Coach’s Corner With Brad Twigg

Brad Twigg is a high school teacher and coach at Ursuline College, and also coaches a variety of sports outside of school, including hockey, baseball, and football.

Below are Brad Twigg’s answers to CKSN’s questions about coaching:

1. What is your career coaching highlights/top memory?

My coaching career has had several highlights because of the many teams that I have had the opportunity to be involved with. My coaching career began at Ursuline College in 1999 with the Lancer Senior Football team. While teaching at Ursuline College I have been involved with the Senior Football team and Junior football team for 14 years amounting to 28 total football seasons between the two teams winning several Kent County Championships in both Junior and Senior football.

In between the football seasons, I started the Ursuline College Lancers Women’s Hockey program in 2004 and have been the only Head Coach in program history. That in itself was a highlight the day we took to the ice for our very first game in school history. Since 2004 we have won 5 Kent County titles in 9 seasons, 1 SWOSSA title and 1 OFSSAA birth. The Lady Lancer hockey program has had 4 girls go on to play collegiate hockey in the CIAU at the University of Windsor.

Outside of school I have had the pleasure of coaching both my son and daughter in hockey (CGHA/KMHA), baseball (CMBA) and soccer (CYSA). Although we did not win any championships with their teams there were many bright moments throughout those seasons.
At the end of the day as long as the children are having fun, improving their skills and want to sign up the following season, that season can be looked at as a success and a highlight.

2. What is the biggest challenge you face as a coach?

There are many challenges that coaches face during any given season. I will try to touch on some of the challenges that I have faced the past 14 years coaching the various different sports at the high school level and at the youth minor sports level. Parents can be a challenge when it comes to coaching, but fortunately I haven’t really had to deal with parents being a problem all that much over the years. I feel it becomes a problem when the parents have an overinflated view of their child’s ability because they only focus on their child throughout the game and miss a lot of great things that the other players on the team are doing. A lot of parents out there forget to see their child’s sports participation as a place for fun and growth both socially and physically. Off-Field Coaching Demands seem to be creeping up more and more each season. Not only is the coach responsible for on field activities, they are being asked to perform many more off-field tasks. Over the last 10 years the coaching certification requirements has increased significantly. Gone are the days of putting your name on your child’s registration form saying you are willing to volunteer that season. Nowadays you need to take several different coaching courses every few years to remain certified to coach. Some courses are good for a lifetime and some need recertification every 3 years. Fundraising has become a given when it comes to running a team because of the increase in costs for children to plays sports and the economy is not what it used to be where all parents had good paying jobs because the job market was not as tough as it is today. Anyway you can cut the cost for a family so there child can play is a must. Time Commitment for coaches has increased because the teams are playing and practicing more today than they ever have. The main reason I feel this is happening is because of the competitiveness of our world and now it has spilled over into youth sports. Instead of the approach being social and physical development, it has now turned to winning even if it means burning kids out with year round participation or an increased load during the season. Everyone is sort of forced into this trap if they want their child’s ability to not fall far behind that child that is the same age and that is a tragedy. Unappreciative People sometimes rears its head throughout a season. Sometimes players and parents take the coach for granted and fail to see the number of hours that goes into coaching a team and entire season. Just because someone has volunteered to coach a team doesn’t mean you don’t say thank you to them throughout the season for all of the time and effort they are putting into developing these children both athletically and socially. Personal Sacrifice is something that coaches make every time they take on coaching a team. Volunteer coaches don’t get paid so they are taking time off work to coach on weekends or leave for tournaments before the weekend begins don’t get to participate in things that they enjoy because they spending a great deal of their free time coaching. With me it has been especially tough the last few seasons because I have tried to be involved with both of my children’s teams each year during both the summer and the winter.

