Local Coaches' Support of Mentoring

Leedey Public Schools' BISON coaches support mentoring,
Team Oklahoma, and the Coaches' Mentoring Challenge.
Head Baseball Coach Eric Castle, Elementary Basketball
Coach Kris Gore, Head Girls' Basketball Coach Leah Beer,
and Head Boys' Basketball Coach Lance Carpenter
all are B.I.S.O.N. Mentors, too. 11-10-15

Below are ideas borrowed from Team Oklahoma in the Coaches' Mentoring Challenge. OSU's Coach Mike Gundy and OU's Coach Bob Stoops will co-captain Team Oklahoma in this multi-state new mentor recruiting campaign. Kansas State University's Coach Bill Snyder and University of Nebraska's Coach Tom Osborne began the challenge in 2008.

Why Coaches?

• Coaches are natural group mentors. 

• Their upperclassmen peer mentor younger teammates.

• Fans respect and follow coaches so their voices matter.

Coaching and mentoring are synonymous, and we salute all coaches who have shaped and are shaping young men and women into citizens of character, action, and discipline.

Coaches cannot mentor every youth in their towns, but they can use their considerable influence to advocate for mentoring, recruit new mentors, and/or spur a pilot mentoring program where none exists.

Requirement for Endorsing the Challenge/Mentoring
The only requirement for signing up for the challenge is that the Boren Mentoring Initiative is allowed to use coaches' photos and endorsement in PR and social media to advocate mentoring and recruiting new mentors.

Rogers State University Coaches with
mentors and mentees, July 2016

Above is another example of a group photo coaches at RSU in Claremore took to endorse mentoring. Pictured are Director of Athletics Ryan Erwin, Golf Coach Josh Fosdick, Cross Country/Track and Field Coach Chris McCormick, Baseball Coach Chris Klimas, Men’s Basketball Coach Justin Barkley, and Men’s Soccer Derek Larkin.

Optional Ways to Support the Coaches’ Mentoring Challenge (and mentoring all through the year)

Anywhere on Campus or at a Staff Meeting

Pose with signs supporting mentoring and send us the photo. (See above.)

At a Game

• Allow mentoring programs to host a mentor recruitment table at a home game. 

• Allow a mentoring public service announcement to be read over the loudspeaker during one or more home games. Or prerecord your own public service announcement.

• Provide a limited number of free game tickets for mentors/mentees to attend a game and/or a receive a free concession item.

• Give mentors/mentees a moment for on-field recognition.

• As a group, allow mentors/mentees to meet you and your players for autographs

• Spotlight any of your team or fellow coaches who mentor.

Within Your Community

• Encourage athletes, parents, fellow coaches and fans to become mentors.

• Issue a local press release in partnership with community mentoring programs.

• Print and display Coaches’ Mentoring Challenge or mentoring posters in the school or on campus or have students design their own.

• Share your own mentoring stories with local civic and religious groups to recruit mentors.

On Social Media

• Post photos and updates about your involvement in mentoring or the Coaches’ Mentoring Challenge to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or other social media outlets. Please include the hashtag #okcoacheschallenge at the end of your post.

• Send photos with captions and news of your efforts to bwoodrome@ofe.org. Please note that students under 18 must have parent/guardian permission to publish photos in print and online.

Advocate or endorse the development of a local mentoring program, such as:

• A peer mentoring program on your campus for upperclassmen mentoring freshmen.

• A program for college or high school students to mentor elementary and middle school students.

• Career-oriented mentoring program by community professionals for high school and college students.

• After practice one evening a week, have a team mentoring program, such as Camp Fire Club or some other mentoring model that teaches life skills, community service, and outdoor activities. Your team could also serve as peer mentors to younger students.

[On 7-12-16, we visited with Sara Williams, Rogers State University's Assistant AD, and we can hardly wait to post the creative ways RSU athletes mentor and/or interact with community youth. Stay tuned!]

http://okcoacheschallenge.org/

Ret. 7-11-16