Episode 45: Bill Carufe on Coaching and Parenting Successes
/“Athletics are just an avenue to make you a better person, don’t let it be who you are...at some point it stops.”
Bill is the Director of Basketball and the Physical Education Department Chair at Seacrest Country Day School in Naples, FL. His list of accomplishments is extensive; he was named the Naples Daily News Basketball Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008, the Fort Myers News Press Basketball Coach of the Year in 2007, the Community School of Naples Basketball ranked his team number one in the state in 2007, he was named the Collier County Teacher of the Year in 2000, the Gulf Coast High School Coach of the Year in 2000, and the Gulf Coast High School Teacher of the Year in 2000. Bill’s path to youth sports began as a youth athlete himself! As the oldest of five he found himself often putting together games and teams, and continued on to Division III collegiate athletics and a master’s degree (with his thesis focused on the psychosocial development and implications of youth sports on children). His coaching and teaching has spanned all age groups and levels and currently includes instructing a first of its kind a Sports Psychology course focusing on theory and practice with particular relevance to life outside of sport. In this episode he and Kathy discuss parent involvement in collegiate sports, creating balance, performance in raising successful people over successful athletes, and maintaining perspective both as a coach and a sport parent. His passion for coaching and identity formation outside of sports absolutely shines in this episode, we hope you enjoy listening just as much as we did recording this one (quite a bit!).
