“When it’s your time to make a difference in a kid’s life, are you going to be courageous enough to do it?”
During his opening presentation for Feed The Cats Southern California at Crean Lutheran High School, just up the road from The Great Park in Irvine, Tony Holler challenged the attendees to consider this simple question. In that moment, on the big screen Holler replayed an iconic clip of Portland Trailblazers Coach Mo Cheeks stepping in to help a young singer get back on track after she stumbled over the words in the National Anthem, providing her just enough support so that she could right herself and carry the song through to a rousing finish.
Not all coaching moments will have that public or profound of an impact, but as self-professed essentialist, Holler’s point cuts to the core of coaching: are you willing to make a difference?
Easy enough, right? But it’s not—because a difference is, by definition, not the same. The same is easy—it’s known, it’s repeatable, it’s low-risk. Across 14 presentations and two days, Tony Holler, Chris Korfist, and JT Ayers took different angles on that essential question: given the chance, are you going to do what it takes to make a difference in a kid’s life?
Though the audience was largely a three-way split amongst track coaches, football coaches, and S&C coaches, Holler and Korfist delivered a range of insights that apply equally to coaches in any sport. More importantly, those points were ones that might not get made in sport-specific seminars—as in, not the same.
Been to a softball coaching clinic? Just show us new infield and outfield drills, my kids are bored to tears with all of mine!
Been to a soccer coaching course? Just show us which formation to play so we can stop getting hammered in the midfield!
When the time comes, here are three takeaways from Holler and Korfist to make difference.