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A Coach’s Dozen: 13 Beliefs of Good Coaches

    What makes a coach great?  What does great coaching look like?  Can greatness be taught or are coaches simply born that way?  For the past few years it has been questions like these that have sparked my interest while earning my PhD in sports pedagogy and athletic leadership.  For 18 years before that, I was living the dream as an interscholastic coach in one of the fastest growing cities in America.  Most recently, I have been working on a book that attempts to paint a picture of authentic coaching.  An in-depth view of my work can be seen in a paper I wrote entitled, The Authentic Coaching Model: A Grounded Theory of Coaching .
    Great coaches always know seeing is believing—don’t tell me what you can do, show me.  I would never claim to be great.  Yet, as a researcher and as a coach my method has always centered on being as evidence-based as possible.  I will avoid giving any advice, technique, or strategy that isn’t rooted in real evidence.  I whole-heartily believe that by adopting the habits of authentic coaches, and at the same time recognizing the sins of the wayward coach, anyone can do a better job leading their own team to higher levels of success.  Said in simplest terms, authentic coaches do what they believe is right AND believe what they do is right.
    I have come to the conclusion that no amount of coaching education, leadership tips, or team building workshops will help a coach to be a great leader if that coach doesn’t have a clear understanding of their own mindset.  My review of the coaching science literature, plus my experience coaching and consulting across a vast array of sports has led me to identify some key beliefs that are held by the best coaches.  And, sadly these principles are often rejected or more often never even considered by the wayward coach.
I have assembled these beliefs in a simplified list.  I am going to call it A Coach’s Dozen:
1.   I am authentic.  Why I do things is as important as what I do.


2.  I am humble.  I realize I have flaws and an incomplete understanding of what it feels like to be an athlete on my team.

3.  I am a master of the obvious.  My success, and the success of my players, depends largely on my ability to see the real evidence.

4. I am balanced.  One of the most important and most difficult aspects of my job is to strike a balance between being too assertive and not assertive enough.  

5. I am a creator of spirit  I have to both push my team to become a larger part of their community, and at the same time shield the individual players from being corrupted by outside forces.

6. I am a teacher.  I must strive to be confident enough to convince my players I know what they need, but humble enough to give them what they want.

7. I am only one.  Attempting to be everything to everybody is not only foolish, it is impossible to do well.

8. I am fallible.  The best test of my coaching, and my team, is to see what happens after a mistake occurs.

9. I am an Architect of Success.  Thinking “out of the box” is always important.  My job is to encourage my players (and assistant coaches) to be innovative, but it is also my job to stop all bad ideas, and most of the good ones too.

10. I am demanding.  Creating bad habits is easier than creating good ones.  It is more important to eliminate the negative than it is to accentuate the positive.

11. I am focused on small wins.  Goals are paradoxical.  They are vital for any athlete or team, but the more you think about goals the less likely you are to achieve them.  My job is to focus on the small wins that enable my players to make progress every day.

12. I am powerful.  I have power over others; I can abuse that power and act like an ass.

13. I am born to coach.  Coaching is not easy.  The reason it is so damn hard is because coaching is so damn personal.



    Coaching is a personal and evolving adventure; I look forward to hearing your thoughts about what makes a good coach.  If you’re intrigued by the list above, stay tuned.  Over the next few weeks I will be digging into each of these beliefs in more depth.  Like I mentioned before, my approach will always be evidence-based, reliable, and grounded with real examples from real coaches.
    If you’re like me, you’ve seen your share of wayward coaches.  You have probably experienced a few good ones too.  The great coaches you have known probably oozed a sense of authenticity, genuineness, and dependability.  What beliefs could the wayward coaches you have known never quite embrace?  As for you, you found The Paradox of Coaching, it is obvious what kind of coach you want to become.  Come back, visit me again, and lets become better coaches together.


Barnson, S. C. (2014). The authentic coaching model: A grounded theory of coaching. International Sport Coaching Journal, 1(2), 61-74.

Comments

  1. I completely agree with this article when they say every one wants to be this coach. This type of coach makes the athletes comfortable and creates a better environment for the athlete to succeed.

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