Becoming a coach to me, is similar to becoming a father. Upon first receipt of the news about the impending opportunity I was filled with various feelings and emotions. On the surface I was enthused, excited, anxious and overall very pleased with the prospect of what’s to come. But over the next 9 months many different feelings and emotions began to surface, ranging from uncertainty to impatience to self-doubt. I was about to be responsible for caring, nurturing, developing, steering, disciplining, loving and supporting someone that is relying on you to know it all and help them realize, reach and exceed their potential. The aforementioned emotions, process and realizations can also be applied to someone being offered their first opportunity …show more content…
These two traits are intertwined and I believe every person should possess them on and off of the playing field. Being raised in a family where both parents served in the military and then serving in the Marine Corps myself, discipline is a natural occurring item in my life. I believe having a healthy level of discipline present develops good personal characteristics and personal expectations. The line of delineation in determining what’s expected vs. what’s accepted and being too lax vs. too overbearing can be thin. Defining this line is made easier as you learn each of your player’s backgrounds, personalities’, and current situations. A baseline of conduct regarding discipline needs to be established early on in your team’s season. Every player must be challenged to achieve a certain level of self-discipline. Although each person’s discipline level evolves and progresses at different rates throughout the season everyone must know that their self-discipline directly correlates to the team’s success. Discipline encompasses conduct at practice, in games, personal life, at school and at home. Accepting and maintaining personal responsibilities also fall under the discipline umbrella. Establishing discipline guidelines and the team’s acceptance of those guidelines is directly linked to respect. A person who displays self-discipline is more likely to have the capacity to respect others even if personal differences are …show more content…
The trust factor must be established from top to bottom. A coach cannot expect the players to trust them just because they’re the coach. A coach must verbally communicate his purpose and expectations for the team. Providing your team with an outline and painting a picture of success for the players to envision contributes to the players buying in to the system you want to put in place. The players must trust and accept not only the vision of the successful end product but also of the process necessary to achieve it. If a coach can exercise the same self-discipline and respect that he requires of his player, trust will soon follow. A coach who has the trust of his players has a powerful tool for success if used responsibly. Team culture can be affected in many different ways. The mix of backgrounds, cultures and beliefs can provide fuel for disagreements but an established team culture helps to extinguish these issues and prevents them from having a lingering effect on team chemistry. As a coach we have to teach our players that we don’t have to agree on everything but we must agree on what’s best for the team. Defusing situations such as this isn’t just the coach’s responsibility. Team leaders or captains should be put in place to assist in keeping the team on track. Delegation of responsibility not only aids in the development of young people but also allows a coach