The NBA Finals recently ended with the world's best player and his team getting run out of the gym in five games. In February, the Super Bowl ended with one of the most statistically successful quarterbacks of all time and his record breaking offense getting manhandled in a lopsided loss.

How success is judged

While both teams and both players who lead those teams had successful runs to the championship games, most people won't look at their seasons as successful. Peyton Manning and LeBron James are two of the best to play their respective sports, but many times they are judged as "unsuccessful" because of their losing record in the playoffs and championship games.

My son just closed out two different sports seasons, and neither were as successful as we wanted them to be. We got beat badly in one of the league playoff and lost by one point in overtime in the other. I coached both of his teams.

If I was a professional coach, then my job might be at stake, because I'd be viewed as unsuccessful. But what makes a successful youth football or youth sports coach?

Measuring success for youth coaches

My son starts a new league this weekend. It'll last eight weeks, we'll play in the playoffs, then it'll end. We'll take a week off then start a new league for another eight weeks and playoffs. During the course of all that, we'll find some standalone tourneys and play in them as well. By the time the fall comes, our team will have played a lot of games.

If we win them all or win a majority of them, will I be successful as a youth coach?

What if we lose them all or lose a majority, will I be unsuccessful?

My answer is "no" to both questions.

Being a successful youth coach doesn't depend on your win-loss record or even how many of your players make it to the elite levels. Being a successful youth coach depends on three things:

• Making youth sports about the kids. Youth sports is about the kids, not about you, the parents, the sponsors or anything else. You can be a successful youth coach, but first you have to make sure you are 100 percent about the kids.
• Focusing on their overall development. Your job is to teach the game, but you are also a mentor, a teacher, even to some a father or mother figure. When you sign up to coach, you accept the responsibility that while those kids are with you, under your coaching, you are responsible for helping them to develop not only as athletes, but as people.
• Creating an environment they can thrive in. As the coach, you are responsible for the environment. This includes attitude, making it safe to make mistakes, creating an environment where they can have fun and where they can learn the game that you've all signed up to play and coach.

My youth coach win-loss record is not great, and during the past three years, our teams have only won one championship. But that doesn't define my success.

No matter how many games or championships you win or lose, if the players you coach are the #1 priority, they develop in a healthy way, and they have the proper environment then you can hold your head high and feel like your job is well done.

What is one thing you'd add to the list of a successful youth football coach?

Jackie Bledsoe Jr. is a writer, blogger, speaker, husband and sports parent of three. He's played sports for more than 30 years, including the collegiate level, while coaching youth sports for the past nine years. He's the author of The Family Leader Manifesto. You can read more from Jackie by clicking here to subscribe to his blog.