As the New Year approaches, it is time to look back AND look forward. My goal for the new year has been the same for many years. BE A BETTER COACH. Doc Massimo always told me that I had to focus on the things I could control. Being a better coach is something I can always work on.
I have always felt that a good coach is simply a good teacher. I have written and lectured on COACHES as EDUCATORS many times. Maybe it’s time I dust off that lecture and start doing it again.
Through out my career (35+ years) I have been able to meet some truly great coaches. Some I visited in their gyms. Some I met at conferences or competitions and some have become friends. Watching them interact with the gymnasts and other coaches is a thing a beauty. Here are my takeaways.
One: Relationships with the gymnasts. Great teachers truly care about their students as people. Great coaches need to do the same. We need to build relationships with the athletes. We may not be close to all of them but we need to try to build relationships with as many as possible. We need to listen to the gymnasts. It’s not just about the struggles the gymnast is having in the gym, thought that is important. We need to be available to hear about their struggles with life, with school, and with what happens today. We must respect the gymnasts as people. This is how we build a relationship.
Two: We must be enthusiastic about coaching gymnastics, working with gymnasts and the event we are on. This can be difficult at the younger levels where coaches have to “do it all”. Great coaches can fake it to some extent because they are passionate about enough of what they are teaching to know what that feels like. Passion is contagious. It also means that one wants to share that passion as well as the specific knowledge they are trying to share. Gymnasts who have a relationship with a coach will naturally want to learn what is being taught so enthusiastically.
Three: Innovation. I would rather have one coach with 20 years experience than 20 coaches with one year of experience. The great coaches I have met are constantly innovating. They may start with a canned program. One they have taught many times before. Then they add, subtract, and move things around. More often though, they make their own. Individual to the current group and athletes they are working with. Oh, sure, they abide by necessary standards but they teach their own way. They are rarely satisfied. At this point in my career, I very rarely use notes to teach off of. I have been down this broad countless times. Then I pick up on a cue and I start modifying the plan to fit the kids. When we get a new piece of equipment in the gym I try to see how many different ways I can use it. When I am lecturing you’ll often find me modifying my presentation, before teaching that material again. I write down what worked and what didn’t work and then I go on.
The other day my friend is WENDY BRUCE-MARTIN sent me a drill she saw on instagram. It was a drill that she and I did years ago when we were coaching in Switzerland. The person was presenting this as something NEW. I wasn’t bothered. A great coach will borrow from other great coaches and teachers (although it would have been nice to have been given the credit). A great coach is not afraid to find ideas from others and fit them into how and where they teach. I have lectured often throughout the world on gymnastics and education and one thing I almost always see is that the coaches who are giving the lectures can often be found sitting in on other lectures. They are always learning. Always looking for a better, more efficient way. They are talking to others in the hallway, sharing meals and activities outside the conference. They are always listening and learning.
Bonus: The great teachers and coaches share their knowledge with others. They will share their plan and philosophy. They share not for ego but because there is something about being a coach that just makes one want to help everyone become better. Better about teaching. Better at knowing things. In the end, If I teach you something and your gymnasts get better- I need to innovate and up my game to be better.
Seek out the great teachers. Become a great teacher. Make the world a better place. Make that part of your New Year’s Resolution.
