Thursday, November 1, 2012

10 More Things Coaching Has Taught Me

I think I am going to keep a running list that I'll add to from time to time. I've always vowed that I will never stop wanting to learn until I've written 3 operas (at least 2 in Italian) and solved the energy crisis... and since I haven't written my 3rd opera yet, it doesn't make sense to leave my list of 10 Things Coaching Has Taught Me at 10, or else it implies that I've stopped learning. Here are my most recent additions:

11.) "You can't make everyone happy, but you sure can piss off the vast majority by trying to make everyone happy."

12.)  Just when you think you have it all figured out, human nature of the athletes and parents you deal with will always throw you a curve.

13.)  You can't take credit for an athlete's success because it's their success. If you credit yourself for their success, be prepared to be equally responsible for their failures.

14.) "Fairness does not mean equality; it means treating people the way they deserve to be treated" (More on this in my next post).

15.)  It's okay to not know the answer sometimes. "I don't know" is not an offensive phrase. Coaches are expected to be the know it all professionals, but the the physical, emotional, psychological, tactical and personality uniqueness with every individual, it's honestly impossible to always know.

16.) Ignorance is bliss. Few parents choose to be ignorant. Therefore: parents are often not blissful.

17.)  You know those training montages from Rocky, The Karate Kid and Cool Runnings? They don't exist in real life. Training takes Years/Months/Weeks and there isn't very much inspirational music tying it all together. The soundtrack is usually "I hate my coach, why is he/she doing this to me..?"

18.) Sleep cannot be made up with naps. Everyone needs a good, solid, uninterrupted sleep cycle. Too few hours makes me grumpy (my family can attest). 

19.) A coach cannot live on coffee alone.

20.) Don Burton (Coach, University of Guelph) always caries breath mints in his pocket. When I asked him why his answer was to make the swimmer's encounter with him less awful. "No one wants to listen to bad stuff from their coach; they want to listen even less if my breath smells bad." 

To check out my original 10 lessons, click HERE.