{"id":25729,"date":"2024-09-03T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T16:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/?p=25729"},"modified":"2024-08-27T14:58:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T21:58:19","slug":"fellas-lets-figure-it-out-bro-you-need-a-little-bro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2024\/09\/03\/fellas-lets-figure-it-out-bro-you-need-a-little-bro\/","title":{"rendered":"Fellas, Let\u2019s Figure It Out<\/em>: Bro, you need a little bro"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, I had the privilege of serving as an assistant coach for the Victoria Mariners baseball team. While the baseball side of the experience was more than enjoyable, I found the most rewarding part of this job to be mentoring the young men on the team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The author (right) mentoring a young baseball player this summer (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have always believed that sport is a fantastic medium for learning about life. Sports teach kids that you won\u2019t succeed 100 percent of the time and that failure is necessary for growth. Kids who play sports learn that the more you practice something the better you get at it, and learn how to persevere through adversity. These lessons are much easier learned in a positive environment with good coaching. Young athletes will often just shut down if they have a drill-sergeant-type coach whose only form of communication is screaming. This is why coaching a youth sports team can be such a great experience for both the kids and yourself if you provide positive reinforcement and teach the athletes in a constructive way. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By the time most of us reach college or our early 20s we have a plethora of life experience to draw from (not nearly as much as those who are several decades older than us, which is why I think every young man should have a mentor, but that is a topic for another day). As college students we have dealt with many of the stereotypical middle-school or high-school struggles that kids are facing. Most importantly, we have dealt with them recently and understand how to work through things like relationship problems and bullying.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Having a person who is younger than their parents and teachers but still old enough to provide advice, wisdom, and a listening ear means a lot more than you\u2019d think to a kid who is going through struggles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawing on your past experience, telling funny stories, and, more than anything, listening to them can make all the difference in the world to a kid who is struggling. Using the medium of sport to get through to the athlete, whether it be through a metaphor, comparison, or even just being around the game, can really help to get through to them.<\/p>\n

Mentoring kids or teenagers is a unique, deeply fulfilling experience and one that I think every college student should experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summer, I had the privilege of serving as an assistant coach for the Victoria Mariners baseball team. While the baseball side of the experience was more than enjoyable, I found the most rewarding part of this job to be mentoring the young men on the team.\u00a0 I have always believed that sport is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25730,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,316],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-september-3-2024"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t