Aspiring to Greatness: Be More Than Just Coach
As a sports coach for adolescents and young adults, you are serving as more than just the coach of their chosen sport. You’re also a mentor, teacher and friend—whether you know it or not. This gives you a unique opportunity to play a role in molding the lives of the young people who make up the fabric of your community. Here are four ways you can shine in your multi-faceted role.
Inspire your players
Live by the old adage “lead by example” to leave a lasting impression on your players. Whether it’s good old-fashioned pre-game and halftime pep talks or always having a positive attitude (even when you have to do something you don’t like), you’ll be surprised what an impact this will have on your students. According to the Competitive Edge, the No. 1 quality of a great coach is one that gets their athletes to believe in themselves and that they can do more than they might think possible.
Instill morals and good sportsmanship
With so much bad press surrounding today’s professional athletes, as a coach you have the chance to help mold the next generation of athletes and impress upon them good sportsmanship and responsible decision making. Always encourage them to high-five their opponents before and after every game and teach them how to handle a penalty with grace.
Help build healthy habits
Sports teach responsibility. Sports can also reinforce good habit building. The amount of time children are required to dedicate to being on a sports team will only increase as they age. The physical demand will also increase as well. They’ll have to balance school, work and other commitments while also eating healthy and exercising in order to be a productive member of the team. Help encourage them to learn responsibility by enforcing things like practice times, curfews and healthy eating habits.
Be a great communicator
A really great coach is also a great communicator. According to Forbes, great communicators know when to shout and when to speak softly, when to talk and when to just listen. Great communicators also know the value of reading between the lines and evaluating what isn’t said during a conversation. And most importantly, a great communicator is in tune to their audience and is prepared to change the messages if need-be. As a coach, you’ll be spending hours and hours with your athletes, make an effort to be in-tune with what’s working and what’s not and adjust your methods as you need to.
Communicate better with GetAssist
Wih GetAssist, you can create a FREE private and secure Virtual Locker Room community page for your team that will serve as a one-stop-shop for team communication. Post your practice and schedules, comment, like and share all things soccer, football, baseball or any other sport you coach. This will allow you to be the best coach and mentor you can be! Find out how it works HERE.
