Is this your coach,or childs coach?

[Motiv Girl]

Regardless of the level individuals may coach at or how successful their teams have been in the past, coaches are NOT always right. They do NOT always say the smartest things. They do NOT always have all the answers, regardless of what they may tell you. They do NOT always make the right decisions. They are NOT always the most sensitive or understanding of individuals. They are NOT always fair. They are NOT always well-adjusted and mature. Coaches make mistakes and frequently quite a few of them.While some coaches are absolutely brilliant teachers and should be cloned, other coaches are abysmal and abusive and should only be allowed to work with inanimate objects.

The best coaches are FLEXIBLE – They are flexible in their approach to their teaching and they are flexible in their approach to their players. For example, when an athlete struggles learning a play or correctly executing a specific technique or strategy the better coaches do not look at this as a “learning disability” and blame the athlete for their incompetence, thick headedness or ignorance. Instead they approach it as a “teaching disability” and therefore change how they are presenting the material to that athlete. If one approach doesn’t work, then they try another and another until they figure out the best way to reach that particular athlete. Similarly coaches who take it personally when an athlete has a learning or performance problem are missing the boat. Just because that athlete may not be responding to your coaching does not mean that he/she has an attitude or commitment problem. Be flexible enough to examine yourself when your athletes struggle. Rigidly assuming that they are the ones with the problem is not the mark of a good coach. Remember, rigidity is not a quality that goes with success and winning. Coaches who are rigid, who continually adopt the attitude that “it’s my way or the highway” are far less effective than those coaches who have mastered the fine art of being flexible. Understand here that flexibility does NOT mean being wishy-washy. You can be flexible and strong at the same time.

The great coaches are GREAT COMMUNICATORS - You can’t be effective as a coach unless you can successfully reach the individuals who you are working with. Good coaches understand that communication is a two-way street and involves a back and forth between coach and athlete. Bad coaches think that communication is a one-way street. You talk and the athletes listen. PERIOD! Instead, effective communication entails that you as a coach carefully listen to what your athletes are saying. When your athletes talk you must BE QUIET INSIDE SO THAT YOU CAN LISTEN. Unless you carefully listen to them when they talk then you won’t have a clue as to what your athletes are really saying or how to best help them. Far too many coaches are too busy countering in their head what their athletes are saying to actually hear them. If you can’t learn how to listen then you will never truly be effective in reaching your players.

GOOD COACHES “WALK THE TALK” WITH THEIR ATHLETES AND PARENTS - If you want to be effective in reaching those that you coach, then you must learn to put your actions where your mouth is. That is, there must be some congruence between what you say and how you act. If you are teaching your players about the virtues of consistent, hard work yet you yourself are inconsistent in this area, then what you are really teaching your athletes is that you are a hypocrite, it’s really OK to slough off and that talk is cheap. Because you have decided to coach, you have put yourself in a position of intense public scrutiny. Everyone will always be watching you, even when you think not. As a consequence you must always be sure that whatever comes out of your mouth is closely matched by how you act. What I’m really saying here is that YOUR MOST POWERFUL TEACHING TOOL IS MODELING. You should operate upon the principle that your actions and how you conduct yourself will always speak much louder than your words. Actively model the behaviors and attitude that you want your players to adopt.

The very best coaches are PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO – Success in and out of sports very often comes out of a love for what you are doing. The more you love your sport, the better chance that you have of reaching your goals. Passion (love) is a high test fuel that will power you over obstacles, beyond setbacks and through frustration until you achieve success. As a coach, your passion for the sport and for coaching as a profession is what will ultimately make you a great coach. Passion is infectious and if you approach your practices and competitions with it, soon after your athletes will “catch” it. Passion in a teacher is motivational. Passion inspires others. It gets them excited and gives them a reason to stretch themselves. Coaches who lack this love for what they do, and who just seem to be going through the motions, directly communicate their lack of enthusiasm to their athletes. Very soon you’ll find that their athletes are doing much the same. As they say, “nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” To be great in your field you must discover your passion for it. If you’re bored coaching then you will bore your athletes. If you can’t seem to find the passion in coaching then perhaps it’s time that you seriously considered doing something else.


Good coaches are HONEST AND CONDUCT THEMSELVES WITH INTEGRITY - What else needs to be said about this one? Your most powerful teaching tool as a coach is modeling. How you conduct yourself in relation to your athletes, their parents, your opponents, the referees, the fans and the media is never lost on your players. They see and hear virtually everything that you say and do. One of the fastest ways of turning your players and everyone else around you off is to model dishonesty and a lack of integrity in some or all of your interactions. A dishonest coach is one who lacks self-respect and therefore will never earn the respect of others. Be aware of how you conduct yourself in every aspect of your coaching. Be an honest role model. Demonstrate character and class. These qualities are ultimately far more important in the long run than how many games or championships your teams have won.

[Motiv Girl]

I iupdated the post, so if you already read this there is more!