Mentorship – PARADIGM Sports

Why Mentoring is so rewarding

Posted February 27, 2021January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach

To say that the last few months have been a “wee bit” hectic for me would be a little bit of an understatement, but has all been positive as we continue to move the needle forward working with coaches, parents, officials and other youth sports stakeholders.

Just this week I had my wrap up call with my alum UBC’s School of Kinesiology mentorship program mentee, Wade, and was so proud how he not only met but exceeded his goals that we established at the beginning of the program going back to Oct. 2020.

Unlike many of the students who are enrolled in the Kin program who aspire to become physio, occupational or registered massage therapists, Wade aspires to get into teaching so can coach youth basketball to build on his experience coaching youth at the ages of 8-12.

Over the course of our monthly meetings to ensure we stayed on track for him to meet his goals to better understand the coaching “profession” (as many are volunteers) and build out his network, be better prepared for applying for positions I recommended many books, blogs, videos and he soaked up everything that I recommended like a sponge.

Although I was the one wearing the hat as mentor, much like it has been with fellow coaches, players, and other Kin students as well as co-op students who have worked with me over the years, I was reminded just how rewarding it was for me to also learn from him as well.

As I lost my father at a really young age, it was the coaches and teachers that I had growing up that made me who I am today which is why I believe so strongly in paying it forward to mentor, teach, provide guidance and also tough love when needed to help the next generation of coaches, teachers and numerous other professions develop in to amazing people.

It also reminded me had it not been for a few of those amazing teachers and coaches that I would not be where I am today, quite possibly if my path continued in my early teens with “friends” who were getting into drugs, criminal activities I would not have gone to UBC and be the first of my many cousins to graduate from University, start numerous business ventures, or coached numerous sports myself for over 20 years.

As I have shared in many talks and conversations over the years, probably the greatest anecdote I have received regarding our purpose as coaches (which can also be teachers, managers) is not to make a living…..

….our calling and true purpose is to make a difference developing youth into adults.

When we were wrapping up our final mentorship meeting, Wade shared with me how excited he was that he had exceeded 100 people in his Linked in network which was one of the goals we set (believe he had 27 people when we initially connected back in October) so was one of the many goals he accomplished we celebrated.

The following day I received a notification that Wade had posted in his Linked in account that I was tagged in so I opened it up and this is what he shared;

I must confess, I was a little weepy eyed when I read it because (a) how many people responded from his expanded network and (b) how much an impact that I had on a young man who I believe is going to be a GREAT Coach/Teacher in future and (c) how much I learned from him at the same time.

As coaches in youth sports, don’t ever underestimate the power that you have to be a positive role model for the kids you coach, although at times you may feel that coaching youth sports is a lot of work (which I know first hand how much work coaches do) and little or no financial compensation, the greatest reward you will receive is when they thank you for being such a positive influence.

Thank you Wade for the opportunity to provide you insight and to learn from you as well.

The costs of inactivity

Posted October 26, 2018January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyLeave a commentPosted in Athlete, Coach, Organization Executive, Parents

Last night I was recognized with an alumni builder award by the School of Kinesiology, at the University of British Columbia. It truly was a humbling experience to be acknowledged by what is now the top Kinesiology Program in Canada and top 5 Globally.

It coincided with the book launch for Minds in Motion, authored by Don Wells whom stated that the book belonged to all of the former graduates, alumni, and school, he merely did the research to share the history of the evolution of the school from the days of Physical Education, to Human Kinetics to the school of Kinesiology. This after 7 years of research working on the book but like all other selfless athletes, gave credit to all the team members that made the book possible. He shared the insight of all of the amazing alumni that had graduated from the school, including Rick Hansen, who had been motivated to do his man in motion global tour by retired KIN faculty member, Olympians, Coaches, Sports Leaders, and numerous doctorates and postgraduate alumni for their contributions to sports medicine. I was asked to sit in a reserved seat at the front so I could quickly go up, say thanks and return to my seat to permit all of the other guests to speak about the rich history of the program that I graduated from many years back so they could stay on track for the full program. Some interesting statistics were shared by the current director of the school of Kinesiology, Robert Bouschel when he took the stage that I thought would be of interest for all people that are in the youth sports space today;

The demand for entrance to the School of Kinesiology has lead to the GPA required to be 92%, on par with the schools of medicine and engineering. I shared with Robert after all the presentations if that was the case when I was applying I would not have been accepted as I was a jock first, student second. While at UBC I participated in the intramurals program, weight room, completed my bronze medallion and first two levels of the original NCCP program that has now evolved to a multi-sport focus.

