‘We Gotta Coach Them Harder’: Russell Wilson Speaks on Not Cutting Corners When Coaching Future to Be the Best  

Russell Wilson is not accepting mediocrity when it comes to his children’s performance in any sport. 

The two-time Super Bowl winner knows a thing or two about the correlation between natural talent, hard work and success. And like most parents, Wilson takes pride in coaching his children, and instilling that winning mentality in the budding athletes. So much so that Wilson sees no challenge in adjusting his coaching style when working with his children and not his teammates. 

Russell Wilson and Future Zahir Photo: @dangerusswilson/Instagram

“I don’t struggle with it because I just do it. It should be right every time,” Wilson said on the “Youth Inc with Greg Olsen” podcast. In fact, the former Seattle Seahawks quarterback believes there is no room for soft coaching, especially when it comes to his stepson Future. “He’s very talented,” Wilson said of the 7-year-old, whom his wife Ciara shares with her ex, rapper Future. 

Wilson continued, “One of my pet peeves, with coaching kids these days, is like saying, ‘it’s okay to tie,’ ‘it’s okay to this, it’s okay to that.’ Listen, I think it’s great for kids to get outside and if they don’t win, cool, great. But if a kid has a talent, like a special gift, it’s God-given, to me, it’s our requirement to coach them and to train them to be the best version of themselves.”

Wilson has been seen helping Future hone his skills in soccer, baseball and, of course, football. Wilson shared that his philosophy is to correct mistakes with positive reinforcement, with both building up Future’s confidence and vision of himself.

“I cannot stand if my kids get a coaching lesson and they’re doing something wrong and it’s like, ‘Okay, next thing.’ No, we’re gonna fix it right,” Wilson added. “I firmly believe we’re just letting our kids get away with stuff nowadays. I think we gotta coach them harder.”

Wilson we’d Ciara in 2016; at the time Future was just a toddler. The couple since has added two more children: Sienna Princess Wilson, 4, and son Win Wilson, 20 months. Wilson, who was traded to the Denver Broncos, recently expressed that he would like to have one more child. 

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