Thread: Great coaches and leaders...

I would love to hear about great coaches (any sport) and what, in your opinion, made them great. It could be an Olympic coach, a Major League coach or a coach you had as a child. Doors are wide open on this. What were their attributes? What did you observe that was most memorable to you? Why were they coaching? Or what did they teach which you will always remember? Not everyone loves the great quotes or cliches as a coach, but it doesn't discount their effectiveness.

Numerous coaches for many reasons come to mind. I will throw at three in no order of importance....random.

Bill Cowher (former coach Pittsburgh Steelers) said, "You coach the athlete and then the sport. Different athletes require different needs to bring them to their fullest potential. I knew the athletes who needed to deal with adversity, and I knew the athletes that needed positive affirmations."

Tony Dungy at the first team meeting with the Bucs, he explained that he rarely ever yells. When he is angry he lowers his voice. I was amazed that his demeanor never changed on screen in grieving the loss of his son. He laid his personal ground rules from the beginning.

Sue Enquist speaks on Love of the Game, "The game never changes. Same game. If you trust the game, you know that there is no difference on the field between 8th grade and a freshman in college. When game gets too big for you, remember 60 feet turn left; 60 feet turn left; 60 feet turn left; 60 feet and you're home.

Anyone care to share?

i had a coach a couple years ago
and i really like how he treated us
we're a girls softball team i think we were all about 16 at the time
and he told us
"im not gunna treat you like girls, im not gunna treat you like boys, im gunna treat you like athletes"

Stacie

Leadership by example. Organized, effective practices. Belief in athlete's ability. Great examples of attributes that I am sure contributed to who you are. I prefer directness rather than a wheelbarrow full of diplomacy, but I know that not everyone is like that. The difference I call high maintenance and low maintenance people, not to elevate one personality type over another.

Like parenting, I believe keys to good coaching is consistency in behavior, principles and priorities.

Thanks for sharing.

Ang

Marc:

I am very familiar with John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. I wish all sport organizations would give more credence to character education, and these type of aids. Great material.

http://coachwooden.com/

Ang

My MS baseball coach gave me great advice as I headed to HS. It was simple yet effective and most importantly...it worked!

He said " Your job when you get to HS is to make it impossible for the coach to fill out the line up card without your name"!

Keith

Keith...

I happen to love those lines that stick. We actually use a lot of them with our children...

- Good attitude will help with a good performance
- The 5 Ps...proper preparation prevents poor performance

I am going to add that one to my list.

On John Wooden's site, his maxims are really great. It is no wonder he is so well respected.

Ang

When I coached I would tell the girls 2 things and I am sure they will remember them for a long, long time.

They are:

"There's no such thing as I can't"
ans
"What you do in a practice, your gonna do in a game"

kskt4