I’m a fan of gift carding as a thank you for the coach.  Not to knock the hand-signed team ball or the framed picture of the kids, but wouldn’t it be great to give the coach something that is both sentimental and useful?  Here are some ways you can do both:

Give coach a new water bottle and a gift card to a sporting goods store.

• Sports Gear. Chances are your coach is a regular at the local sporting goods store.  Grab him a gift card and attach it to a new reusable water bottle.  Then have each member of the team “fill” the bottle with a handwritten note (or drawing for little players) of thanks.
• Free time. With the season over, how will coach spend all his free time?  Catching up on missed movies? Reading a good book?  Golfing on the weekends?  Get a gift card to one of her favorite leisure outlets and pair it with a small item that goes with the theme—popcorn (movies), a book mark made out of the team photo (bookstore), or a sleeve of golf balls (golf).  Don’t forget a note that reads, “We don’t want you to get bored without us!”
• You Rock! If your coach loves music as much as she loves sports, she’ll enjoy a downloadable music gift card with a note that says, “You Rock!”  Have each kid nominate a song for the coach’s playlist and say why it reminds him or her of the coach, the season, or the team.
• Tailgater. Is there a professional version of your sport close by?  Maybe coach would enjoy a night at the ballgame without being the one in charge.  Attach a team gift card to a typical ballpark snack (peanuts, caramel coated popcorn, cotton candy) and tell him it’s his turn to sit back and watch.


Not just any inspirational picture--Your Coach, Your Kids.

• Food for thought. Take a great action photo from one of the games and use the computer to add an inspiring quote. Frame it up and give it to the coach along with the restaurant gift card. You can find hundreds of quotes on the internet, but here are a few that might work for your team:
  • “A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” Ara Parasheghian
  • “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” Jim Valvano
  • “I won’t accept anything less than the best a player’s capable of doing, and he has the right to expect the best that I can do for him and the team!” Lou Holtz
  • “All coaching is, is taking a player where he can’t take himself.” Bill McCartney

If you have an idea of your own, please share it with me.