The following is a guest post written by Jacob FIll, returning Skyhawks coach in San Jose, CA.

My birthday is coming up this summer.  I’d say I’m pretty lucky to have a summer birthday, especially as a college student.  One of the great things about a summer birthday for me is that I get to spend it with my family.  One of the bad things about spending it with my family is that my mother, every year, forces me to look through her old scrapbooks of my childhood.  Every year we sit down, against my will, and look through some embarrassing pictures of me as a child, but every year I take an extra long look at one picture in particular; it’s a picture of me as a toddler, being held up by my father to dunk on a plastic Fischer-Price basketball hoop.  This picture in particular is special to me because it symbolizes my love for sports.  

I have played sports my entire life, both at a highly competitive level and at a recreational level in college.  Once I realized my basketball playing days would be over after high school, my initial thought was, “How can I continue participating in sports without playing at the college level?”  I quickly realized coaching was what I wanted to do.  Having good and bad coaches throughout my playing career helped me realize what makes a good coach.  My good coaches taught me what works well, and my not-so-good coaches taught me what doesn't.  In addition to my basketball coaching knowledge, my love for working with kids had ignited in me a desire to coach. There’s just something about being able to pass along my love for sports and make a positive impact on a young athlete’s life that makes me excited to get up every morning and go to Skyhawks camps.  

I had worked as a volunteer sports camp counselor near home before, but that doesn't come close to comparing to how Skyhawks operates.  Skyhawks is a very unique summer camp organization.  In my opinion, Skyhawks’ best attribute is their ability to give each and every child individual attention.  When I volunteered previously, I saw some kids being left behind in certain games or activities.  For example, one time I noticed a child struggling to shoot the basketball, and I knew exactly how to fix the problem, but because of the unfavorable child-to-counselor ratio, I wasn't able to take time to give him individual coaching.  As a Skyhawks coach, this is never a problem.  When something like this happens, there is always at least one coach available to teach the child how to properly shoot the basketball.  And let me tell you, the feeling you get when a camper takes your advice, makes a shot, and his/her face lights up with excitement, is absolutely priceless.  

As a junior in college, I could have taken a lot of different routes this summer.  I could have chosen a full-time paid internship.  I could have chosen to work at a restaurant and make tons of spending money off of tips.  I could have chosen to take summer classes.  Instead, I chose to come back as a Skyhawks coach.  What better way to make money than to do what you love every single day? I come home on Fridays knowing I made a difference in some child’s life that week.  I come home feeling good about how I was able to pass along my love for sports to the next generation of athletes.  At the end of the day, I come home on Fridays glad to be a Skyhawks coach.