Mike Nelson has positively impacted the lives of many of La Porte’s youth, all because he has never been afraid to step up and serve where he is needed. Nelson has been coaching Pop Warner football in La Porte for the past 11 years and has served as the president of La Porte Pop Warner since 2019. Throughout his coaching career, Nelson has always made it a point to instill the same set of values within his players.
“I teach the kids how to play, but I also try to be a positive male role model for them,” Nelson said. “I try to teach them about life. I’ll check in to make sure they’re working hard in school. We’ve even done physics lessons together in the past. Only a few of them will continue to play football for the rest of their lives, but all of them are going to be men someday. I want to do all I can to help them grow into good men.”
When he isn’t coaching, Nelson works as a steel mill electrician. He originally worked in manufacturing but has been an electrician for the past eight years. Nelson, who had played semi-pro football, first got involved with Pop Warner when his eldest son Hunter began playing in the league back in 2013. Nelson and the rest of the parents were told that, unless some of the dads stepped in to coach, there would not be a season. Nelson was one of the fathers to help out and has been coaching ever since. Over the years, Nelson has discovered new coaching methods that have helped him develop as a leader.
“In my early coaching days, I was a big-time yeller,” Nelson said. “I thought that was a good way to motivate the kids. Although I still yell here and there, I’ve changed my tactics. A very good friend of mine told me about positive reinforcement coaching and it's worked wonders ever since I started doing it. It’s great seeing the kids react to it. They teach me about being better just as much as I teach them.”
He took over the Pop Warner La Porte presidency from his good friend Dennis Menear, for whom Nelson had served as vice president. As president, Nelson manages paperwork, supervises board of directors meetings, and generally ensures that Pop Warner La Porte is adhering to the organizational guidelines. Although he now has the distinction of being the organization’s president, Nelson continues to enjoy coaching and encourage his players to expand their athletic horizons however possible.
“I'm a firm advocate for the multi-sport athlete,” Nelson said. “As a society, we're pushing kids into sports specialization at increasingly younger ages. I fundamentally disagree with that. If you look at this year’s NFL Draft, about 12 of the top 20 picks were multi-sport athletes. You can be an elite athlete in one sport and still play several others. I think it's good for young athletes to be well-rounded like that. Baseball, football, and basketball can teach them things that will help them later in life.”
Nelson’s hobbies include coaching his youngest sons’ baseball and basketball teams. Although he enjoys these coaching opportunities, his main passion is coaching football. He is grateful for all of the support that the La Porte community has given him and his Pop Warner players over the years.
“I've been blessed to have a few teams travel down to Nationals, and the La Porte community just rallies around the kids every time we do,” Nelson said. “It's unlike anything I’ve ever seen; no other city around here does that. Everyone here feels a sense of pride about the team’s successes. The kids will be out in public wearing their jerseys, and every single person that stops by has positive things to say to them. Everyone is really supportive, and it’s like they're part of the team, too. It’s really cool, and I’m very glad I get to be a part of it.”
Nelson looks forward to coaching future generations of athletes and helping them develop into happy, healthy, and well-adjusted adults. The efforts of dedicated individuals like Nelson will make a difference, not only in the lives of young people, but the community as a whole.\