The Wait Is Over

Going Back To School

Following Tuesday's training session and a quick lunch at Jimmy John's, John, Yael, and Steph returned to the offices at Jordan Field for a Skype session with Marc Schmidt, Executive Director of the Urban Coaching Project, on the Breakers partnering with UCP to bring his coaching seminar module to local school districts in the Boston area.

Marc: Who's with us today, John?

John: On my right is my assistant coach, Yael Averbuch, and on my left is our southpaw goalkeeper, your crush, Steph Labbe.

Marc (chuckling): John, who told you about that?!?!

John: Adam.

Marc: Should have figured he'd leak it if he met with her in Orlando.

Steph: I hear I have a bit of a following up there in Wisconsin.

Marc: Yes. My goddaughter's best friend and the girl's should-be girlfriend both adore you, apparently. Natalie looks up to you as a gay female athlete who is still feminine but tough as nails. She's a goalkeeper as well, and also Canadian.

Steph: I'm honored. They're lacrosse players, right?

Marc: Yes.

Yael: It's an honor to speak with you, Marc. John and Adam both have had extremely nice words to say about you.

Marc: Yael, it's a pleasure to have you be part of this. I followed your playing career through the various stops in the US, Scandinavia, and Russia. I believe we may have talked several years back while you were still running Techne Futbol in addition to playing in NWSL.

Yael: It's possible.

John: Anyways, onto the agenda. Marc, what do we have to do to bring your module to Boston?

Marc: First, all of you would need to go through it. That can be done at your leisure, but you can't teach it unless you've been through it in some form. Since all three of you have and have had extensive contact with athletes, there is no need to do the experiential education component. Read through it, do the guided feedback at the end of each section, and send me those by email. You can wait until the end and send them all at once, or as you complete them.

Yael: What's the time commitment?

Marc: Given your experience, it shouldn't be more than a couple of hours a week to read, reflect, and write. Some parts might be shorter since you already are aware of those issues and have concrete ideas in mind on how to solve them.

John: When is the soonest we can probably start teaching it?

Marc: Unless you REALLY want to try something this summer, I'd wait until fall when the schools are back in a normal academic rhythm. That doesn't mean you can't start reaching out to districts about it and developing the infrastructure to bring it into the schools.

Steph: Since I'm not officially a coach with the Breakers, would I be eligible to teach it once I complete the module?

Marc: Yes, you would. I would probably stick with your own comfort zone at the start, which might be a colloquy of current or future soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey coaches, since those sports would be more familiar to you than the traditionals of volleyball, softball, and basketball. Since part of the module involves sport-specific teaching, you'll want to at least have some rudimentary knowledge of most interscholastic sports, although most of the concepts are applicable across the sporting spectrum.

John: Can we use the module in our own development of coaches for the Breakers Academy and to give our own players a step forward on the road to becoming coaches themselves?