It’s National Coaches Week! Join with us in celebrating the positive impact that coaches have on their athletes, participants, and in communities across Canada. The job of encouraging, teaching, and inspiring young athletes to achieve their potential is a big one, and it deserves to be celebrated!
Many of our staff here at vbs apparel are forever athletes, or have backgrounds in competitive sports. Here are some of the things that they have to say about the importance of coaches in their lives:
Big shoutout to all the amazing coaches across Canada—thank you for all the time, energy, and passion you put into shaping us, both on and off the court. A huge thank you to my Volleyball coach @ Revelstoke Secondary School, Barry Rourke. I’ll never forget those 7 AM practices you were always the first to set up, or all the tournaments you booked and drove us to. Your dedication was unbelievable, and I’m still thankful even 20+ years later for everything you did for us.
I’ve had incredible coaches through high school, club, and post-secondary volleyball that bettered me as an athlete, and as a person outside of sport. Whether it’s being motivated to put in extra hours into personal development, staying accountable and disciplined when it’s easier to do otherwise, or volunteering time to pay it forward to the community, my coaches made a profound impact in shaping who I am as an adult that will carry forward for the rest of my life.
The coaches in my life played an invaluable role in my development as an athlete and have helped shape who I am today. I am incredibly grateful to have such wonderful people a part of my life teaching me skills that could be applied at a technical sport level and in everyday life. I feel lucky to still be in contact with some of these people today and cherish those relationships greatly.
I’ve had many coaches throughout my life from cheerleading to lacrosse to volleyball. But no matter what sport I was in, my coaches were there to support my growth as an athlete and also as a person. Their commitment and dedication to the sport and their athletes has always been inspiring to me. Sports have definitely shaped me into the person I am today and that wouldn’t be without the support and wisdom from all my coaches along the way!
When I was in high school I had a coach who prioritized the willingness to work hard and lead by example both on and off the court. The lessons being not to ask anyone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself as well as ensuring we took leadership roles in school such as mentoring, tutoring, volunteering etc. So I guess long story short he really helped me not only develop as a player but as a person as well and I find that really important.
I played Netball throughout my schooling, so I’ve had a lot of coaches. My coaches always used to say, ‘How you train is how you will play’ The effort you put into training always reflects in your performance on the court later. I definitely try to apply that to my life, the right preparation for anything is so important.
Big shoutout to all the amazing coaches across Canada—thank you for all the time, energy, and passion you put into shaping us, both on and off the court.
~Sanjiv Jasra, CEO
I was fortunate enough to have 3 very memorable coaches in my life. Clare Drake for the University of Alberta Golden Bears was far ahead of his time regarding using other off ice resources to improve his teams. First and foremost, everything he did was to improve the team. There is no “I” in TEAM. His approach to the mental side of the game was ground breaking as was his use of scouting and having the players watch videos of past games. His was focused on improving the individual person in order to improve the team. Not just the physical skills, but the mental ones as well. Clare was so much a leader in his coaching that many NHL coaches would constantly ask him for advice. One very significant difference between Clare and most other coaches at the time was that he never yelled at the players or at the referees. He was so well respected by the referees because he would talk to them in a calm manner.
The other 2 coaches were from Stettler when I was growing up. Both of them were similar in that they were as concerned about the personal development of the individual which contributed to better teams. Again, their strategic analysis was far ahead of their times. I don’t know that you can easily teach this awareness and how to combat what the other teams are doing during the game. Both of these coaches again were more concerned with building good character and, as a result, created winning teams.
I used all of the methods I learned from these coaches when I coached in schools and with Youth hockey. I’m particularly proud of coaching a City of Calgary championship volleyball team, as well as my son Ryan’s Provincial Championship hockey team.
Here at vbs apparel we know how important coaches are to the team. When we’re designing your school or club sports uniforms, we always make sure that coach apparel is a foremost consideration in your package. It’s not just making sure the coaches have elite, attractive apparel that makes them feel great, it’s also about giving them a thank you for the hard work they do in leading the team.
Giveaway Alert!
Join with us in celebrated National Coaches Week with our Instagram giveaway! **4** all-star coaches out there have chance to win one of our custom decorated gear packages, valued at over $200. Do you have a special coach you’d love to say #ThanksCoach to? This may be the perfect way! Check out all the details on our Instagram post, and enter now to win! Giveaway ends on September 23, 2024 at 12pm MT.
