As I’m sure all of you can attest, coaching is about more than just coaching. You’ve got to be on top of your athletes’ grades, venture out into the campus community, serve on various committees, and be an administrative assistant (for yourself!) to make sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. Beyond that, you’ve got to always be ready for the mythical alum/donor/person-with-a-lot-of-money-who-wants-to-give-it-to-your-program to show up. The well prepared coach is ready for the call from their athletic director saying, “Come down to my office with a list of your program needs.”
But for every well prepared coach, there’s a wimpy coach. The wimpy coach is afraid to rock the boat, so they are afraid to ask for things that would improve their program. Are you worried that this may be you?
Check out this tongue-in-cheek description of the wimpy coach, based on an article from bnet.com, 7 Signs Of A Wimpy Boss.
You’re a wimpy coach if…
- Your peers whack you around. As you walk up and down your hallway, every other coach has two full-time assistants, brand new equipment, and a gigantic recruiting budget. While your program has a part-time assistant making peanuts, equipment from the Stone Ages, and a recruiting budget that won’t let you even rent a car.
- You avoid confrontation. Even though you notice all of those things, you won’t schedule a meeting with your boss…you won’t even do a pop in! Worst of all, when the head honcho asks you how things are going, you say, “Great!”.
- You like the status quo. Your boss knows that they’ll never have to worry about you storming into their office demanding “more”. When you were in college, the players drove the vans to competition, so what’s wrong with your team doing that now? Plus, who wants to go to the bosses office and ask for a coach bus like every other team has?
- You’re always the victim. If you actually stood up for your program and for your team, you wouldn’t get a chance to play the victim…and that’s your comfort zone! And the added bonus? You have a built in excuse for when your team doesn’t perform! Just pick one: we drove to the competition, our uniforms are outdated, we don’t get enough per diem for meals, yada, yada, yada.
- Everyone’s lost respect for you. While you’re thinking you’ve played the victim card to the hilt, everyone else in the department wonders when you lost your fire. They feel bad for your assistants and your players, because they deserve more. Your unwillingness to advocate for your team not only hurts the quality of their experience, it lessens everyone’s respect for you.
Though this is an exaggeration, I’m sure there are coaches out there who may be a bit like the wimpy coach described above. The Bible says that we don’t get stuff because we don’t ask for it…so go and ask! The answer may be no, but you’ll never find out until you ask.
