So you want to be a coach! Join the ever expanding list of experts!! Racquetball players are competitors all so coaches hate to lose; especially if their athletes are playing another coach’s athletes. The best thing you can do as a coach is work as hard as you can for your athletes. Develop a coaching philosophy that has your athlete’s best interests in mind; not yours!
An email comes in and this person wants to be a coach and get paid. How do I do that?
I hope you do not do it the way I did! I worked for almost nothing for years while I developed my skill. I questioned, I listened to the great ones, I watched and I learned. That process started in 1967-55 years later it is still an ongoing process. I keep learning and my athletes keep getting information each time they visit my private court here in Arizona, or via the cyber-coaching I do online.
Pay me and I will give you a shortcut. If you are like I was in 1977, an open player in your prime, you have to prove you can coach. You should have had some sport experience besides racquetball and you should have a knack for teaching. Without those things your athletes will not improve. If your athletes do not improve, who wants your instruction?
And, yes, you want that great player, so everyone will flock to your instruction, but at what cost? Make sure your athlete’s personal and professional development comes first, and achievements second. That may mean watching great athletes retire from the game if it is in their best interest. I have had athletes fire me, retire me, quit playing, and go back to school or get bored and quit!
I have never tried to talk anyone out of any of those things above (disclaimer: everyone is different-there are a few that I thought would not improve if they left me. To date I have been correct and to date I hope they prove me wrong.) The idea is to develop a plan and your knowledge so athletes seek you out; not the other way around!
Look at it another way. Athlete A comes to you and asks to work with you. Athlete B you go to and “talk them into working with you.”. Which athlete is more motivated? When you begin trolling for athletes, it may be in your best interest, but not your athlete’s!