by Sasha Reddy
As a self-described “kid at heart”, HAC Youth Sports Coach Brandon Lee has always connected easily with children, helping them feel comfortable, confident, and included no matter the situation. He’s also been a devoted sports enthusiast his entire life. Coaching is something he had always wanted to do, but for much of his adulthood, the timing just wasn’t right. “I wasn’t really in the right state of mind,” he says. Now, watching the energy he brings to each class and the way students are drawn to him, you’d never guess the challenges he’s had to overcome to get here.
Brandon casually played every sport under the sun growing up, but baseball and soccer were his favorites. Among other teams, he played for the Tornadoes, Hockessin’s traveling soccer team at the time, practicing at Swift Park before it was converted to baseball fields.
Athleticism came easily for Brandon. He was used to being the kid who could jump the highest or run the fastest on the team without serious effort. But in high school, that natural ability became something he leaned on too heavily. He skipped practices, let his grades slip, and assumed that talent alone would carry him forward. “I squandered a lot of opportunities,” he admits. “I had scholarships and stuff like that going into high school, and I threw it away. Took it for granted.”
Fueled by a sense of alienation, he soon fell into addiction. “Drugs and alcohol were the escape,” he explains. “I was easily influenced by peer pressure. I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be comfortable.”
Loss deepened that struggle. His mother passed away when he was 24, intensifying patterns that were already there throughout his 20s and into his 30s. As he became more dependent, his focus scattered, his anxiety heightened, and life felt increasingly out of control. Eventually, he reached a breaking point – and asked for help.
“We call it the gift of desperation,” Brandon explains. “I got to the point where I was so desperate, and I was so low in my life, that it was actually the gift that helped me dig out of it.”
Talent may have allowed Brandon to excel in sports growing up, but he knew that overcoming his addiction would require practice and perseverance. After battling addiction for over 15 years, he admitted himself to rehab, began attending meetings regularly, and made a concerted effort to implement every skill he learned there.
I was so low in my life, that it was actually the gift that helped me dig out of it.
Addiction recovery programs teach much more than just impulse control; self-reflection is a big part of it, too. Program participants are taught to take ownership of their actions, both good and bad. “When we work on ourselves, the world doesn’t seem as bad,” Brandon says. “Traffic doesn’t seem as bad. The line at the grocery store doesn’t seem as bad.” From the start of his journey, Brandon learned to look inward, stay teachable, and remain open.
“I finally broke free from those shackles, and life’s gotten a lot better,” Brandon reflects. “My upbringing humbled me, but I learned from it. I wouldn’t undo anything.” Today, he’s been clean for almost five years.
In the summer of 2024, Brandon was approached by Dave Mulvena, HAC’s Assistant General Manager and Sports Director, about an opportunity to teach youth sports classes at HAC. He and Brandon had played flag football together for years, so Dave was familiar with Brandon’s ethic and sportsmanship. Working with kids had always been something Brandon felt drawn to, but he understood that timing matters. Having committing fully to his recovery, he’d finally reached a place of clarity and stability that made stepping into a coaching role feel not only possible, but right. That September, he began working at HAC.
It was his first official coaching gig, but you wouldn’t know it.
“I got thrown to the wolves,” Brandon says of his first youth sports class, “and I loved it the minute I started doing it.”
He taught youth sports classes on Saturday mornings at first, working with children ages three through 12. “It’s kind of like herding cats,” Brandon smiles, “But they’re just adorable. The older kids, they kind of follow instructions a little bit better, and you know, at that age, they take on some of the skills we teach a little bit better.”
Over the past year, Brandon’s role has expanded greatly. He now teaches youth sports two days per week, gym classes for HAC’s preschool students twice-weekly, and youth group fitness on Monday evenings. He even recently acquired an Advanced Group Fitness Instructor certification in hopes of teaching a few weekly adult classes, too.
In addition to teaching at HAC, Brandon now sponsors other addicts and alcoholics, offering the same patience and perspective that were once extended to him. “I’m able to give back,” he says.
And the parallels between sponsoring and coaching are hard to miss. “Little kids – they don’t think they’ll ever be good at a sport,” he says. “But you’ve got to tell them to keep practicing, give it time, and over time, they start seeing the growth. Same thing for someone recovering.” Whether learning to throw a football or starting a sobriety journey, the fear of letting yourself down or falling just short of your goals often keeps people from reaching their full potential. Brandon’s mission is to teach patience and perseverance, helping kids and adults alike take on life’s challenges one step at a time and stay the course.
In class, Brandon doesn’t like to teach from the sidelines. “I’m more of a lead-by-example kind of guy.” Whether demonstrating a drill, crouching to meet a shy child at eye level, or corralling a group of energetic kids, he’s invested in engaging every student and creating an environment that fosters growth.
Having taken his own talent for granted, Brandon emphasizes fundamentals, repetition, and muscle memory with the kids in his classes – things he wishes he’d paid more attention to in his own athletic upbringing. Whether he’s teaching soccer or youth fitness, Brandon builds classes around footwork, agility, and coordination, always with fun at the center.
But what Brandon cherishes most about coaching is the relationships. He takes great pride in learning every child’s name, as well as their parents’ and siblings’. Some kids greet him with secret handshakes, while others bring him small trinkets or stories from school. “I got a kid on Saturdays, a little kid named AJ that’s new,” Brandon recalls. “He brought me two little ducks the one morning – brought them up and gave me a hug.”
Moments like that matter. “Kids have made me bracelets and stuff, drawings…I try not to play favorites, but when that happens, it’s awesome. And I hear a lot of parents say, ‘They won’t stop talking about you when we leave.’”
Little kids – they don’t think they’ll ever be good at a sport. But you’ve got to tell them to keep practicing, give it time, and over time, they start seeing the growth.
HAC has become a meaningful part of Brandon’s social and mental well-being. “My daughters love it here,” he says. “I’m building relationships with some of the kids, some of the parents, some of the members. I like this environment – where everyone is high-fiving, and I’m having conversations in the sauna with people that I maybe wouldn’t have met in the outside world.”
“This place has been very helpful to me and my life,” he continues. “It’s a very healthy aspect of my life and my recovery. Not only am I getting the health benefits of it, but I’m getting the spiritual and social benefits of being part of a place like this.”
Brandon doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. “I never feel like I arrive,” he says. “I always feel like I’m a work in progress. I keep trying to excel and kind of push myself to try new things, remain teachable, stay open-minded.” At the end of the day, his goals are simple: “be a good dad, good coach, and good member of society.”
And for the kids who run toward him each class – smiling, confident, and ready to play – it’s clear that Brandon Lee is exactly that.
