I am a huge fan of the hit Apple TV+ series, “Ted Lasso.” The show follows a Midwestern American football coach as he travels to England to coach the Richmond Greyhounds in the other football – what Americans now call soccer. One character, Dani Rojas, repeats a mantra that resonates with me, “Fútbol is Life.”
For as long as I can remember, sport has been life for me. I remember spending Saturday mornings and many weeknights with my father at gyms throughout South Jersey as he coached high school basketball. I played soccer from an early age (I was no Dani Rojas), then moved on to running in high school and college. Now, I coach my children and am obsessed with golf. As I think more deeply on these experiences – and maybe this is why “Ted Lasso” has appealed to me – I realize a coach can really make or break the sports experience.
About three years ago, the Diocese’s superintendent of Catholic schools, Dr. Bill Watson, came to me with an opportunity to broaden my work into elementary school athletics. My main role with the Office of Catholic Schools is marketing and communications, where I help our schools with their social media accounts, websites, emails and more. But based on my prior experience in athletics, and my general fandom for all aspects of sports, I felt pulled to this work and made it a goal to help create a positive environment for our schools, student-athletes, their parents and our volunteer coaches.
After much discussion, the office decided that one of our first goals would be to find a coaching program for our volunteer coaches that mixed solid training with Catholic identity. We are Catholic schools after all! After a few weeks of research and meetings, we decided to partner with the University of Notre Dame-based program, Play Like A Champion Today. This comprehensive program helps coaches refocus their efforts from “a winning at all costs mentality” to working with their athletes on skills, mental health and making sports fun again.
As part of the program implementation, I visited the University of Notre Dame and attended a conference to become a trainer. I spent three days immersed in all things Play Like A Champion Today, including talks by college coaches, program staff and fellow diocese-based athletics administrators. I came back fired up to share these lessons and get this program in the hands of our schools.
One of my favorite high school coaches, Tom Hengel, was my cross country and indoor track and field coach for two years when I was younger. His favorite quote was, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” It was a daily staple at practices, especially if he felt we were holding back or not hitting our targets. I understood from the beginning that he was talking about the physical aspect of the sport, but ever since I graduated, it has resonated with me in other aspects of my life and career.
Coach Hengel was on my mind during the first Play Like A Champion Today coaching clinic in the Diocese of Camden, which I led at the end of August with Kristin Sheehan, program director of Play Like a Champion Today. I had more than 80 coaches from sports including volleyball, cross country, basketball and baseball looking directly at me. Talk about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable!
Throughout the three-hour clinic, we delved into many topics and questions including, “Identify a coach that made a difference in your life”; “Are sports spiritual?”; and “What do kids say is the reason they play sports.” People shared stories and experiences – good and bad – of their own athletic and coaching journeys and worked on their coaching game plans for the upcoming season.
Although this initial clinic was deemed a success by attendees and Sheehan, and I think many coaches left motivated, I know the work has only begun. I implore all those who attended and those who will attend a clinic in the future to remember another great quote from the titular character from “Ted Lasso”: “I don’t care about the wins and losses, I just want to help make these guys the best versions of themselves on and off the field.”
With a little help from our Lord, I believe we can get there.
Michael Bress is communications and marketing manager and athletics administrator for the Diocese of Camden’s Office of Catholic Schools.
The next Play Like a Champion Today workshop will be at 6 p.m. on Sept. 23 at Resurrection Catholic School in Cherry Hill.
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