Great coaches and leaders... - Tons of softball drills, softball tips, and advice on softball hitting, softball pitching, coaching softball, softball training, and more.

ang4yanks · 05-29-2008, 04:13 PM

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?

sunshine88 · 05-30-2008, 08:17 PM

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"

StacieM · 05-30-2008, 08:32 PM

Just a coach I had experience with...

This coach helped us out in track one year because we had no coach. He was also the head football coach. Played in the NFL for a bit too.

Anyway - what I liked about him was that he did all our workouts with us. Anything he asked us to do he could show it to us and do it with us.

He was also very sincere and always had a plan when he came to practice.

He was a bit unsure about coaching girls though and we could see that which only made him more human and more approachable to us.

The track boys who also played football (including my husband) used to always give him a hard time "How come you're so nice to the girls and you're so hard on us in football?"

He could joke with you, but his leadership was never in question. Pretty impressive to me. Tough to disrespect someone who can and DOES do anything and everything he asks of you.

Other qualities I liked about coaches as a player...

Coaches that could coach and get a lot out of their players without having to yell at them

Coaches that showed respect and belief in your ability and knowledge to not have the NEED to jump on you for every single mishap - they know you already know what you did wrong and trust you to make the correction without having to "babysit" you through it, remind you of what you already know, reiterate what you've already told yourself in your head, and without them saying much at all

Coaches who kept their word

Coaches who knew the rules better than I did (amazingly there were some that didn't)

Coaches that were able to admit their own mistakes instead of trying to cover it up, or change the story later, or make up excuses for it, or transfer blame after the fact so that it wasn't really their fault

Coaches who showed that they understood (at least a little) where we were coming from yet were able to push us and expect more from us than we originally expected from ourselves and brought us up to that level with them

Coaches who avoid trying to "diplomatically" say things because we all know exactly what they are talking about and what they really mean, so I liked it when they just said it instead of tried to generalize it.

ang4yanks · 05-30-2008, 10:45 PM

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 Dagenais · 05-31-2008, 07:26 PM

Coaches to be studied....

Anson Dorrance - women's soccer

John Wooden - UCLA Basketball - seek out his book.

Marc

ang4yanks · 06-01-2008, 03:41 AM

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

bigdaddy · 06-01-2008, 01:34 PM

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

ang4yanks · 06-02-2008, 01:54 AM

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

kskt4 · 06-09-2008, 11:18 PM

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

Marc Dagenais · 06-10-2008, 05:14 AM

Book worth reading....

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Watching-B...d_bxgy_b_img_b

05-29-2008, 04:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
ang4yanks Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 172	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?

05-30-2008, 08:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
StacieM Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 97	Just a coach I had experience with... This coach helped us out in track one year because we had no coach. He was also the head football coach. Played in the NFL for a bit too. Anyway - what I liked about him was that he did all our workouts with us. Anything he asked us to do he could show it to us and do it with us. He was also very sincere and always had a plan when he came to practice. He was a bit unsure about coaching girls though and we could see that which only made him more human and more approachable to us. The track boys who also played football (including my husband) used to always give him a hard time "How come you're so nice to the girls and you're so hard on us in football?" He could joke with you, but his leadership was never in question. Pretty impressive to me. Tough to disrespect someone who can and DOES do anything and everything he asks of you. Other qualities I liked about coaches as a player... Coaches that could coach and get a lot out of their players without having to yell at them Coaches that showed respect and belief in your ability and knowledge to not have the NEED to jump on you for every single mishap - they know you already know what you did wrong and trust you to make the correction without having to "babysit" you through it, remind you of what you already know, reiterate what you've already told yourself in your head, and without them saying much at all Coaches who kept their word Coaches who knew the rules better than I did (amazingly there were some that didn't) Coaches that were able to admit their own mistakes instead of trying to cover it up, or change the story later, or make up excuses for it, or transfer blame after the fact so that it wasn't really their fault Coaches who showed that they understood (at least a little) where we were coming from yet were able to push us and expect more from us than we originally expected from ourselves and brought us up to that level with them Coaches who avoid trying to "diplomatically" say things because we all know exactly what they are talking about and what they really mean, so I liked it when they just said it instead of tried to generalize it. __________________ Stacie Mahoe Coaching Bootcamp now open! Connect with fellow fastpitch fanatics at Fastpitch World. Last edited by StacieM; 05-30-2008 at 08:43 PM.

05-31-2008, 07:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
Marc Dagenais Peak Performance Coach Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Posts: 305	Coaches to be studied.... Anson Dorrance - women's soccer John Wooden - UCLA Basketball - seek out his book. Marc __________________ Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS http://www.softballperformance.com Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps players be more confident, mentally tougher, hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, and be more dominant on the field. He also helps coaches win more games and get more out of their team. To get tons of performance-boosting softball tips, tricks, and advice by email, sign-up for his FREE softball newsletter. To quickly and easily boost your performance, check out Marc's powerful softball resources.

06-10-2008, 05:14 AM	#10 (permalink)
Marc Dagenais Peak Performance Coach Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Posts: 305	Book worth reading.... http://www.amazon.com/Man-Watching-B...d_bxgy_b_img_b __________________ Marc Dagenais, MHK, CSCS http://www.softballperformance.com Marc Dagenais is a softball peak performance coach that helps players be more confident, mentally tougher, hit with more power, run faster, throw harder, and be more dominant on the field. He also helps coaches win more games and get more out of their team. To get tons of performance-boosting softball tips, tricks, and advice by email, sign-up for his FREE softball newsletter. To quickly and easily boost your performance, check out Marc's powerful softball resources.

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05-30-2008, 08:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
sunshine88 Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2	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"

05-30-2008, 10:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
ang4yanks Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 172	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

06-01-2008, 03:41 AM	#6 (permalink)
ang4yanks Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 172	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

06-01-2008, 01:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
bigdaddy Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 107	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

06-02-2008, 01:54 AM	#8 (permalink)
ang4yanks Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 172	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

06-09-2008, 11:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
kskt4 Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 7	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

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