When Harrison Bernstein founded the nonprofit organization Soldiers to Sidelines in 2014, he saw a way for service members to translate their hard-earned lessons in leadership, discipline, strategy and teamwork to a different field: team sports. The parallels between military service and athletics were his inspiration.
“We can change the future of this country by coaching the future leaders of America,” Bernstein said.
That was the guiding message throughout the inaugural Soldiers to Sidelines Coaching Summit opening reception at the Vanderbilt University Student Life Center. From July 24 to 26, veterans from all over the country—some with coaching backgrounds and experience, others looking to embark upon a new trajectory as a coach—gathered at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt to channel their military leadership into coaching skills.
“We are humbled and honored to partner with Vanderbilt University to kick off our first annual Soldiers to Sidelines Coaching Summit with an incredible opening reception,” Bernstein said. “The academic and athletic prestige of Vanderbilt University inspires excellence among our soldier coaches. The Vandy environment motivates us to continue to serve our country as character-based coaches, and we could not be more grateful.”
The multi-day coaching summit partnered with Vanderbilt University Athletics to offer veterans pursuing coaching certifications access to the expertise of Vanderbilt’s coaching staff.
Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee drew on the influence that sports and the military have had on her life in her remarks at the opening reception. As the daughter of a veteran and a retired NASA public affairs officer, she noted how the “mission-driven, duty-filled perspective” of the military translates into helping people through sports—the very heart of Soldiers to Sidelines’ mission.
“You have an outsize influence on the people you’re coaching,” Lee said, sharing the many transferrable lessons the military imparted—“winning with grace, losing with grace, how to strategize, how to discipline, how to be a healthy member of a team, overcome adversity and accept people for who they are and encourage them to bring their best in service of something bigger than them.
“We need something to bring people together, and I don’t know of two things that can do that better than service and sports,” Lee said.
Coaches, including Director of Strength and Conditioning for Football Robert Stiner, Women’s Basketball head coach Shea Ralph, Mark H. Carter and Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mark Byington and Women’s Soccer head coach Darren Ambrose led workshops and seminars throughout the summit.
In addition to these certification sessions, the event featured leadership development and networking opportunities, including the opening night reception hosted by the Office of the Chancellor. The Institute of National Security at Vanderbilt supported the summit with behind-the-scenes coordination and by helping facilitate key connections.
Soldiers to Sidelines empowers veterans and service members to translate their military experience into a transformative force for the next generation of athletes, while also equipping military spouses and Gold Star families with the tools and support they need to be effective leaders and mentors in the coaching community. To date, Soldiers to Sidelines has certified 2,800 soldier coaches across eight sports, reaching 140,000 athletes worldwide, with active participants in all 50 U.S. states and six countries. The organization also has strategic partnerships with military, sports and business organizations such as Vehicles For Veterans, Wounded Warrior Project, America’s Warrior Partnership, The Honor Foundation, CVS Health, PenFed Foundation, Colonial Pipeline, Ticketmaster, Wells Fargo, NY Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears.