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Random thought after having a conversation with LI member James McCann. Sometimes having impact and earning good money go hand in hand, but sometimes not so. Many S&C coaches aspire to be working with elites in professional sports and/or National/Provincial teams. However, even though the money might be good sometimes this is a thankless job, working with entitled athletes and the gains you see are small, and you wonder about your value and impact.  

The conversation with James made me reflect on my days as a secondary (13-17 yr old) PE teacher.  You really could see the impact of your coaching from a technical, physical and social perspective. Not so much money, but I can remember it as tremendously rewarding. I know of coaches getting out of HP environments and going back to school for some of the reasons above. The youth athlete development area is an exciting but challenging beast. Should we have out best coaches/coaching practice here given the potential impact on the athlete and potential flow on effects into our sports systems? I often have visions about the talent pool we could create if we did things better in schools. Do you? Are you in such an environment?

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