From New York to California and everywhere in between we asked coaches of all levels to share what it means to be a coachable athlete. This compilation is a unique insight into what coaches want to see from their athletes beyond goals, points, and fast times. As an athlete, ask yourself… are you doing these things? What can you improve upon? And as a parent… are you encouraging these traits? Are you allowing your child to be coached?

Paul O’Connor- KING Hoops Coach/Director and Former DI Coach

“Being coachable to me is all about two things: not taking correction personally and the ability to take critical feedback and then directly applying that feedback into the game. It means being an extension of the coach on the court, being even keeled, never getting too high and never getting too low. To me being coachable is a simple as this Doc Rivers quote, “Good players want to be coached, great players want to be told the truth”.”

Wilson Rose- Kids in the Game Coach of Physical Literacy and School of the Blessed Sacrament Middle School Basketball Team

“Coach-ability at its core is the desire to learn. Working with youth in sports is most rewarding when an athlete learns how to take works and put then into actions. When young athletes show the innate passion for learning how their bodies work and accept the challenge of how to put coaching feedback into movements, coaches jobs are easy. The more malleable and curious the mind, the more coachable the athlete!”

Connor Gandossy- Current DI Baseball Coach – St. Louis University

“A coachable baseball is someone open to advice or criticism in order to develop their craft/skills. Sports are a forever adapting game, players must be sponges in order to better their careers.”

Tatum Boehnke – Former DI Swim Coach- Northern Colorado

“To me being a coachable athlete means no eye rolls, pouty lips or crossed arms. You may think that your coach can’t see these mannerisms or that they don’t matter, but believe me, they do. Body language is one of the easiest indications of which athletes are ready to listen, ready to learn, and ultimately ready to become a better athlete. Be careful of what your expressions and posture are saying because they often say more than words. Coachable athletes make eye contact and react with positive stance.”

Katherine Higuera-Mccoy- KING Spikes Head Volleyball Coach

“There is a big difference when you are “forced” to do a sport and don’t have the drive or passion for it. For my girls playing volleyball, coaching them is a pleasure and easier because they want to be there. They continue to ask questions and look for feedback. Most importantly these athletes try to find ways to improve in the sport. They are coachable athletes because of their positive attitudes and how they work actively together.”

Mats Boehnke – FIS Coach – Mammoth Mountain and USA Western Region Development Coach

“Ski racing, arguably, has the most peaks and valleys of any sport. Athletes can go from the top of the podium one day to literally crashing into a net the next. Some race runs feel fast but turn out to be slow while others feel awful and turn out to be super fast. It’s a mental roller-coaster that can discourage even the most mentally tough. Being a coachable athlete mens someone that can stay positive and even keeled despite the frustrations. An athlete works hard during the low times but harder during the high times. Most importantly, a coachable athlete means respecting the sports, dreaming of success and working as hard as you can to get “there.”

Alicen Fair – Elementary and Middle School Coach – ACES Swim Team

“So much of competitive swimming is centered around perfect technique. If you can commit to perfect technique during a hard practice, it will translate to more effective strokes. This ultimately leads to faster times at meets. To me, being a coachable athlete in the pool is putting effort into bettering your craft. It’s easy to get corrections from a coach but it is much harder to actually apply those corrections. When I see athletes putting in effort to better technique, I know they are a coachable athlete.”

School is out and summer is here. As we get ready for our upcoming summer camps on the Upper West Side, Inwood, and in Riverdale, we wanted to introduce our internship class! Meet Nicole, Craig, Dominic, and Cameron!

Nicole Doyle

Hometown: Queens, New York

Education: Marist College

What clubs/sports are you a part of in college? Rowing

What brought you to Kids in the Game? I want to be a part of something working towards improving the lives of youth in New York City. Therefore, I had to be a part of Kids in the Game

What is your favorite physical activity/sport?  My favorite sport is rowing.

What is your favorite part about New York City? I love that all New Yorkers work hard and play even harder!

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I would love to go back to where my family originates from and learn more about the culture. Therefore, I would love to travel to Dominican Republic and Ireland.

If you could speak to everyone in the world at the same time, what would you say? Stay hungry and stay humble!

Message from Nicole: Hi everyone! My name is Nicole and I am a rising sophomore at Marist College. In high school, I was part of a nonprofit organization, Row New York. I did not know what rowing was until I found myself in a boat with all of my teammates who grew to become my best friends. This led to my love and passion for not only rowing but for also improving the lives of youth in New York City through sports. Therefore, I am excited to be a part of Kids in the Game.

