NDSports wrote:He was talking about being the coach to his daughter and talked about it straining their relationship at times. He said he felt he didn’t do a good job as a father at times because he was trying too much on the coaching side... talked about how he brought the ‘coach’ role home too often and how he contemplated not coaching this year because he thought it’d be easier on his daughter for her last season but decided to coach and change his mindset and try to manage the roles better.
He was tearing up the whole time during it and it was brought up because his daughter was interviewed and mentioned that winning a VB state title was great but this one was special because it’s something they did together. It was really a great interview by Scherr.
This vulnerable moment by Coach Scherr was my favorite of the tournament. Coaching is a tough gig. Everyone thinks they know better than you, everyone wants little Johnny/Sally to be the best player or leading scorer, it is a job set up to make tough decisions which are going to be unpopular, and it is extremely mentally/physically/emotionally draining. Lost in the complaining about playing time, screaming at officials, and attacking coaches and their decisions; is the fact that coaching is a passion not a money making endeavor. No one goes into high school coaching in North Dakota to make money, they do it for the love of the game and to help/impact kids. Coaches understand this when they sign up and they sign up with the understanding that they are going to make a lot of people mad and aren't going to be popular. Coaches know the ramifications of their decisions. The group I really feel awful for when it comes to coaching (because they didn't make the decision) is the family of the coach. A coach's wife/husband goes through so much! They are forced to spend long hours alone while the coach is at practice, watching film, preparing for opponents, traveling to games, etc. Then when they go to watch their spouse do what they love and actually attend a game, they are forced to sit through 2 hours of complaining, questioning, and attacking by the crowd. I know many a coach who won't allow their spouse to attend games or asks them to sit in the visitor section away from the parents. This breaks my heart. Now even worse than that is the children of the coach! They lose their mom/dad for huge periods of time. Many times the coach is out of the house before they wake up and back after they are asleep. They sacrifice so much time with their own kids to help coach your kid! Coach Scherr wasn't talking about the things I mentioned but about the challenges of balancing being a dad/coach to your child. I think what he did though was bring to light for some people that don't spend much time thinking about it how emotionally invested coaches are in their team and athletes. You could see the desperation, anxiety, and passion on both coach's face in the championship and in pre/post game talks. They both wanted to desperately for their team to be successful! Coaching is something we do for others and with others. I wish parents/community members would remember this. The coach is as invested in your kid being successful as you are. It should be a team/community approach with parents, fans, and coaches working together; rather than an adversarial relationship between parents and coaches. I appreciate Coach Scherr being willing to be open and vulnerable on television. It further cemented in my mind that he was a championship coach well before he won that trophy on Saturday. Champions are champions before they win trophies.
