My Personal Philosophy Of Coaching

Individuals’ must decide what philosophy or principles they will stand by throughout the course of life. Why? Well, we have all heard the saying, “a man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” Our principles are the beliefs that shapes our way of thinking and our way of doing. A philosophy will help people know what lines they are willing to cross and the ones that they will not. Therefore, whenever a coach develops his or her philosophy they have to think of the prospective coach that you want to be known as, and more importantly what they want to be known for. Within life and coaching, philosophies are developed through many aspects such as character, experience and the help of more seasoned individuals in that particular sport or

As a coach, I believe that coaching is “unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them” which was stated by John Whitman. I agree with this quote because as a coach I want to do what is best for each player individually. Therefore, I stress the importance of accountability, punctuality, discipline, but most importantly great sportsmanship. Every action or reaction of each person affects the entire team. Although this is true, players need to take responsibility for their own actions. If Tyler and Sam are late for practice Tyler should not blame Sam for holding him up. Both players know what time practice starts. Should the coach punish the entire team because two players are late? Personally, I would only hold Tyler and Sam accountable for being late. Their punishment will depend on how often they are late for practice. Honestly, lateness will not be tolerated, often and punctuality will be rewarded. Tyler is the starting point guard, but he is constantly late for practice. Therefore on Tyler’s third tardy, I decided to bench him for the first quarter of the game and allowed Gary to start instead. Gary is always on time and is a decent player. Therefore my “17 inches” or “free throw” as a coach are good sportsmanship, punctuality and being coachable. I will eventually develop my philosophy further, but that comes with time and

As a prospective coach, it is my belief that goal setting is just as important as one’s philosophy. Each player is different and need different things from the coach. One player may be a dynamic player but lacks in character. Fortunately, character is a trait that the coach can help develop. A goal that the coach can set for this individual could be “by the end of the season Dequeria will show character development through good sportsmanship, discipline and punctuality.’ I am obligated to set goals that I want to see for a player, but players may have their own goals. Communication is extremely important when it comes to goal setting. Often we have to set game goals as well. If a basketball team lacks in the amount of lay ups they attempt in a single game, one goal could be to attempt 13 lay ups. Another goal for a basketball team could be to keep their hands up for 90% of the time when playing defense. As stated by Tim Grover, “great players aren’t great because of the highlight plays that happen. They’re great because they do the basics better than anybody else. And they work harder at the basic skills than anybody else. They become extraordinarily skilled at the ordinary