Athletes coaching athletes

When Michael White became director of the Oglethorpe County Recreation Department in 2017, he was only starting to see growth in youth sports.

“When I (came) here five years ago,” he said, “I think we had 19 basketball teams. From then to now, I’ve got 31 teams. Gradually, every year, it’s went up. I’ve got over 200 kids playing basketball now. It’s a drastic change — and it’s not just basketball.”

While the rec department welcomes the large influx of kids, the number of teams have started to exceed the number of adults able to coach. Fortunately for White and younger athletes, Oglethorpe County High School students have started to fill that void. 

OCHS athletes volunteer to coach soccer, basketball, baseball, football and volleyball teams at the rec department, White said. He said that girls volleyball and co-ed soccer were the toughest to find adult coaches for, as those rules are not as well known as other sports, but the students helped solve that issue, and found success while doing so.

Tanner Nation, a senior on the OCHS football and baseball teams, coached his sister’s 14u soccer team to an undefeated season this fall.

“Obviously, all coaches like to win, and I loved to see them win and get excited,” he said, “but my favorite part is whenever we’re down, and they work together. There’s been a bunch of games when we’ve been down, but we kept our head up and ended up coming back and winning.”

Some students, such as Nation, work part time at the rec department after school to assist in running practices throughout the facility, and some officiate baseball and soccer games. 

However, that’s different from his volunteer coach duties, which doesn’t come with compensation. 

Volunteering can lead to benefits such as learning soft skills, being more involved in the community. A 2020 study showed volunteering can be linked to an improvement in mental health. 

“Mostly every coach just likes being out there,” he said. “I wouldn’t want any money anyways. I just enjoy doing it.”

Parents and adults are still a primary source of the department’s volunteer staff, however, White said the younger athletes tend to appreciate and respond better to the student coaches. They say the high schoolers are more relatable — and tend to be more impartial.

“Tanner gives everyone a chance,” said Aiden Jones, a member of Nation’s rec basketball team. “A lot of times, parent coaches target certain kids who they’re going to give a chance. Tanner gives everyone a chance and opportunity.”

Being able to serve as unbiased role models and leaders for the rec teams, student coaches provide new opportunities and perspectives to the young athletes. Aidan’s father, Cory, who played rec basketball and soccer in Oglethorpe County, said he has already seen growth in his son under Nation’s leadership.

“The other coaches haven’t gotten the potential out of him,” Cory Jones said. “If they get him to dribble the ball, the coaches will see something special out of him.​​ Tanner was able to do that last week, and he scored 25 points.”

While the level of involvement from the high schoolers and rec athletes has increased, these students are still involved in sports at their schools. Working around the middle and high school athletic schedule has become one of the biggest challenges for the rec department.

“There (are) some conflicts. We have to schedule around the (middle) school schedule somewhat, and we have to do the same way for people to coach,” White said. “We make it work because our schedule is a little more flexible. The school schedule is kind of set in stone because they play in other counties.” 

Despite the difficulties, the rec department continues to push for more kids and adults to aid in the development of their youth sports programs. 

“I’d just like to see more kids come out and play,” Nation said. “I know there are a lot more children that live in Oglethorpe that aren’t playing rec sports. I think it’s a good thing to learn some new skills and get you prepared for the future.”