Brian Heaton is a high school coach at Napanee District Secondary School, he began coaching and teaching in 2000. Brian doesn’t stick to just one sport, he has been known to coach a wide variety, including football, girl’s hockey, basketball and soccer. He stays busy outside of the high school as well and has coached rep hockey in Napanee, and women’s soccer in Kingston. He says every sport and every team brings its own challenge, but it’s been rewarding over the years.
Brian says he really enjoys the team dynamic, group interaction and the fact that everyone has a role to play. He says at the high school level especially, giving students something to be apart of is very beneficial for their sense of belonging and fitting in.
When asked what one of his biggest challenges is in coach, he said he thinks it is sometimes it is difficult to find out where the athletes fit best within the team, in terms of position, communication, etc. He says it is the coach’s job to find where the athlete best fits and in which role will they excel.
If a person is interested in coaching, he says there are a lot of volunteer opportunities in the area. He said the high school is sometime even looking for volunteer coaches. Sometimes it is best to start out as an assistant coach or just volunteer in a small capacity and if you enjoy it, then doors can open.
Brian says he has enjoyed the fact that he has been able to be involved in a variety of sports and he really has loved learning how to coach each of them. He says that “sometime the different sports, attract different kinds of players” and he finds that very rewarding to be apart of.
