Youth Coach Hits Kid During Football Game

I wish every story I shared on here was sunshine and roses. That it will always make you laugh or feel a little shocked or bring a tear to your eye in the best way possible. However, today that is not the case. Today my guess is that you will be angry, as angry as I was when I saw this yesterday. The video is disturbing as it shows a youth football coach in Florida hit a kid in helmet and full pads about as hard as he can….. twice. A nine year old kid. He then grabs the kid by the facemask and leads him off the field after yelling at him. I have coached youth sports since 2005 when my son started playing football and then my daughter in basketball. I have kept coaching because I love doing it and love to teach kids the fundamentals of sports, sportsmanship, and teamwork. I have heard stories similar – but not as bad as this and witnessed coaches from opposing teams berate kids in the middle of the field and court for trying to learn a game. I’ve never seen anything like this, ever. Further down the Twitter feed I found this on someone posted his video “apology” which was a half hearted ramble on not doing it on the field in front of everyone. He didn’t seem to even feel remorse for what he did. That made me more angry. This video has gotten national attention as professional players and analysts like LeBron James, Sean Salisbury, Antonio Cromartie, and others expressed their anger on social media and denounced his actions. It is definitely making the rounds on there and TV alike as it is shocking to witness. The coach has been banned from coaching and fired from his job as consequences for his actions. I hope that little boy only remembers that day as a lesson in how not to act, still has a desire to play sports of any kind, and is never afraid to fail while learning.

You can see the full story and the video at the following link.

Youth football coach who assaulted player banned, fired (yahoo.com)