I can still remember my birthday wish from when I was eight years old. I wished to play in the WNBA. That was 1998. WNBA started in 1996. I didn't make it to the WNBA. I did play division two and three college basketball. Having that wish, and the capacity to make it, shapes the way that I made decisions and spent my time as a young person. If I was born five years earlier, the WNBA would not have existed on my eighth birthday. My trajectory as an athlete might have changed without something like that to aspire to.
I tell you the story because one of my incoming freshmen told me last week that she wants to play soccer for Stanford. Good Lord, that's a lofty goal. I'm a firm believer that you can do anything you put your mind to, so if she wants to do that she can.
What I know will happen immediately, is that kid is gonna get good grades. That kid is gonna make good decisions, so as to not put herself at risk for not getting into Stanford. Even if she doesn't get into Stanford, she'll play at a great school somewhere. Pointers, The point is, that 13 year old kid is making choices because Stanford has a women's soccer team.
You don't know which kids are aspiring to be on your team, and their decisions that they're making with that goal in mind. Just know that as a coach of sports, we hold tremendous responsibility to help our players and future players make good decisions.
My challenge for you, and it's hard as an adult, is to look at what you're aspiring to. What's your last birthday wish? You wished for that because you knew it could happen. My question to you is what are you doing to make sure that it does?
