David Jacobson (@CoachDaveJake), a former PCA staff member, has coached children ages five to 15 in baseball, softball and basketball (including his own son and daughter), and has officiated baseball, softball, basketball and flag football.

Athletes can learn so much from sports, and Jacobson believes the most important lesson is teamwork and how to get along with different people. Young people who learn this will benefit their whole lives. Communication, a subset of teamwork, is a particularly fundamental skill learned through sports that helps forge success in many other aspects of life beyond sports. Coaches who emphasize communication skills are teaching young athletes how to navigate interpersonal relationships in all parts of life.