The Racquetball Coach can be over-rated and under-rated. Here is how a pro coach like me can be over-rated. (statements overheard to illustrate this)
1. “Thanks to me this woman or man is now winning”!Nope-thanks to the woman or man believing in my coaching and with their practicing, they are now winning.
2. “This student needs more lessons with me.”
Nope-student needs more practice of what I have already taught!
3. “This student needs me on the court so I can help them practice.”
Nope-Student needs solo time and to figure it out so they can be independent of me-not dependent, as they employ the techniques taught.
4. “XYZ Pro is successful because of me.”
Nope-She or He is successful because they work hard, and takes the instruction given to them and they coach themselves.
5. “I am a good coach because I coach Kane.”
Nope, I was a good coach before Kane, and will be a good coach if I ever have an “after-Kane”.
Speaking of that:
I think that is why we work so well together; remember he was number one before he hired me too, so he was a great player before me and if I quit today, he’d be a great player after me.
Now here are some examples of how some of my career is and was under-rated.
1. I have several losses where I got the athlete to play as well as they can play but they still lost. I look at that as doing the best we can. That is all I can ask for. That is under-rated!
2. My years as USA Coach were under-rated. The technical knowledge and expertise passed on the the people who competed under my tenure by me, Fran Davis, Drew Katchtik, and Tom Travers, all coaches for me, were under-rated. We had several major upsets our athletes pulled during those years that people have forgotten about.
3. My international years in Mexico and Ireland were under-rated. Mexico won its first gold medals in international competition. The Irish men’s team finished first of all European teamsat worlds ini 2008. We did about as well as we could do in both countries and I set up a bright future for both countries. Those legacies continue to this day.
4. Re-inventing myself as a coach is under-rated. When the USA team became “old”, I went from coach to manager. I tried to stay out of the veteran’s way instead of actively coaching as I did when the team was younger.
5. Planning ahead is something not everyone does. People make fun of me writing in a book when an athlete wins all the time but that athlete is improving. Why? I coach them to improve, not to beat others. I make notes of where we need to go in the future, win or lose in the match I am coaching. Winning is a by-product of striving for excellence.
I appreciate a good job done by a coach. When done correctly coaching is an art, and something it takes a long time to be good at.