""Men, you have to coach youth boys' sports teams so that they learn how to be vulnerable when they are facing stressful situations in front of other boys. You need to teach them not to suppress their emotions because that's the message they're going to get at youth sports teams. They're going to learn to suppress their emotions so that they don't look weak in front of the other boys, unless you go coach youth sports teams," he said."
""You might think that young boys suppressing their emotions doesn't really affect your life. Wrong, wrong, wrong. These young boys will soon become young men in your community, and you don't want violent, emotionally suppressive young men in your community. You want young men who learned how to be vulnerable on a football field at their young age. You want young men who had a coach who said, 'It's okay to cry when things get hard as long as you keep pushing forward.'""
Modern communities have grown more insular, reducing informal child-rearing support once provided by a local "village." Youth sports represent a critical arena where boys learn emotional responses, social norms, and how to handle stress in front of peers. Male coaches can model vulnerability, discourage emotional suppression, and explicitly teach that showing emotion does not equal weakness while encouraging perseverance. Without intentional guidance, boys risk internalizing messages to hide feelings, increasing the likelihood of emotionally suppressive or violent behavior later. Active community involvement in coaching can foster emotionally regulated, resilient young men and strengthen neighborhood safety and cohesion.
Read at Scary Mommy
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