I asked him if there had been any changes to the projections by health authorities in Canada in the USA that today’s generation of kids may die 5 years sooner than their parents, making it the first time in history this may occur and he stated was still current even though many organizations have evolved in recent years to buck those trends

The current health costs per person in Canada is approximately $4000.00 per person or just shy of $15 Billion dollars! The upside is my home province, BC has the lowest cost per person average due to the fact many adults are still active in skiing, golf, biking, hiking, walking and other team sports like slo-pitch, ice hockey, soccer.

As Type II diabetes has trickled down in the teen age group because of inactivity and kids spending 7.5 hours a day in front of screens, that cost per person for those with Type II diabetes increases a further 3800.00/Yr (or 7800.00 total)

The current rate of obesity for today’s Canadian youth is 1/3^rd (33%) up over 20% since the 80’s where it was approx. 100%. He confirmed that if the current trends continue by 2040, 70% of Canadian youth will be fat or obese.

This would equate to a twofold or more impact on health costs, pushing it to over $30 Billion

He also shared that there had been a recent study done shared by CBS news that middle age (50) people that that practiced 5 lifestyle habits could live a decade longer than those that did not, one being exercise 30 minutes a day which could just be a brisk walk.

In the room, there was alumni for various years, including one from the first ever graduating class of UBC’s school of PE in 1949! Another from 1950 and others from 60’s and beyond. I had the opportunity to hear them speak to others (the lineup was long with other alumni wishing to speak to them) and they were still sharp as a tack and enjoying life in their 90’s! (albeit they are not quite as mobile as they were when they attended the school decades back)

I also had the opportunity to talk to various other faculty members and one that was just getting started at the school when I was there, Dr. Ian Franks, was credited by the author of the book and Robert for his contributions to the evolution of the school and numerous studies he and other faculty members had done. His area of specialty, which was my major, is motor control and performance. His is one of the global leaders in the field, as are now many of the other faculty members where the school has qualified for over $5 Million in funding for research. The very fact that I was in a room with so many PHD’s and post graduate alumni and was receiving an award when I did not go beyond my undergraduate degree was overwhelming. The reason I was acknowledged was not my scientific research and publications many in the room or the school has now received global recognition for, but for my contributions to the mentorship program, career fair and expert panels the last few years to assist the next generation of leaders in the space. This year I have been paired up with another mentee, who is a UBC Gymnastics High School Competitive Coach. We will meet in a couple of weeks to review his goals as he will be graduating from his undergrad degree in May and is trying to figure out his path to either pursue post graduate studies or work in coaching. In his original reach out to me to setup our first meeting he shared how excited he is to have me as a mentor and get to know my coaching philosophy as well as the key things for a coach to keep their athletes motivated to overcome challenges. I will expand further when we meet in a couple of weeks, but as I have learned asking thousands of coaches over the years what the top characteristics are of great coaches, it is all about the connection, caring and building relationships. I recently shared this short video out on facebook why we coach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgnAm6_DYmU I thought Matt Deggs, Sam Houston State NCAA Div I baseball coach nailed it when talking about his shift from transactional to a transformational coach.

That’s why I coach. That’s why I mentor. That’s why we sponsor co-op students to get valuable work experience as we continue to grow as an organization. To build those relationships and develop youth into adults. The sooner that youth sports coaches shift their current mindset from focusing on winning at all costs to recognizing our calling is to develop the person, the sooner we will reverse the negative attrition rates we are experiencing where kids are quitting sports or not get involved at all which is leading to their projected 5 year shorter life expectancy. Our goal is to do what we can to give kids their 5 years back (and then some). Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids …. where it belongs.