Soldiers to Sidelines Founder's Mission is to Help Veterans and Give Back to the Community

Harrison Bernstein has long had aspirations of Football coach On a professional level. In 2019, after more than a decade of work, he got this opportunity. But Bernstein's passion for coaching turned into something else.

He would sacrifice that dream in order to give back to a community that made the decision to risk the ultimate sacrifice.

Harrison Bernstein, president and founder of Soldiers to Sidelines, launched the veterans charity in 2010. (Soldiers on the sidelines)

Bernstein is the president and founder of Soldiers to Sidelines, a veterans' charity whose mission is to bring renewed meaning to life for members of the military community through coaching while serving the youth community.

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Speaking to Fox News Digital, Bernstein said the idea for Soldiers to Sidelines came about in 2010 after his time with the organization. Washington Commanders, where he was an assistant strength and conditioning coach for three years.

“I was coaching a high school football team and one of my co-workers was really keen to help the military in the area get involved in football coaching because the news was full of people coming back from the Middle East looking for a purpose, a way to reconnect and find renewed happiness and purpose,” Bernstein explained.

“So it was a colleague who suggested that we invite some local veterans to high school football practices, put them on the team and teach them how to coach football.”

Harrison Bernstein of the Washington Commanders poses for his 2009 NFL profile picture during photo day in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by (NFL Photos via Getty Images)

Bernstein admitted he wasn't initially interested in the idea. He was working on perfecting his own coaching technique in hopes of returning to the NFL.

“At that point, my goal was to come back to the NFL and become this incredible defensive backs coach, right? That's what I thought I wanted to do.”

But after much persistence, Bernstein agreed and organized a seminar in which only six people attended. To his surprise, Bernstein's plans for his future had changed by then and Soldiers on the sidelines was born.

“The inspiration didn’t come from love at first sight. It’s something that evolved within me and has now become my life’s work.”

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Those who completed the certification process were able to become coaches at all levels: high school, college and even professional. (Soldiers on the sidelines)

“Once I started connecting with veterans and military members and I started seeing how much it changed their lives, you know, hearing stories — I mean, some of them were really profound, where people were struggling with the ultimate bad decision — and taking them out of that situation and realizing that they had a renewed sense of purpose in life really touched me. So much so that I gave up a career as a football coach at the highest level to spend all my time doing this.”

More than 1,800 “soldier coaches” have now been certified through the program in eight different sports. Veterans make up 38 percent of certified coaches, while retirees and active-duty military members make up 25 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

The program is free and is available to veterans, service members, military spouses, and military families. Once the certification process is complete, Soldiers to Sidelines offers continued learning with online courses, webinars, workshops, and more.

Those who have completed the certification process have gone on to become coaches at all levels: high school, college and even professional. But for Bernstein, the impact is most visible among those who coach youth.

More than 1,800 “soldier coaches” have now been certified through the program in eight different sports. (Soldiers on the sidelines)

“Our country has a shortage of coaches, and we also have a shortage of quality coaches. Most coaches are volunteers, there is no formal training, and unfortunately, many civilian coaches are selfish – they do it for personal reasons rather than simply investing in kids. Some are, many are not. But our military coaches, who are accustomed to selfless service, are truly invested in kids. Our vision is to create an army of 10,000 character-based military coaches who will influence millions of kids a year.”

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Another goal of Soldiers to Sidelines is to ensure that the U.S. military remains an “all-volunteer force,” as Bernstein puts it.

“The U.S. military is suffering from a national security crisis because recruitment is down “The population is larger than ever and the willingness to serve is lower than ever. And that’s important because we have the luxury of an all-volunteer force right now… Soldiers and Sidelines is here to ensure the future of that all-volunteer force. And we can do that by having the most inspiring and motivating leaders, our Soldier Trainers, in the community showing kids that a life of military service is a good thing. And you’ll also grow as a person, as a leader, you’ll get fit, you’ll learn to solve problems, you’ll serve your country – so we’re bringing those values ​​back to life.”

The program is free and is available to veterans, military members, military spouses and Gold Star families. (Soldiers on the sidelines)

Bernstein hopes Soldiers to Sidelines will grow to work with every major sports league, but more importantly, that more people will be encouraged to join the program to become Soldier Coaches and, in turn, have a positive impact on their communities.

“We’re about to have 10,000 soldier trainers who will impact over a million kids a year. Think about that impact. It can literally change the fabric of our country.”

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