I can’t imagine you’d take the time to read this blog if you weren’t fired up about being a coach. I’m sure you are a fabulous coach who knows how to motivate your players to excel.
Then there are the other coaches. The *whispers conspiratorially* bad coaches.
I’m sure you’re wondering what exactly constitutes a bad coach. Well, I read this great article over at bnet.com called 5 Bad Bosses and thought I’d bring it over here and put a coach spin on it. If you fall into one of these five categories, I think it’s time to change some things up!
5 signs you might be a bad coach
Are you vague? If your answer to one of your players’ request for feedback on their playing ability is to tell them they need to “get better”, then you might be a bad coach. I’m sure they realize, based on their time spent riding the bench, that they need to get better. Our job, as coaches, is to give our athletes one or two concrete things that they can do in order to become a better player. Not only does vagueness frustrate the player, it makes the coach look like they don’t know what they’re doing…and that’s never good.
Are you a micromanager? This one is a tough one for me! I have to remember to teach and step back…especially when we’re in the learning phase of our team building. As we teach skills, we have to remember to give our athletes room to spread their wings and succeed or fail without hearing our voices chirping in their ears about every little thing. We can’t will our players to perform a skill, they’ve got to find their way to the promised land on their own…we’re just the tour guides.
Are you a bully? I see this sometimes and it always makes me cringe. It’s not necessarily a mean coach, but the coach who peppers their instruction with sarcasm. In the best of times (when the team is new, or on a winning streak, or everyone is getting along), a team can overlook sarcasm…but it never should be the preferred method of communication. So when you say, “Nice play, Sherlock”, and everyone laughs…what exactly have you accomplished? I’m all for humor in practices (sometimes), but not at a player’s expense.
Are you a narcissist? When your team wins, was it because of a great coaching move you made? And when you guys lose, is it because of the crappy effort the team gave? The coach that thinks this way is a narcissist…it’s all about them. I’d ask the same question from the previous point, what do you accomplish with this line of thinking? You haven’t boosted up your team or created a shared experience. You’ve done exactly the opposite…you’ve separated yourself from the normal ups and downs of a season because of vanity.
Are you a BFF? Are you Facebook buddies with your players? Do you text them when you hear “your song” (oh, that’s my song!) on the radio? How about going for afternoon runs with your favorites? Then you’re a BFF…and you’re treading on thin ice! Why? You’ve eliminated the line that should be between coach and athlete. You’re not their friend. I repeat, you’re not their friend! You’re in a position of power which automatically eliminates your right/opportunity to be their friend. You can be friendly, but not a friend. In addition to that, the players on your team who aren’t your besties will feel totally left out…and that certainly doesn’t create a feeling of “team”.
Like I said at the beginning, I’m sure none of you reading this are bad coaches. But maybe you can forward this on to some folks who you think could stand to read this article!
