Up2Us Sports coaches are leaders in the field of sports-based youth development (SBYD), but they often don't receive the recognition they deserve. Coaches' Corner is our way to show our appreciation for our incredible coaches who make positive change in their communities every day!
This month, we spoke with Andre Silva, a coach at Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens (VBGCQ) in Astoria, New York.
VBGCQ is one of the largest youth development organizations in Queens, and offers a diverse array of programs - from sports and dance to coding and homework help - for children of all ages. Andre works with children ranging from first grade to high school, but primarily coaches football for older children.
Although Andre is still in his first year with Up2Us Sports, he is no stranger to VBGCQ. A Queens native, he participated in programming at the site when he was young, and then began working with the organization when he was 15 years old - and has been there ever since.
Now 20 years old and a junior at John Jay College, Andre became a coach to give back to the community he grew up in. “I wanted to... train these kids just as I was trained by my coaches growing up,” he said. “I wanted to teach the new generation of kids what sports can do to them if they give effort and work hard.”
Through coaching, Andre has learned that even just a few words can make a difference for kids.
“I wanted to... train these kids just as I was trained by my coaches growing up,” he said. “I wanted to teach the new generation of kids what sports can do to them if they give effort and work hard.”
One day, when Andre was coaching a football class, he noticed that one of his students seemed out-of-sorts and wasn’t working as hard as he normally would. “[I]t was a shock,” Andre said, “because normally I would rely on this kid to lead the others, especially in football which was his main sport. [So] I pulled him to the side and told him some words that one of my coaches told me once and that was ‘No matter what you're going through right now, I got your back.’”
From that moment on, Andre’s student began to act like his usual self again, and Andre stressed how significant this experience was for him. “[It] showed me that words can actually change someone's entire day,” he said. “[T]hat will stick with me for the rest of my life.”
Like all Up2Us Sports coaches, Andre is committed to teaching kids sports skills, but also believes coaching is “more than just showing kids how to play a game.” He emphasized the importance of coaches simply having fun and playing with the kids they coach. “That’s what sports is,” he said. “[I]t’s not supposed to feel like a job or something you have to do...it’s supposed to be a time where you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Andre has been serving as Up2Us Sports coach since January 2021 at Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens in New York City thanks to support from AmeriCorps.
