Community Service Reflection Paper

I volunteered at Madison Middle School to achieve my community service hours. I was the assistant coach of the eighth grade girls’ basketball team. My hours went way beyond the requirement that the College of Education puts in place. When I am a teacher, I plan to coach a sport, and basketball is one of my favorite sports to play, watch, and now coach.

I began my volunteer experience at the start of the season in November. Initially, we had practice every day until games started. Practice was either before or after school, and I always arrived early for practice and I stayed until every girl had left. Games were more time consuming, because we sometimes wouldn’t get back to Madison until nine o’clock at night, while leaving before the girls were even out of class. I could have finished my volunteer hours in about 3 weeks, but I volunteered for the whole season, until February. Once I started, I felt as though I was just as important as a paid coach, because that was how I was treated. I was truly committed, and I went above and beyond the volunteer requirements.

By volunteering as an assistant basketball coach, I learned many things from the head coach himself. He taught me how to plan, prepare, and also to be ready for anything. We had an awesome year, our record was great – we won sixteen games and only lost one. We had a very talented group of young ladies, and four of them actually moved up and played junior varsity for the high school team.

With such a good group of girls to work with, I had a very enjoyable experience. The team was very respectful, and a few girls always expressed thanks after every practice. I loved coaching them, because they were very excited to learn and listen to me. I learned drills and practice plans from the head coach, but I also brought a different perspective to the team. I introduced new drills that the girls loved to do during practice.

I also experienced the challenges that come with coaching. There were many girls that missed practice and there were many parents that complained about playing time. It is hard when girls miss practice to keep playing time fair. When eighth grade girls miss practice, it shows on the court. When it comes to parents, I admired how the head coach handled issues. These problems will always be present in any and every sport. I will learn in my own coaching experience the best way for me to handle unsatisfied parents, and even players who want more playing time, and I am very thankful for the advice that the head coach offered me for my future.

The challenges were really minimal compared to the excitement I had as a coach. It was awesome to see how much the girls improved throughout the season. I loved how the team got along so well and how they encouraged and pushed each other. Basketball is all about teamwork, and that was what we mastered. Eighth grade girls are a very inspiring age group to work with.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to coach. I will always remember each girl and their strength, and how they were each such a valuable impact on the team. I love the saying about work: “love your job so much that you would do it for free, and you won’t ever have to work a day in your life.” My time flew by when I volunteered, because I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I learned so much, and I believe this coaching experience will give me more confidence as a beginning coach, and I will never forget my time spent volunteering for the eighth grade basketball team.