Dedicating time to coach minor sports can be a challenge for some as it is, especially when you’re the head coach of team playing a sport that you’ve never played yourself.
That stays true with Oneil White, who’s been an athlete for the majority of his life.
White has participated in everything from soccer and handball,to volleyball and track.
“Everything but football,” he chuckled.
“My son’s oldest son showed interest in it and now I’m coaching it.”
The football-coaching granddad now coaches flag football at the U-10 level. He also dabbles in head-coaching tackle football for the St. Vital Mustangs.
“I just took it from me watching sports, me being involved in sports, what I would like to see and how I would like to develop my child into it, and it seemed to rub off — I think — pretty well with my kids,” says White.
“He pushes people across their limits to go higher and better than they think they can be,” said Gus Raetson, one of White’s 10-year-old players.
Raetson is one of many young football players who’s played for White in multiple seasons.
“Even though they’re playing other sports, they still come back to me every season just before its registration time. They’re coming to me and saying, ‘are you coaching?'” White explained.
White’s Thundercats flag football team just put a bow on the 2020 season, following a championship victory in the Manitoba Summer Slag League.
White says his dedication and love for coaching extends way beyond the success of his teams.
“When the opportunity presents itself, we like to see everybody on the team obviously hit the end zone or make a catch, or make a run for five yards. The kids are more excited about that (than winning),” he said.
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