Area coaches volunteer time for benefit of youth

Area coaches volunteer time for benefit of youth

Justin Hite / Sports Editor

The cold of winter is evident across the dozens of fields at Springwood Park in Burlington. Youth soccer games take place on the scattered fields and the audience huddles to protect themselves from the cold wind.

On one of the elevated fields an old, yet strong man stands looking out over the field. Almost with a look of Santa Claus he coaches his high school age girls.

Shouting short commands, Jeff Johnson has gained the respect of his girls and of many other coaches around the league with his dedication. He is one of many coaches from the Burlington area who sacrifice their free time to teach life skills to the local youth.

Johnson has been coaching recreational league sports for 20 years. He coached his sons for 15 of those 20 and for the last five years he has coached youth teams, solely as a volunteer.

"I try to emphasize having a good time," Johnson said. "Recreational league sports are as much social as competitive."

He is coaching a 16-year-old girls' team that his company sponsors. The team consists of sophomores and juniors, mostly from Western Alamance High School.

"He's the best coach I've ever had," said Erin Frye, a Western Alamance junior. "He cares about his players."
Many other coaches coach their teams because of sons or daughters on the team.

On another field, a whistle blows and both coaches run onto the field. A young girl hurts her hand because of the cold. All the girls on the field take a seat on the frozen ground hoping she will recover.

The many rec league coaches around Burlington try to emphasize to their kids that it is important not only to win, but to have good sportsmanship as well.

Steve Morrison is a coach who tries to highlight hard work with his players.

"We aren't about winning, just playing like a team and giving 100 percent, 100 percent of the time," Morrison said.
"I try to teach them life skills?those will carry you through, whether its school or work."

Sara DeMarco is another of the many rec league coaches who line Springwood Park in Burlington on fall nights to brave the cold and teach valuable lessons to the youth of the area.

"You need to be dedicated. It's a lot of long hours," DeMarco said. "You have to want to make the girls better."
Along with sport comes an intensity that can flow through the players, the coaches and even the fans on the sideline. Sometimes parents find themselves living vicariously through their children, screaming and rooting in a distracting manner.

Although she has no such parents on her team, Caryl O'Regan has taught her girls how to best handle parents like this.

"I just block it out and tell the girls to do the same," O'Regan said.

Most of the rec leagues around Burlington are for young kids, mostly under 10. Coaches then must practice what seem like rare traits.

"You have to be patient and have a sense of humor," O'Regan said. "You just have to roll with the punches."

Coaches not only try to teach the kids off the field lessons, but also things that help to unite them. Volunteer coaches Greg Miller, Chuck Loy and Bryan Sturgill work for the local fire department but also take multiple nights a week to teach sports.

Unlike most coaches, Miller, Loy and Sturgill all implemented a team prayer prior to every game.

"That's a very important aspect in the players' lives," Loy said.

The coaches of Burlington youth athletics understand what it means to be strong people as they try to teach characteristics to their players through sports.

Coaches gain closeness to their players and family that makes them almost into an extended family or a friend.

"Some days they are young ladies and some days they are little girls," Johnson said. "I feel like I have 29 daughters."

Contact Justin Hite at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.