GO FOR IT!!
Wrestling matches and tournaments are a battle, and through hard work in the practice room, humility, resilience, courage, habits, technique, athleticism and ability to handle pressure are developed.
We do not need parental support daily, however, sometimes need parental support, for ex. help with organizing rides and carpooling to events like (“home” & “away”) Clinics, Scrimmages, and Tournaments. We also need help organizing Special Events in the room or such things as Pancake breakfasts during Clinics, Scrimmages.
Here are some other ideas in which ANY parent can really help our program:
Help the Main Coach running the practice, A. keep all the kids BUSY. For ex. if kids are waiting in line for an exercise or drill have them do 10 clapping pushups. Show proper form in exercises, such as Burpies, TRX Pullups, Wall Walks etc.. B. On live match days, coach the kids who are the least experienced so they can learn quickly from their mistakes and improve, C. Notify the Head Coach when you see kids struggling who may be better served being in a different group (struggle is GOOD, but depending on the kid, sometimes they need a small break). Also “Assistants” will need to learn the myriad of terms for moves, positions, body weight exercises we use. Ask the Coaches for their explanations, and assistance in learning these exercises and even videos of anything you don’t understand.
Bring antiseptic hand sanitizer, bottled water, escort the kids to the bathrooms during practice, work the snack bar at practice of whey protein bars so they can get in their protein right after practice. At Clinics or Tournaments, help make hamburgers, pancakes, sausage and serve drinks or milk.
Help take Attendance at Practices and keep track of all the Birthdays so we can acknowledge their special days and make them enjoyable too. What kid wouldn’t want their B-day to be noticed by their team and at least get a cupcake and blow out one candle????
Ask the local Starbucks or McDonald’s manager about the donating coffee to our quarterly Tournaments, Scrimmages, Clinics & other Events. (once a month). Pick-up pizza for Friday night movie night at Whatta Lotta Pizza across the street from OVHS.
Ask your local Health Food or Grocery Store Manager if they can periodically donate bottled water, fruit, oranges, bananas, apples, bananas, coconut juice, nuts, healthy snacks, paper towels, antiseptic wipes, antiseptic hand lotion or (no soy protein) whey protein bars to our Practices, Tournaments, Scrimmages, Clinics & other Events. (once a month)
Ask your local movie theater manager, laser tag recreation company if they offer GROUP DISCOUNTS or FREE INDIVIDUAL TICKETS?
Another idea would be to help organize a LASER TAG TRIP, MUSEUM TRIP, BEACH BBQ, A FISHING TRIP or NATURE HIKE
We are looking for opportunities to benefit these local businesses and OCG both. That could be in sponsorship money in return for advertising. We can be creative, synergistic as long as all activities are ethical! :-)
