COACHES CORNER: TWO FOR TUESDAYS ~ The Top 10 Lessons I Learned As A Coach

Five Weeks – Two Lessons Each Week

WEEK FIVE

Although though this post is geared toward coaching, if readers will tweak it to their own circumstances, it’s pretty relevant to parenting and teaching, as well.

 9.     YOU DON’T HAVE TO KNOW EVERYTHING: When I first began coaching I was in my early 20’s and thought that the only way for my high school girls to completely respect me was if I knew everything about my sport – and everything else for that matter. Except I didn’t. No one does. When we pretend to know everything, we look like we know nothing! That’s why there are conferences, books, changing rules and professional organizations…so that we can continue to grow and be better.

Over the years I learned how much more respect they developed for me when they would ask me a question and I 1) admitted to not knowing the answer and 2) made a promise that I would try to find it. Even better were the times that I couldn’t solve something, but one of the kids on my team could!

The difference was maturity and a growing comfort with myself as a coach and mentor. Kids need to know that we know enough and we care enough about our commitment to them and our sport to keep going, growing and learning.

10.     IF YOU LOVE COACHING AND ARE DOING IT FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS, NOTHING ELSE YOU DO IN YOUR LIFE WILL BE QUITE AS REWARDING:  I know what all you moms are thinking right now – that motherhood is the most rewarding thing ever in the whole world, right? Well, I’ve got a 12 year old and at this very moment, when he doesn’t seem to care a whole lot about anything I have to say or offer, I’m not in the mood to agree.

This is what I know about coaching…as a coach, you have the privilege and opportunity to be a positive influence in the lives of young people. You are helping their parents and society to develop the next generation of great citizens, incredible thinkers and mindful members of their community. If you take your job seriously, your influence will be so powerful that the lessons you teach them will be passed down to their own children and in many cases to the kids they coach themselves!

 If you care more about rewards than results, you will also build a personal community of friends and families that will stay with you your entire life. I am overwhelmed and humbled by the number of old staff or campers who still write or call or find me on Facebook just to let me know that I touched their lives in some way.

In truth? Whatever I gave them is absolutely dwarfed by all the love, lessons and joy that each and every one of them gave to me.