Mike Camunas, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Eric Sternberg brings his youth flag football team in for a huddle. He says it’s important for his kids to focus on sportsmanship and not so much on winning.
Coaches go the extra mile. It happens every day, on most teams, all across the country. It's part of the job description, maybe even an occupational hazard. Nowadays, when there's a league in every city and town, coaches are looking for new, innovative ways to teach and train players from younger and younger ages.
That's why when coaches Eric Sternberg and Bob Constantine get their 5- to 7-year-old flag football team at the James P. Gills Family YMCA to the field, it's about more than just winning.
"We don't really celebrate victories," Constantine said. "It's about sportsmanship, and we really want the players to realize that."
Statistics aren't officially kept in the league, but for the coaches who do track them, it's not about padding them for the best player. Sternberg and Constantine might have a star player, one who will score each time he gets the ball, but that doesn't mean he's going to get all the chances.
"Usually with a team, the best (player) always gets the ball, runs the ball and scores," said Stacey Van Schenck, whose son, Jacob, plays on the team. "That's not so here. Every kid, no matter how good or what skill level, gets a chance, gets the ball.
"Jacob talks about it all the time — the lessons that they learn and are taught at practices. I like that because Jacob will come home and talk about those and actually learn them."
One of the coaches' lessons: the Word of the Week. The coaches choose a word associated with sports and have the kids memorize it and repeat it throughout practice and play.
"I think the Word of the Week, what Eric brought in, was important," Constantine said. "Teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship — the types of things are building blocks for being good athletes. Those are cerebral because it also makes the kids think which word is this week's and focus on it."
Sternberg said that much of what he instills in kids — including his son, Ethan, who plays on the team — are lessons he learned watching his kids play.
"I was a parent on the sidelines for a while, so I got to observe other coaches with kids of a younger age," Sternberg said. "It is hard to get their attention, and at this age, you don't want to classify each child with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). They're active and their attention span is going to be short, so we have to focus on things like Word of the Week, where's the ball, what's your position — paying attention with eyes and ears."
Van Schenck said "a lot of coaches think they know everything, have done everything" but Sternberg and Constantine are "also very patient, and, of course, that's needed at this age."
That's because on this team, players must be football-ready at all times during games. If not, they don't play and they miss their chance, which helps players realize the importance of paying attention and earning the privilege to play.
"Parents are really the judge and jury of us," said Constantine, whose son, Jake, also plays on the team. "They look on what we do and appreciate the fact that we do what we do. They like that everyone plays. They like the Word of the Week and tell us. And that's gratifying that what we do is reaching beyond the players."
In the end, going the extra mile seems to be just the right distance. Kids are having fun, and these two coaches, going above and beyond, can't be measured by any odometer.
"When we hear about how excited this gets (the kids), that gets us excited, too," Sternberg said. "Not to sound really corny, but this is probably the best two hours of my week."
Mike Camunas can be reached at mcamunas@sptimes. com or (352) 544-1771.
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