The Impact of Coaches
The impact a coach has on his or her player may have effects lasting a lifetime. As a player, I had coaches that would build me up and I had others that simply tore me down. Both coaches wanted to win but these are two different angles trying to achieve the same end result.
For me, I would stop listening when I was being torn down. I’m not talking about constructive criticism; I’m talking about something closer to abuse. The sign of a good coach is someone who gets the most out of their players while instilling values such as selflessness or team concepts.
Baseball or softball is a sped-up version of life. There are ups and downs like in life, but they happen much quicker, like striking out with the bases loaded only to be the hero in the next at bat.
The coach has an opportunity to use these critical moments to teach kids to never give up, never stop working to achieve a goal, and how to deal with failure and success. All too often this gets missed in the heat of the game because of a sole focus on winning. Trust me, I wanted to win every game I have ever played but I learned the most in my defeats and difficulties.
Coaches: Don’t lose focus because in many cases the winner and loser of a certain game will not be remembered in a month or a year, but the sharp word of criticism may have lasting effects. Use the opportunity of coaching not just to teach players the fundamentals of the game but also the fundamentals of life.
Until Next time
Chad