Coaches Highlight: Kyle Crandall

For nearly 20 years, coaching basketball and baseball have been so much more than a job for me. It’s a special opportunity to invest part of who I am into the lives of a group of teenage boys. I get to take part in helping them develop into successful young men within their sport and their personal lives – and that’s what coaching is really all about!

Rochester, NY is my community. Coaching Varsity Baseball at East and Varsity Boys Basketball at NE Douglass has given me a unique perspective and a heart for inner-city youth. Having an engaged father figure was something that I took for granted growing up.  Some athletes on my teams are blessed to have active fathers in their lives but many do not.  Sports provides such an important outlet for many kids. I have come to realize that my role naturally leads to filling in some gaps in their lives. I recognize that I’m a father-figure to some of these kids and that’s a role that I embrace.

That’s why I need FCA.

The leadership of FCA is always there to offer help in many ways. They give me tools to keep me focused on the most important components of coaching and to keep my own life in check as well. Twice a month, the local coaches huddles keep me accountable to be a man of integrity in all areas of my life. And they do this without forcing their own agendas or events.

Coaching with a Christian mindset in a public school can be challenging knowing that some of the players and families don’t share my faith in God or even a similar worldview.  I never force my faith on anyone. Faith is very personal – only God can change hearts.

Like most people, athletes respond when they know they are loved and that someone really cares about them. Sometimes athletes show their appreciation while still in school. Sometimes they come back many years later to share how they were impacted.

One of my proudest moments was when one of my former players asked me to officiate the vow renewal ceremony with his wife.  Recently, a former baseball player who came to Rochester from the Dominican Republic and learned English as a second language was able to reach his goal of becoming a commercial airline pilot with United Airlines. I certainly don’t take credit for these stories. I pray that God worked through me to impact these players in some small way.  That’s how I judge success as a coach. Sports represents a huge calling in my life. And FCA is a big part of refining that calling. Together we’re leaving a legacy of allowing the Lord to use us to impact the lives of others.

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