In ancient Greece and Rome the teacher was one of the most respected figures in history. All students of a craft and trade sought out a mentor who they could respect and learn from. That tradition has never died, and probably never will. As youth we all seek someone who sees potential in us, and drives us, and inspires us to achieve that potential. Mentors have shifted gears in our society. We have school teachers who teach us everything our society has deemed important for growing youth to learn. And role models that tend to be peers just above us in age. And then we have mentors, often called private instructors, tutors, and coaches. 

One of the roles of ancient mentors, was that of teaching youth the responsibilities they held, to god, or society. The influence that our mentors can have on our youth has not changed. But whether or not our youth coaches are achieving the status of mentor is a totally different story. I'm going to focus on football coaches, since there is such a vast array of positions to be had out there. Lets talk about the responsibilities of our youth football coaches. Most people would agree that the goals of any mentor or football coach should be two-fold. Firstly, they do have a responsibility to cultivate the skills of the trade, or game in the youth under their care. Secondly, they should be influencing our youth in character building ways. 

There are coaches out there that have harmful attitudes, win-at-all-cost coaches are destructive in pursuit of a title, they teach falsely that the most important thing is being the best or better than others. But they trample all the values that should be the focus of sports and talents. Its about a unity of team, a mastery of physical skill, and an ability to make decisions and breed leadership in our youth. The other side of the scale is the coach who is great with the kids and really nice, but doesn't understand how to be a leader himself, how to teach the kids discipline and other important characteristics. 

Football coaches are the mentors of today. A vast percentage of our youth play on football teams, which means that there is a huge number of young men who are influenced greatly by the coaches across America. Yes we can see that there are coaches who are incredibly adept at teaching and driving young men to play to their best. When we look deeper we will find that most often the coaches who lead winning teams, inspire their boys to play and live well. Being a mentor or a football coach is as much about example as it is about anything else. When coaches are good leaders, playing all the kids, and teaching them they all have a place where they fit. The results in on the field may be mixed, but the results in the hearts of the boys will be great. 

Basically the point is, are we watching who we have as the mentors of our youth today? Are we encouraging hard work and good values, or are we letting our youth become the feel-good goonies of irresponsible men. Being a football coach, and a youth leader of any sort is a great call in our society. It is something that can inspire great men, and should. If you care about the future of our country, take up the helm, help steer it straight, there are plenty of opportunities out there to influence the youth. And the effect can be infinite.