Craig Braxton

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Education: SUNY Brockport

What clubs/sports were you a part of in college? Intramural leagues such as, basketball, and flag football

What brought you to Kids in the Game? I have a lot of experience working with kids in a summer camp setting and as a coach. Therefore, Kids in the Game felt right being apart of.

What is your favorite physical activity/sport?  I love playing basketball, however, my favorite sport is football.

What is your favorite part about New York City? My favorite part of the city is that there is always something to do – we live in the city that never sleeps.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I would like to travel to France. I took a Level 1 French language class in middle school and found the country to be very interesting. Therefore, it would be cool to go there in order to experience their language and culture first hand.

If you could speak to everyone in the world at the same time, what would you say? If I could talk to everyone in the world at one time, I would tell them to always strive to achieve their goals and it does not matter how long it takes, as long as you eventually reach your goal.

Message from Craig: My name is Craig, and I am a graduate from SUNY Brockport, looking to start my career in Sport Management. In high school, I wrestled, played football, and volleyball. However, I did not feel that I could make it to the next level so I chose to pursue a major which would keep me well connected with sports. Although I did not participate in NCAA teams in college, I did play a few intramural sports, basketball, dodgeball, and flag-football.

Dominic Vasko Perkovic

Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Education: Columbia University in the City of New York

What clubs/sports are you a part of in college? Football

What brought you to Kids in the Game? Two of my teammates who volunteered with Kids in the Game recommended the program to me.

What is your favorite physical activity/sport? I enjoy lifting weights and playing football.

What is your favorite part about New York City? I love the great level of diversity here in the city of New York. It is so great to see so many people from all across the globe. This is something that is entirely unique to the city itself.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? If I could travel anywhere, I would go to Montenegro. It is absolutely beautiful there and I have a lot of family members who live there.

If you could speak to everyone in the world at the same time, what would you say? Treat others in a way that you would want yourself and your close family and friends to be treated.

Message from Dominic: Hey everyone! My name is Dominic Perkovic and I am a junior at Columbia University. In high school, I played football and basketball, and upon graduating, I decided to play football at the next level. From a young age, my parents did a great job keeping my siblings and I active and involved in the sports world. Therefore, sports and physical activity have always been a huge part of my life and have helped me in growing and developing into the man I am today. I hope to pass this passion for sports on to younger children while working here with KING.

Cameron Jones

Hometown: Corona, California

Education: St. John’s University

What clubs/sports are you a part of in college? Basketball

What brought you to Kids in the Game? My fond childhood memories of summer camps, and my love for sports.

What is your favorite physical activity/sport? I enjoy rock climbing and basketball.

What is your favorite part about New York City? I love the diversity  in New York City, you can meet someone from a different part of the world everyday!

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I would love to visit Japan, seems like there is so much great fashion, food and technology there. 

If you could speak to everyone in the world at the same time, what would you say? Lebron is not the best player of all time!

Message from Cameron: I am originally from Southern California where I played basketball at California Lutheran University. I later transferred to St. John’s University here in New York City. Most of my work experience is in Sports Marketing but as of 2016, I went back to St. John’s to acquire my MBA in Finance. I am very excited to be at KING and grow with the organization this summer.

We also want to shout out two of our former interns, Vivien Li and Hank Lin who helped KING serve more kids in the game everyday! Since then, both of them have been offered full-time positions in their field of study. Congratulations Vivien and Hank!

Vivien said, “I was an intern at KING for two months, during which I finished two big projects including competitors presentation and calls analysis. I really enjoyed working at KING. Matt and Sheryl not only gave me great advice on how to do research and make analysis but also how to write better emails and network. What’s more. I love playing with kids at Kids Night Out and Recess Program. In KING, you can really “Work Hard and Play Hard”!”

Hank said, “I worked with Matt and Sheryl to develop strategic business case and industry analysis. When I was a Business and Strategy Intern in KING, I analyzed the spring budget, evaluating the profit and loss of the Spring project in Brooklyn. I also created and maintained Excel spreadsheets containing school and contact lists. Most importantly, I worked with my partner, Vivien, to do research in competitors presentation, which made me realize how to evaluate the other competitors before organising any event and project. I appreciated KING gave me these professional skills and unforgettable experiences.”

If you or someone you know would be a great fit for the KING Internship Program, please let us know! We offer internships in the following areas:

• Program Development & Coaching
• Finance & Business Development
• Marketing / PR / Communications

Stay tuned for our next post, Meet the Summer 2016 Kids in the Game Summer Team. In this blog post, you will be able to learn more about the newest additions to the KING Summer Team.

Be sure to also follow our social media pages for Kids in the Game updates! 

Twitter: @KidsintheGameNYC

Instagram: @kidsinthegamenyc

Facebook: Kids in the Game