It is our honor to award The Soldier Coach of the Month award to Samuel Deeds, a retired Gunnery Sergeant from the United States Marine Corps, who has transitioned into a successful career as a professional skydiving coach. Samuel shares his journey from coaching junior sports in high school to becoming a Senior Ground Safety Specialist and Conditioning Coach for Team Fastrax, America’s Skydiving Team. Through his experiences, Samuel highlights the profound impact of coaching on his life and the lives of those he mentors, drawing on his military background to inspire and lead his team. Join us as we delve into Samuel’s story, exploring the challenges, triumphs, and invaluable lessons he has learned along the way.
STS: Tell your story about how and why you go into coaching.
Coach Deeds: While in high school I assisted in coaching Junior Pro Basketball (Grades 3-5), Little League Baseball and assisted with basketball clinics as a member of the basketball team. Teaching these young men and women the basics of the sport, the rules of the game, position play, and sportsmanship was truly fulfilling and in hindsight probably helped with my communication skills and leadership traits. The Marine Corps would help polish those skills. In truth it probably kept me out of trouble, because in small town rural Maine there’s not much to do but to get into trouble. Coaching gave me a sense of purpose. Seeing the impact that I had made on these young lives was exceptionally inspiring as I watched them go from Jr Pro to middle school and high school. Some would break school records and one would even go pro in a different sport. I know that I am not the one that caused these amazing accomplishments. It was those young men that put in the time and effort, the blood and sweat, and the tears of both joy and pain.
STS: How has your military experience influenced you as a coach?
Coach Deeds: I spent over 14 years in the Marine Corps. For the majority of my time in the Marines I led, trained and mentored Marines both junior and senior, enlisted and officers. Once I left the Marine Corps I found that something was missing. It took me a few years to finally find what that was, the leading, the training and the mentoring. My current position gives me that exact opportunity as we add new team members each and every year. I get to take the intangible traits that the Marine Corps instilled in me and apply them in my everyday life. Those invaluable leadership traits and principles that cannot be taught in the classroom, those that can only be learned through training, trial and error and combat operations. Having been a Marine Corps Recruiter for three years I learned how to better listen and talk to, rather than talk at someone. I carried those skills with me throughout the remainder of my Marine Corps career and into my day to day life, unless you ask my wife, she’ll tell you that I don’t listen or hear anything.
STS: How has Soldiers To Sidelines impacted your life?
Coach Deeds: Soldiers To Sidelines has shown me that coaching is more than the X’s and O’s, it’s more than the strength and conditioning and you do not have to be in a traditional sport to be considered a coach. Though most of us think of stick and ball or skills games when we hear the word Coach, part of being a Coach is to inspire those around them. You don’t just have to inspire players or performers to be considered a Coach. You can inspire your community, your city or your fans. After attending a couple Certification Seminars it opened my eyes to the realization that there are hundreds of men and women that served this country that want to continue to serve within their communities by making a positive impact on today’s young men and women. That no matter the era, branch of service, creed, color or religion we all still want to make a difference. STS has reiterated to me that my time of service IS NOT over and that I have a huge network of Soldier Coaches that I can reach out to for guidance and assistance. STS introduced me to a new community and family with a ton of resources to help elevate my skill sets and knowledge that I already have. STS taught me that you must Earn Your Whistle every day. Being a coach is not a right, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, it’s a privilege and one that you should treat with honor and respect.
STS: Describe a coaching interaction with a player, or group of players, that has a special place in your heart?
Coach Deeds: For me every interaction with new teammates is special to me. As Ground Safety Specialists (GSS) the lives of the performers (skydivers) are in our hands during every performance. It is imperative that each and every GSS completely understands our tolerances and standard operating procedures. Each and every venue that we perform at is different and has its own dangers and challenges. Even the smallest wind change can impact the performance. As GSS we must be on our toes at all times to ensure an On Time, On Target performance. No two performances are the same. A 5 degree wind direction change with an increased wind of 5 knots gives you a different approach, exit location and site picture. The performers need to fully trust the GSS with the decision to exit the plane. One of my duties and responsibilities is to coach each GSS and ensure they are properly trained in every aspect of their duties and to build trust and confidence with the performers.
STS: What are your aspirations in coaching?
Coach Deeds: My aspirations are to continue to lead, train, mentor and inspire those around me. Every day brings a new opportunity to do so, not only in my professional life but also in my personal life. Once my days with Team Fastrax are over I would like to coach at a local school in some aspect. I would like to make a positive impact on the lives of young men and women and show them that they do not have to be a product of their environment, you can overcome injury and adversity, and that there are opportunities for them outside of the traditional routes.
STS: What was the most difficult challenge you have experienced in coaching and what have you learned from that experience?
Coach Deeds: Much like Golf, our spectators are oftentimes close to our landing area. Since we perform all over the world there is a language barrier from time to time. Learning how to effectively communicate with the spectators has proven to be hard especially when I do not speak French, Chinese or Japanese (which all have different dialects within each language). What I have done to help myself out is to learn certain phrases much like I did when deploying around the world in the Marine Corps. Nothing too difficult, common phrases like Hello, Thank You, WATCH OUT! (Just in case I need that one). Disclaimer, I have not had to use that in any language and hope to never do so.
STS: Is there anything else you can share with us about your coaching story?
Coach Deeds: I mentioned earlier that part of being a coach is to inspire those around you. Outside of my professional life I work with a few grassroots nonprofits and co host the Homefront Sitrep Podcast. I get to use my life events of getting blown up twice by two different improvised explosive devices thirty days apart (while on foot patrol both times), having undergone 30+ surgeries and procedures, being able to stay in the Marine Corps, getting medically retired and coming home to nothing, undergoing more surgeries and procedures, all while dealing with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury, trying to find my new normal and trying to find a sense of purpose, trying to find direction and falling into my current position with Team Fastrax. The whole time that I was dealing with this all I had to do was open my eyes because it was right in front of me. Team Fastrax. We inspire people every single time the performers leave the plane, every time that the American Flag opens and the performer descends to earth from 4,000 ft above. The oohs and aahs, the tears as our National Anthem plays, and the thunderous roar as the crowd erupts once that performer lands. I talk of my life events often, the adversity, the injuries, the surgeries, and overcoming all of it in hopes to inspire at least one person. There is nothing more inspiring than a Team Fastrax performance especially when you find out that every performance is dedicated to a fallen service member or fallen first responder, except my wife she is the greatest coach I know. She inspires me to be better every single day. Earn Your Whistle, Every Day.
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