For many, an athletic career ends after high school or if you’re lucky college. 40-year-old Derrick Mintah, an active soccer player during his youth in Ghana, certainly never expected to return to the fields. That is until one summer day three years ago, when his son’s soccer team was left in dire straights.
That year, the Slick City Strikers travel soccer team in Manchester, CT. had an exceedingly large turnout at tryouts. 14 boys were going to be cut if a parent volunteer didn’t step up to lead a second team. For the next couple of days Justyn, Mintah’s eldest son, encouraged his dad to take the job. You can probably guess what happened from here.
Coach Mintah said yes and his passion for soccer was reignited, only this time, teaching became his core focus. A long-time fan of passing on his skills and knowledge, he found immediate joy in coaching. In fact, the process of watching his players develop and showcase their progress in a game is invaluable to him.
“Coaching my son and his friends is priceless,” wrote Coach Mintah.
Mintah has his family to thank for all their love and support through the years. His wife Adwoa and their three amazing kids Myra, 8, Madison, 4, and of course Justyn, 10. The whole family agrees, dad loves soccer and he’s a doing a wonderful job of passing on his skills and knowledge. Hearing about his playing days back in Ghana also keeps everyone’s interest.
Aside from being an amazing father and coach, he works as a senior systems analyst. With a growing family, coaching gig and full time job, Coach Mintah has a jam packed schedule. Which is why he’s a big fan of Weplay for time management. “Weplay allows me to focus just on coaching,” wrote Mintah. He went on to say that he enjoys the calendar and being able to send team reminders all at once.
Congratulations again to our Coach of the week Derrick Mintah. We look forward to watching your team grow on Weplay!
Derrick Mintah’s Keys to Success:
Get a good supporting cast. (ie your coaches and parents - they have to believe in you and you system)
Teach your players team work and how to support each other. Remind them that there is no “I” in team.
Make sure you and the children are having fun.