3. Why did you get into coaching?

There are many reasons why I got into coaching. Some of the main reasons are: i) Interacting and working with a variety of children at the different age levels ii) Developing relationships with the children and their parents that hopefully last a lifetime iii) From a high school perspective the students get to see you in a different light and you can develop a more personal relationship with them outside the classroom and the curriculum iv) Mentoring these children and the natural emotional highs and lows that come with involvement in sport and how it leads to playing a part in shaping the character of a youngster v) Seeing the children develop, grow and mature vi) Provide an environment that allows the children to feel a sense of belonging and a comfort zone that breeds confidence in their daily lives vii) To give back to children the same opportunities that were provided for me viii) I love sports and it is one way that I can continue to stay in the game since I can’t play anymore at a competitive level

4. Who was your favourite coach and why?

Over the years I have had the opportunity to play for some great coaches. Baseball – Murray Peterson, Carl Snelgrove, Dave Altopp, Rick Smith Football – Ed Carriveau, John Slaughter, Gene Dziadura, Basketball – Dave Allin, Tom Hardie, Hockey – Ron Coristine, Pete Baker, Gerry Beckett, Tom Waddick Don Kendall. The one name that I left off the list above is my dad BILL TWIGG. My dad coached me in baseball and hockey while growing up and made a lot of sacrifices to do so. I was fortunate enough to earn a baseball scholarship after graduating high school and my dad was a big part of that because of the time he put in developing my skills. My dad is well known throughout Chatham-Kent because of what he did during his playing and coaching days in the sports of baseball and hockey, but especially baseball. He had the opportunity to touch the lives of many boys growing up in Chatham-Kent coaching in Chatham year in and year out and I want to follow in his footsteps. Those young boys are now grown men and they still talk about the impact my dad had on them growing up. I want to continue the legacy that my dad has left in this town through sport and through coaching youth sport. Having said all of this, when I look back on when my dad coached me the main reason why he was my favourite was because he did not favour me when it came to playing time etc. My dad showed me and taught me for future years that when you sign up to coach a team and your child is on that team you have to take your parent hat off and leave it at home away from the rink or field. You have to encourage them to do their best, but you may have to also be hard on them and more often than not harder on them than the others on the team. When it comes to playing time, etc. my dad would always error on the side of caution and would never allow for someone to accuse him of favouring his own child. That lesson has stuck with me when coaching teams my children are part of. Fair or not my child often gets the short end of the stick for that simple reason. That lesson taught me to deal with the realities of life and the fact that life is not always fair and it is not acceptable to pick up and quit when things are fair. I hope that life lesson is one of the things that my children take from their dad coaching them. At the end of the day my dad coaching me helped me become who I am today as well as many other athletes that played for him. I want to be able to do the same for my children as well as many other youth in this community.

5. If you could give one piece of advice to other coaches what would it be?

I actually have a couple pieces of advice for aspiring coaches and they are: i) stick to your word because at the end of the day that is all you have and that is how you will be remembered so you have to put into practice what you say you will when the season begins no matter how tough it may be ii) you can’t let every little thing bother you and that is a lot tougher than it sounds. I have a tough time doing that and struggle with that a great deal. I wear my heart on my sleeve and always aim to please and when someone is not happy with something I have done it bothers me. I am realizing more and more that you will not please every parent or every player. You have to put a significant amount of thought into the decisions that you make throughout the season and when it is all said and done make the decision that you feel is best for the team first and the individual second. Sometimes it will mean players and parents being upset with you, but they must respect your decision if it is one that you put thought into and were trying to do what you thought was in the best interest of the team. iii) When you coach a team and your friends child is on that team talk to them at the start of the season and explain to them that decisions you make as the coach is not personal or about the friendship and you want in no way for those decisions to affect your friendship. Explain to them that they need to ask and not assume if something is bothering them about a decision you have made as a coach.

Coach’s Corner is a weekly feature on CKSN, where one local coach will be highlighted, answering questions about their career highlights, and their coaching philosophy. If you’d like to participate in coaches corner, or know a coach we should feature, email ian@cksn.ca.