Each week, Ole Miss students trade their textbooks for whistles to coach young athletes in Oxford.
Through the Oxford Park Commission, students volunteer as coaches for flag football, baseball and other sports, giving back to the community while they gain leadership experience. Their involvement helps to shape the next generation of athletes and fosters a love for the games with local kids.
John Davis, community relations director for the Oxford Park Commission, emphasized the value of student involvement.
“Students helping coach is so important for us and the community,” Davis said. “On top of having great energy, a lot of students have tremendous knowledge about the sports. They also offer fresh teaching perspectives that may not always trickle down from older members of the community or parents, who may be too close to certain participants.”
Davis said that each year, six to 10 students sign up to coach, not including college-age interns.
Max Milano, a political science major from New Orleans and a flag football coach for ages 10-11, sees his role as an opportunity to pass down the skills he once learned as a player.
“I love helping out in our community,” Milano said. “Growing up playing football, I love to teach the kids the same fundamentals I learned when I was in their shoes. I was presented with the opportunity, and I haven’t looked back. The kids love being there, and it makes me happy.”
Cannon Hearne, a risk management and insurance major who coached baseball last year and now coaches flag football, initially got involved to earn community service hours for Phi Kappa Psi social fraternity but soon realized it was worth far more.
“Coaching baseball wasn’t what I wanted to do last year,” Hearne said. “I initially just needed community service, but it ended up being so much more than that. When I was asked to coach the sport I love — football — I couldn’t say no.”
Joey Case, an engineering major from Kentucky, who coaches flag football for 10-and 11-year-olds, sees coaching as a way to combine fun with responsibility.
“Me and my buddies thought the idea of having a youth flag football team was awesome,” Case said. “This is like every sport-loving college kid’s dream. It’s getting you ready for when you have your kids playing sports.”
One of Case’s assistant coaches, Jake Smith, a marketing major from Georgia, joined the program after being asked to lend his football expertise.
“Joey had asked me to help out with practices and games,” Smith said. “He needed a little more football knowledge, and I was thrilled to help.”
Titan Henderson, a native of Brandon, Miss., and a former college baseball player who transferred to Ole Miss, said coaching allows him to reconnect with the game he loves.
“After originally playing college baseball and then transferring to Ole Miss, I felt as if I lost a part of myself,” Henderson said. “Being able to coach these kids brought me back into the game.”
Tom Warner, an entrepreneurship major from Philadelphia who coaches flag football for 6-and 7-year-olds, takes pride in being the first coach a majority of these young athletes experience.
“We have the youngest kids out of anyone else coaching,” Warner said. “It’s their first learning experience with football, and I’m glad it’s me teaching them.”
The presence of college students as coaches is appreciated by the parents as well as the young athletes. Thomas Britt, whose son plays on a 10- to 11-year-old team, believes that students bring a unique approach that benefits kids in ways that adult coaches sometimes can’t.
“I’m so thankful they have kids coaching these teams alongside a parent,” Britt said. “At young ages, sometimes these kids don’t respond to adult teaching. They feel more comfortable in a setting that’s adjusted for them.
Davis echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the impact that students have on the kids they coach.
“We always enjoy the perspectives of students,” Davis said. “I know they have been so encouraging and enthusiastic, and you always like being around that type of person.”
While the goal is to teach young athletes the games, student coaches gain personal and professional growth with the experience. Coaching teaches leadership and communication skills that will benefit them beyond the field.
“Coaching has made me more responsible,” Hearne said. “These kids look up to us, and it makes you realize how much of an impact you have.”
