Order on the court: Athletes coach and referee younger age groups

As athletes progress, they have the opportunity to take on a role in more than just practice and games. Several Aragon athletes have begun to coach and ref younger athletes in their respective sports.

“In volleyball, I coach girls from around the age of nine to 13 years old and they range in skill from inexperienced to somewhat experienced, “ said sophomore varsity volleyball player Madison Campbell, who coaches at SF Tremors Volleyball Club.

While youth league coaching usually tends to be simpler than the normal coaching seen in high school and college, Campbell believes that it serves an important purpose.

“We work on simple footwork, like a three-step approach before [the kids] hit the ball,” Campbell said. “That way, when they become more competitive in volleyball, they won’t have to worry about nailing down the footwork.”

Campbell has noticed a change in her own mentality when playing after coaching as the younger players have a different perspective on the game.

“They’re not afraid to make a mistake because they know they’ll learn from it. So, now whenever I step out on the court, I tend to think about that and remember to just have fun and play the best I can,” Campbell said.

For Campbell, coaching reminds her of when she first began playing volleyball.

“Something I enjoy the most about coaching is watching the young girls become better each weekend I see them,” she said. “It reminds me of when I was that little.”

“I want to be the reason why one of the girls ends up falling in love with the sport”

In addition to coaching, athletes at Aragon also play another important role: Refereeing, or reffing, in local games.

“In soccer, I usually ref younger age groups like U11-14 [years old] and sometimes older,” said sophomore Abby Chang. “Right now I only [work as an] assistant referee because I’ve only had my license for a year, but I’m planning to start to center ref the really little kids, like U-8, soon.”

For Chang and other athletes, being a referee provides a different view of both the game and the referees.

“Reffing also helps me see all parts of the game and makes me appreciate the refs at my own games more,” Chang said “All refs are human too and they are doing the best they can … refs aren’t trying to call against you, they are just trying to call it fair.”

With a great deal of responsibility, students who coach and ref sometimes experience pressure from both players and the audience. Regardless of this pressure, Chang aims to always make the fair call.

“There are some difficult calls to make, but actually not that often,” Chang said. “When these do come up, both teams put a lot of pressure on me. I just have to go with what I feel is right.”

Junior Melia Zimmerman notes that one challenge of reffing while being a high school student is that parents and players have a different perception of her because of her age.

“They sometimes think … I’m a pushover, but I’m usually more strict than the older men who ref with me,” Zimmerman said.

As with the majority of jobs, Chang finds that the salary serves as motivation.

“I’ve played soccer for like 10 years,” she said, “so I get paid $35 to $40 per game for doing something that’s easy for me.”

Regardless of salary, for Campbell, the primary motive for being involved with younger athletes comes from a passion and desire to make an impact in a sport.

“I coach volleyball because, in a sense, I want to be the reason why one of the girls ends up falling in love with the sport,” Campbell said. “I still remember my first real volleyball coach, who I still talk to today, and I could not thank her enough … I want to have that effect on a girl I coach in the future.”