During my life, I have been helped and influenced by people outside my family. Without these people a child will miss out on experiences that help build character. Hillary Clinton once said, “It takes a village to raise a child.” She is soliciting for communities to rally around children whether it’s in extracurricular activities, school, or church.

Parents will loathly admit that they can’t do it all. Children learn life lessons through experience and listening to others outside of family. During adolescence parents telling their child what to do is often ineffectual; thus, adults in the community play a key role for shaping our youth.

In my life sports coaches have been my “village” to lean on. Scrutinizing not only how we played, they made sure we were doing the right things outside of sports. Our coaches advocated that good grades meant more than winning games. In addition I learned how to give back. Doing amicable things in the community, like food drives, was important to help those in need. Astute coaches have applied sports with life. In life and sports you will at some point face adversity. Uncontrollable, vexatious events will occur. Coaches have taught me to ways to handle the tragedies and triumphs not only in sports, but in life.