MELROSE LOCAL Jason Webb’s new coaching organization Kids Coaching Kids is an innovative way for kids to learn sports skills. (courtesy photo)
Kids Coaching Kids offers new style of sport coaching
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—When he was a young boy growing up in Melrose, Jason Webb knew one thing: he loved sports, loved bridging connections, but he also knew that he didn’t want a life of 9-5 p.m. drudgery work in his professional future.
The 1993 Melrose High graduate and lifetime resident has since embraced a “road not taken” mentality. Webb, who runs a headhunting company that matches executives and professionals, is also a husband and father here in Melrose. His wife, Keri and two kids Jada, 11 and Jalen, 9, keep him busy these days.
It’s in this role, dad, that Webb saw an opportunity on the local level to bridge more connections, this after watching his budding-athlete children navigate the uncertain world of youth sports. Enter Kids Coaching Kids, an organization founded by Webb that matches local youth mentors and young budding athletes for coaching services in a cost-friendly and convenient manner done locally in Melrose.
This new method of coaching might come to a relief to beleaguered parents who may be cutting checks of hundreds if not thousands of dollars for their young athletes to keep up with the demands of club sports, travel ball or private training. With Kids Coaching Kids, athletes in need of coaching are connected on their website in a collaborative effort by parents and Webb to match up with young student coaches, many of whom are local high school and middle school athletes.
How it works is fairly simple. Youth mentors are paired with young athletes by ways of Kids Coaching Kids website at joinkidscoachkids.com, with teen coaches setting their own price, which are often quite reasonable. The coaching services are offered locally or publically in parks, fields, backyards or gymnasiums in Melrose.
“It’s convenient and affordable,” Webb explains. “As a dad, I remember having to travel and pay up to $100 or more for an hour of training from an independent coach. And sometimes it didn’t always work out.”
Instead, Melrose youth have a chance to develop a mentor relationship that can aid in unexpected ways. Perhaps having that connection to an older kid might help reduce bullying or any feeling of isolation a young child might be experiencing. Or at the very least, get them off Fortnite or their mobile devices.
“It’s a great way to get a kid comfortable in a sport that might be new to them, without having to break the bank or travel far,” says Webb, who played three varsity sports at Melrose High, including the MHS football team under the coaching of Tim Morris. Football, baseball and basketball were his passion, so Webb understands the desire that young athletes have to compete for their school, on the college level, or beyond.
“I had high designs as a kid to be in the NBA,” he chuckles. “While that didn’t happen, I got to do what I loved in high school and later walked on in basketball at Stonehill College (D2). It took a lot to get there, and I worked hard following the lead of Jamal Gomes.” (later coach to current Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.)
Whether a parent and kid want to train for potential college sports or just make a local travel team, Webb is certain that embarking in this kind of mentoring relationship can be key. “Kids might feel more comfortable with a middle school or high school athlete whom they watch play varsity or JV ball every Friday night. There can be less intimation working with a local teen than with an adult coach they don’t know,” he says.
For the youth coaches he employs, “It creates fun ways for kids to build confidence in their own sport, gives them a voice while also making some money,” he says. “When you teach, you hone your skills and better your craft.”
So far, the organization has over a dozen mentor coaches ready to teach their skill set in sports such as basketball, football, baseball, volleyball and soccer.
Says Webb, “We had almost 50 student athletes reach out to offer their services once we put the word out on Facebook. We’re new and growing and looking to iron the small details out. We’re getting there. Our goal is to get at least one coaching partnership a day. One longtime resident told me he wished this service had been available when he was a kid.”
As this service gets off the ground, it’s clear this is a true community-based organization. Kids Coaching Kids will have an upcoming launch party at Rising Eagle and have sponsored this year’s Victorian Fair.
Parent Megan McGrath reached out to Webb recently to credit this initiative. Her son is one of those who offer coaching service. For her it’s a mutually beneficial relationship on both sides. “Kids are learning skill building and to professionalize communication skills with parents, while considering and setting their own rates in age appropriate sessions,” she noted. “There are many opportunities to further develop both coaching and business styles. It’s great.”
In the case of Kids Coaching Kids, it’s becoming clear that in a matter of education and sports, sometimes the best resources for your kids are in your backyard.
