May 30th, 2023 | Harrison Bernstein
Soldiers To Sidelines Honors Maj (Ret.) Brent Beadle as the May 2023 Soldier Coach of the Month
We are proud to honor Coach Brent Beadle as the May 2023 Soldier Coach of the Month for his steadfast commitment to bring the values of his military service to multiple sports in Ingram, TX. He has tremendous empathy and emotional intelligence skills that has helped turn around his track program, boost his football program, and develop his middle school girl’s basketball team. The variety of his coaching skills over several sports is indicative of his love for helping young athletes.
We asked coach Beadle some questions, and through his answers you can see his example is the highest standard of how military service can grow the future leaders of our country.
STS: Tell your story about how and why you go into coaching. Discuss how coaching has impacted you as a person.
Coach Beadle: I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a single mom. We didn’t have much money, and when my mom got her nursing license, she moved us down south to North Carolina. The parents of that community still have a lasting impact on me today. The fathers, rec league coaches, and my school coaches of that North Carolina community took the time to mold me as an athlete and person. I vividly remember one of my friend’s Dad would take the time between pickup games to explain the importance of using my left hand and showing how to move my body while going to the rim in basketball. Another parent would teach me about plate patience and how to properly hold my bat and stance. When I reached organized sports in Junior High and High School, it made the biggest impact on my life. Coaches I thought were the devil incarnate at the time instilled discipline, realistic expectations, and candidness that shaped my personality and morals. It seemed like each of them worked in concert, knowing what was missing in my life to fill a void and ensure I didn’t split through the cracks. Helping me with my bow tie for prom, pulling me out of class to tell me my mom was in a car accident, and being there when I got busted for kissing a girl in school, ending up with ISS. Through my best and worst moments, the Coaches of that small town were there for me. I’ve retired from the military and the best way to honor the legacy of my fellow Soldiers and former Coaches is to mentor, coach, and teach the next generation for the challenges that lie ahead.
STS: How has your military experience influenced you as a coach?
Coach Beadle: If my previous Coaches and experiences taught me discipline, it was just an appetizer compared to what the military does to indoctrinate you into the discipline mindset. The Officers, NCOs, and Soldiers I served with are the reasons for who and where I am today. You learn that disciplined units can only be good with organization and communication. I believe the military is the only organization that genuinely develops people in mind with the understanding you are training a replacement that could potentially lead people into life-or-death situations. Decision-making becomes almost tacit when considering possibilities, outcomes, end states, and risks. I believe you can’t be a successful coach without knowing who you are, what motivates you, and understanding your strengths and weaknesses. Experiences, especially failures, resonate with kids because they see that the outcome (who you are today) is instrumental in learning. The military offers you a lifetime of experiences that can resonate with just about any audience. I was just blessed enough to have leaders that I could emulate and mentor me to achieve a better version of myself. My special operations experience, training, and deployments help me brush aside any noise that may come with dealing with kids. You deal in variables of hormonal teenagers, and having training that helps you identify the problem and do conflict resolution management has paid huge dividends.
STS: Describe a coaching interaction with a player, or group of players, that has a special place in your heart?
Coach Beadle: This was my first year as a Head Coach of a school team sport. I was given a list of ten (10) or so names that ran track the previous year. The challenge was to grow a program in a day and age where kids do not want to feel uncomfortable or put themselves out there. A kid on a track with hundreds of people watching is nightmare fuel for many kids suffering from anxiety and self-confidence. At the start of the year, I slowly started recruiting by doing things for kids – helping with tutoring other subjects, showing up to other sporting events, and recruiting high-character kids that previously didn’t run track. Organization and messaging were vital in developing my recruiting strategy. I used recruiting posters with action shots of kids playing sports linked in with easy forms to garner interest. I didn’t have a cut-off date for when kids could join but I did state expectations on what it takes to run varsity. We grew a team with just over twenty (20) boy/girl runners last year to a team with seventy-two (72) athletes at the District Championship. I’ll never forget this team and how it grew because of the effort of everyone in the organization to show up and show out.
STS: Which player you have coached are you most proud of? Why?
Coach Beadle: There are a few kids I coached this year who aren’t widely successful at the State level but are important to me nonetheless. These kids are the ones that come to work, come to work with a smile and come to work to get better, even if it means that they can’t necessarily do all that you ask because of physical or talent limitations. I tell my more talented athletes regularly that these kids will be your Doctors, Construction Management Supervisors, Pilots, or any other job they want. They have the drive, dedication, and attitude to be successful in whatever they want. The coaching challenge is letting these hard-working kids know their value and show them their tangible growth goals while raising the bar to become competitive. Some of my athletes came to this country later in life and struggled with English. That is just another hurdle that they overcome to achieve excellence. Coaching this year has been rewarding as I’ve seen growth in my athletes’ capability and emotional intelligence. There is starting to be a middle ground where talented athletes learn about discipline, time management, and attitude adjustment. In contrast, my positive attitude athletes saw gains on the track and tasted success for the first time from the fruits of their labor. I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity to coach these kids.
STS: What was the most difficult challenge you have experienced in coaching and what have you learned from that experience?
Coach Beadle: I still struggle with a few athletes that fell between the cracks due to extracurricular activities away from school. I had a few athletes that I coached, mentored, and taught throughout the year and they never stepped on a track for me. When your athlete turns to drugs, crime, or behavior that doesn’t align with your organizational ethos, it wears on you as a coach. You feel deflated and try and identify what went wrong during self-reflection. This also hits home for me as I experienced this as a Commander when your soldiers lose their way. I still struggle with internalizing how people could throw away opportunities despite having advantages and people that care. That is a personal flaw about personally investing in people and relationships without necessarily seeing underlining issues behind the scenes. I’ve learned that while recognizing the failures of a few can never be truly forgotten, the celebration and recognition of the majority that turn out to be good people helps with keeping me motivated.
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