Coaches should never underestimate the amount of influence they can have on the people that they coach.

Sometimes, a coach’s voice resonates even more strongly with a player than the voices that a player hears inside his or her own home.

Alan Stanfield, the offensive coordinator at Whitworth University (Spokane, Wash.), learned that lesson early on in his coaching career.

Stanfield, a recent guest of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast, recalls speaking with a parent who communicated honestly about the impact on his child that Stanfield was making as a coach.

“I had a dad tell me early in my career that their son hears me a lot better (than he hears the parents),” Stanfield said. “Unfortunately, that’s probably true in that point in the kid’s life.”

USA FOOTBALL COURSES: Positive Coaching: Communication

That level of influence is something that Stanfield takes very seriously. He strives to be a players’ coach—meaning he always wants his players to view him as someone they can talk to and rely on during hard times.

Healthy communication between all three parties—coaches, players and parents—is critical to strong relationships all around. But sometimes, a coach can get through to a player in ways that the player’s parents simply cannot.

Stanfield knows that this sort of influence spans far beyond the sidelines.

“In coaching, you have such an opportunity to make a difference in players’ lives beyond just teaching them the Xs and Os of football,” he said. “I think that’s ongoing and I really appreciate that I get to do that for a living.”

Listen to the full episode of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator below: