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International Business Times
Obama Takes On Role Of Assistant Coach
President Barack Obama, in a message just ahead of Father's Day, revealed that he recently got a second job, being an assistant basketball coach on his young daughter's basketball team.
"So recently, I took on a second job: assistant coach for Sasha's basketball team," he said in his weekly radio address.
He said he has practiced with the team on Sundays, "and a couple of times, I'd help coach the games."
"It was a lot of fun - even if Sasha rolled her eyes when her dad voiced his displeasure with the refs," he said.
He said he was "so proud" to see her daughter learn, improve and gain confidence.
"And I was hopeful that in the years to come, she'd look back on experiences like these as the ones that helped define her as a person - and as a parent herself," he said.
"Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there," Obama said.
In the address Obama began by noting that his "most rewarding job" is being a father.
He noted he grew up without a father, who left when he was two years old.
"I felt his absence. And I wonder what my life would have been like had he been a greater presence," he said, noting that he and his sister "we lucky enough to have a wonderful mother and caring grandparents to raise us."
Obama said that in his role as father, "I haven't always succeeded, of course - in the past, my jb has kept me away from home more often than I liked, and the burden of raising two young girls would sometimes fall to heavily on Michelle."
Obama stated three things he says he has learned about what children need most from their parents.
- "Our Time" - More important that quantity is the quality, he said. "Maybe it's just asking about their day, or talking a walk together, but the smallest moments can have the biggest impact."
- "Structure, including learning the values of self-discipline and responsibility" - He said he and the First Lady "still make sure they finish their schoolwork, do their chores, and walk the dog."
- "Unconditional love" - He said it's needed "whether they succeed or make mistakes; when life is easy and when life is tough."
Obama said his administration has tried to help fathers by boosting "community and faith-based groups focused on fatherhood, partnered with businesses to offer opportunities for fathers to spend time with their kids at the bowling alley or ballpark, and worked with military chaplains to help deployed dads connect with their children."
He said more information about the administrations efforts could be found on Fatherhood.gov.
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