As someone who has recently experienced some adverse experiences in my coaching that were largely out of my control, I decided the best thing to do would be to step back and reflect. As people get busy and caught up in the moment, we may forget what brought us here in the first place. So, when thrust into an unfortunate situation, I reminded myself why it was I was actually involved in coaching in the first place. I believe ‘finding your why’ is important, and should be at the forefront every time you show up to a practice.
For me, my motivations are purely driven by passion: for coaching, for sport, and for helping others. I want to help the kids I coach find a love of sport (while learning the skills), and in addition to being good athletes, I want them to be good people.
The following quote (from my personal coaching hero Mike Babcock) summarizes the essence of coaching in my eyes. Whether you are coaching intro level sport once a week or are the head coach of a high level team, it is important to be committed and prepared to do your best every day.
The following are responses I have crowd sourced answering the same question “why do you coach?”. I challenge you to ask yourself this question, and remember your why every time you show up to practice.
- Giving kids the tools they need confront and overcome difficulties in life through sport
- To be a positive influence and help kids meet their fullest potential
- I like helping people put the pieces of the puzzle together to get the most out of their bodies and their sport, and to share my passion for the best sport in the world that is truly a life long sport 🙂
- Seeing athletes improve and achieve their goals brings me satisfaction
- Getting to ski, run, hike, and bike all the time for work and sharing those activities that I enjoy with the youth of today
- My biggest satisfaction in coaching is helping athletes improve in all aspects of sport and life, and witnessing their smiles during team training
Thanks for reading, and keep smiling through all your coaching endeavours. 🙂