YMCA coaches love watching their youth improve

The Waxahachie YMCA strives to be a vehicle for community, and executive director Jon McLaughlin said volunteers are at the core of accomplishing this.

Timothy Wright and Josh Gunter both volunteered as coaches in past seasons and now lead a children’s basketball camp at the Y.

For Wright, coaching is something he can’t help but do. After coaching off and on for 20 years, he struggles to watch kids play sports, do something incorrectly and not jump in to direct them. He coaches “pretty much any sport,” including basketball, football and baseball.

“To me, it’s more than just coaching; it’s mentoring as well,” Wright said.

He loves working with youth and watching them improve in their skills and grow in their confidence. They often come in with a lot of negative thoughts about their skills in the sport, and Wright is able to work with them and watch as they get better.

“As a coach, the impact of seeing kids light up because they’ve gotten better or improved is incredible,” Wright said.

Gunter’s previous basketball experience originally pushed him to coach, but when he had his son, LJ, he began training him and teaching him basketball at a young age. It was LJ’s idea to start It’s Up 2 You Basketball and Skills Training Program in Waxahachie.

They work together to train other youth and help build their basketball skills through one-on-one and group training sessions.

“It’s been great for me starting out training him and teaching him since he was little, and we decided to bring it together, me and him, and started to train other kids,” Gunter said. “Being able to see the joy of the kids learn and see their confidence build, it’s awesome.”

“I get to help them get better at playing basketball and teach them how to shoot, pass the ball, score and be a teammate,” LJ said.

Gunter said he enjoys being a part of the community in this way and watching the youth grow up and strengthen their skills.

Both Gunter and Wright believe sports are vital to a community.

“It brings people together whether it’s during the tough times, bad times,” Gunter said. “Kids have to have some type of activity. You got to have some type of stress reliever; be able to do something to take your mind off of everything. Basketball, to us, is it.”

“Sports helps you overcome adversity,” Wright added. “Throughout the game, no matter what sport you play, there are times you’re up and times you’re down. It’s life. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. You actually learn more when you lose.”

He said sports help you learn how to adjust to what life gives you and work harder.

For more information about sports at the Y or how to be a volunteer coach, visit https://www.ymcadallas.org/locations/waxahachie/programs/sports.

Originally published September 10, 2022 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/sports/ymca-coaches-love-watching-their-youth-improve/article_d5620b4a-3143-11ed-aa31-036c5e082b41.html