Tony Dungy’s Top Advice for Youth Coaches Isn’t What You’d Expect
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former NFL coach and Super Bowl champion Tony Dungy wants youth sports coaches to realize the difference they can make in their athletes’ lives, even if they never play professionally.
“Coaches — youth sports, middle school, high school — understand 1% of our players are going to make their living playing their sport,” Dungy said on Pure Athlete’s podcast. “So, if you’re only teaching them how to win and you’re only teaching them how to be better in the long run, you’re not going to help 99% of them because they aren’t going to make their living playing the sport.”
Instead, he urges youth coaches to invest in lessons that will last a lifetime.
“So, we want to teach them how to be better athletes,” the Hall of Fame coach continued, “but if you teach them how to be a good teammate, teach them what it means to sacrifice as a team, teach them about unity and togetherness, teach them about trying hard.”
“If these are the lessons we’re giving them, that’s going to help them all in life, but if we’re only trying to teach them how to be the best player they can be, 99% of it won’t matter,” he added.
READ MORE: TONY DUNGY EXPLAINS HOW THE SUPER BOWL IS A ‘GOSPEL OUTREACH’
An outspoken Christian, Dungy often shares his faith on his social media. After not being able to attend church for 21 weeks because of the NFL football season, he finally returned and shared what he learned on his X page.
“I’m back in church on Sunday morning for the first time in 21 weeks. Feels good to be back at @GFCFlorida,” Dungy wrote. “The message today centered on ‘Selah.’ Stop and reflect on the Lord. Pastor Black challenged us to reflect on the meaning of baptism-what is it and what does it represent?”
Dungy included a photo that said, “Baptism is the response to Salvation; it is the outward expression of an inward transformation.”
He also recently had to dispel a rumor that he was going to run for the Michigan Senate seat.
“Not sure where this idea came from, but it didn’t come from me,” Dungy posted to X. “I love my home state of Michigan. I pray they will elect a Senator who honors the Lord and leads the people well. But I can assure you it won’t be me. Number 1, I’m not a politician and Number 2 I live in Florida.”
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