Meet Sharon Butler – Mother, Coach and Former Athlete
Sharon Butler is the founder and CEO of Coach Mom and ARS. Coach Mom prepares student-athletes academically and athletically and helps place them into prep schools. Recently, a new service was established called Athlete Recruiting Service (ARS) to ultimately help student-athletes get a scholarship at the collegiate level. Sharon is a mother, basketball coach and former athlete, representing the parenting, coaching and athletic perspective of Coach Mom and ARS. Sharon has a great passion for helping young athletes reach their fullest potential and supports them through every step they take.
As a mom, Sharon has raised 3 young men primarily as a single parent. The boys played the usual sport of little league soccer, took swim and skate lessons, and fell in love with tackle football in grade 3. From day one, Sharon emphasized the importance of academics, a vital component to prep school and collegiate basketball. A true story from Sharon comes from when the boys in grade 3 and grade 5 came home with not the most flattering of report cards, which she took to heart. On that day, the games systems were put away, where previously they were only permitted on weekends. The TV was unplugged, the screen was turned to face the wall and let just say library cards were used more than ever. This in fact turned the boys into avid readers since then and okay, maybe wrestlers!
As a coach, Sharon’s extensive knowledge has been built from years of experience, of both education and training athletes. Sharon has a Bachelor of Physical Health Education from the University of Toronto and is a level 3 certified coach. She coached college basketball for 15 years where she continued her passion for both basketball and helping young people.
Her coaching philosophy is that “I coach for life not just basketball.” According to Sharon, the three most important factors in the sports process are the way in which sports teach us life lessons, the importance of academics and of course having fun. Bennett, one of Coach Mom’s current athlete’s writes, “Sharon is like one of my family members. She knows basketball and how to help me grow. She has helped me get mentally prepared before games as well as helped me breakdown performance afterwards. As a young student-athlete she is teaching me early about the importance of mental focus, building confidence, school work and how to stay balanced.” Sharon works diligently to make the recruiting process as seamless as possible, while being personable to every student she works with, understanding their strengths and opportunities for improvements.
Elaine Ticzon, a Huskies Alumnus and Assistant Coach of the GBC basketball team spoke about Sharon’s guidance and compassion while she was the head coach. Elaine writes “her ability to get the most out of her athletes never ceases to amaze me. She is compassionate, confident, loyal and tough. When [Sharon] speaks it’s hard not to be captivated by the emotion and honesty in her words.” She writes about how strong Sharon’s leadership skills are and how she always practices what she preaches. Sharon has impacted the lives of many, who have needed guidance and the inspiration to work towards their dreams.
Sharon grew up in foster care shortly after immigrating to Canada from Jamaica in the 80’s, so sports was the one familiar thing to her and was an outlet. Sharon played basketball for four seasons for the University of Toronto Blues, where she won three provincial titles and played in several national championships. Sharon firstly represented Ontario in the sport of Netball provincially starting at the age of 14. She then represented Canada globally and played the centre-court position on one of Canada’s most successful teams, which placed sixth at the 1991 world championships. She also competed in the Commonwealth games in 2012 and took part in her last international tournament in Singapore at the age of 40.
Sharon’s athletic background provides shared experiences with the student-athletes she mentors, helping guide them through their own personal journey. She trained hard and played hard and has the same expectation of the athletes she supports. Sharon understands the hard work and dedication needed to be an athlete, and knows we all need extra support and guidance, because every journey is different!
Coach Mom was founded from Sharon’s experience of going through the recruitment process with her own son, which developed into the desire to help student-athletes. This experience transpired into the creation of both Coach Mom and ARS, helping student-athletes reach prep school and collegiate basketball. Coach Mom is built on the foundation of giving student-athletes the right resources, opportunities and sustained inspiration to excel academically and athletically, in hopes of reaching prep school and beyond. Sharon is forever thankful for the love and support she has received from student-athletes, parents, school administration and coaches throughout the years.
Written by – Katie Marchut – Writer/Editor
