3 Life Lessons I Learned from My Youth Coaches

In kindergarten, I joined organized sports because my mom wanted me to be involved in extra-curricular activities. I liked playing and watching most sports. Baseball was my first and most successful sport. My mom grew up playing volleyball and track. My dad played baseball and football. I was competitive like my parents. I was also small, speedy, and tough like them.

My dad became my baseball coach in little league through middle school. From the perspective of an outsider, playing for a parent may seem like an ideal situation. My dad was actually harder on me than my teammates. I can remember a time in which he made me run a lap around the baseball park for publicly questioning him (even though my teammates didn’t receive similar punishments). My dad also seemed to expect more from me in terms of leadership ability, decision making, and overall performance. In hindsight, his coaching made me a better and more mature player — leading to several all-star game selections and respect from other baseball players and coaches. The main life lesson I learned from playing baseball for my dad was that nothing would be given and everything must be earned.

In elementary school, I also played organized basketball. I was coached by a young White man who I’ll refer to as Coach Scott. I decided to play downtown for the Salvation Army like my older neighbor Malcolm. They had really nice b-ball courts and jerseys. Like my baseball teams, my basketball league was multi-racial — with Black and White players. Playing on another racially diverse sports team helped me grow into a cultural straddler. Playing for Coach Scott taught me the importance of balance as he encouraged me to excel as an on ball defender, not just a shooter.

Towards the end of elementary school, Mr. Cosby — my Black PE teacher — recruited me for track. I was of the two fastest kids in my school, so I wasn’t surprised. Mr. Cosby was so confident in my speed that he once asked me to chase down another student who was already halfway around the track. What caught me off guard was the level of time and energy needed to train for a track meet. My school’s relay track team lost our city-wide meet by a wide margin after a bad baton exchange. While running track, I learned that putting in a lot of time and effort doesn’t automatically equal high levels of success. Mr. Cosby taught me the importance of humility, communication, and strategy.

— Leroy Long III, PhD

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