YES, COACH!

The answer to the boy crisis, the loneliness epidemic, and having way more fun might come from mentoring and supporting kids. Oh, you don't know how to do that? Allow Snoop Dogg, plus other phenomenal leaders, to coach you up in four steps.

- BEN COURT, GREG PRESTO, BILL STUMP, AND MARTY MUNSON

I'm a coach.

You wouldn't know it by how I comport myself. I don't carry a whistle around. I'm not prone to wild fits of anger. People don't meet me and then say, “That guy is probably in the middle of a really bad divorce.” I'm a normal human being, which initially scans as un-coachlike if you've ever watched Brian Kelly unload his salivary glands on some poor LSU freshman who just missed a blocking assignment.

BUT I'VE CONDUCTED soccer drills with my 16-year-old in our backyard, taught my 13-year-old son how to fire out from a three-point stance, and shown all of my kids how to dive under an oncoming wave before it ruins their shit. Not only did I teach these lessons effectively, but I enjoyed it. Shit, my kids even enjoyed it! And I didn't have to force them to run hills if they ever claimed otherwise!

This is because coaching is a natural instinct. You don't have to be a redass, and you don't need to be an X's and O's savant. All you need is the willingness to pass your own knowledge to a kid who's willing to listen. You don't have to coach full-time (I never have). You don't have to coach an official team (ditto). You don't even need to be coaching sports (the 13-year-old is heavy into cooking, so I coached my li'l MasterChef on basic knife skills). You just need to care. Because if you do care, you quickly grasp what goes into proper physical education: guidance, structure, support, discipline, and a decent crossover dribble. That's leading. That's mentoring. That's coaching, and it's an ability that all men have, even if they may not look the part.