After a great couple of weeks at Gym Momentum Camp it is good to be back and able to do some writing. GM Camp gave me the ability to share my knowledge with some great gymnasts and coaches as well as pick up some amazing drills. It has given me time to reflect on the entire field of coaching.

One of the bloggers I follow is Vern Gambetta. He has a great amount of knowledge collected on his site Functional Path Training. Take a minute and check out his site.  This post is inspired by one of his.

Reflections on Being a Coach

After camp I had a chance to really think about being a coach and the process of continual self-improvement. It has made me realize how fortunate I am to be a coach. Here are some of my reflections on what it means to be a coach:

• Being a coach is special. It is an incredible opportunity to change people’s lives.
• Being a coach implies responsibility. It is a responsibility to be at your very best and to realize that sometimes that is not good enough.
• Coaching is a partnership with the athlete, it not something you do TO the athlete it is some you do WITH them.
• Certainly everyday you coach is an adventure; it is an adventure in exploring possibilities and potential. Treat it as such and enjoy the process. I always tell coaches to enjoy the JOURNEY because there is no destination.
• Coaching is exploring and exploiting your strengths and recognizing your weaknesses.
• Coaching is constantly honing your communication skills because communication is the key to effective coaching.  Cultivate your listening skills. Remember you have two eyes, two ears and one mouth for a reason.
• Technical knowledge is a given to be a good coach. It is important to stay current and constantly experiment and prototype. If you don’t the world will quickly pass you by. There is no such thing as staying the same. You are either getting better or worse.
• Be yourself. Be consistent.
• Have a plan, execute the plan and then evaluate it.
• Know what you know and what you don’t know. Surround yourself with people who know what you don’t know.
• Specialize in being a generalist. If you are specialist have a generalist’s attitude.
• Network – you can’t do it alone.
• Get past the score and competition result, everyone can’t win, but everyone can do their best.
• Coach the way you would like to be coached. Show respect in order to get respect.
• Be flexible without compromising your core beliefs in terms of behavior standards and beliefs about training.
• Be humble and honest. You need help from others to be the best, acknowledge others and seek their help.
• Recognize that natural ability is a gift and not a sign of superior achievement.
• Learn to sense the intangibles – they are there so be aware.
• Lead by example – Actions can speak louder than words. Do you want hard working gymnasts? Work hard. Do you want committed gymnasts? Be committed. Do you want enthusiastic gymnasts? Be enthusiastic.
• Beware of recycling – hit the refresh button occasionally.
• Practice Kaizen – Everyday get better at some aspect of what you do, seek continuous improvement.
• Be Patient – Recognize that performance and achievement take time. It is a process with small steps that lead to big gains.

If is to be it up to you – the buck stops with you! You are the Captain of the ship, you chart the course and steer the ship.