Your Advice is TERRIBLE, Barefoot

Scott,

Your advice last week to Olli, the 10-year-old with ADHD wanting to start a footy coaching business, was terrible. Firstly, he is not a trained coach. Secondly, the concept of volunteerism is DESTROYED by someone like Olli doing this type of thing. I’m a 67-year-old basketball coach and have never asked for payment to help players or other coaches. Over the last 20 years, I’ve watched the idea of giving back all but disappear. Volunteering now means, “Yeah, I’ll help – how much will you pay me?” By encouraging Olli down this path, you’re teaching kids the wrong ideas. Coaching should come from experienced or professional coaches. I don’t mind the entrepreneurial angle, but this sets a precedent with real consequences down the track.

Neil

Hey Neil,

You sound like the type of coach who calls timeouts during warm-ups.

Look, I get you’re passionate about volunteering, and good on you for giving back for 20 years. But the only precedent that I see here is a 10-year-old kid with ADHD finding focus and joy.

Besides, what Olli’s really offering is premium babysitting with a footy thrown in. The parents get a break, the little kids get to run around with an older role model who genuinely loves the game, and Olli learns that passion plus effort can equal pocket money.

My book Barefoot Kids is all about this. I teach kids to start their own little businesses because it unleashes a wave of creativity, passion, and work ethic, that you’ll never get by bribing them with pocket money to clean their room.

Finally, having him make the connection between doing what he loves and earning from it – that’s the gold right there, coach! Without it, we end up with kids studying dentistry just for the gold fillings.

P.S. I bet Olli’s sessions are way more fun than yours ever were.