The Journey as a Coach

I was thinking the other day about my time as a coach. I feel like I talk to people about all the accomplishments and the good times. My warnings have always been more about things that happen all the time, and not the hardest of times. Letting people know the problems that arise, and don't worry they happen to all of us.

There are the things that coaches who have done this for awhile might have been through. My events are not necessarily mirror images of what others go through, but just the concept that tough times do happen.

23 years old, and I have had the opportunity to be a Head Age-Group Coach. The team is very small at this point. Each swimmer is a large part of what is keeping the club afloat. I give my all to this small group of swimmers. Physically, Mentally, and Emotionally. The honeymoon period has faded, and like anytime the honeymoon period for a coach fades; people begin to find the flaws. This Spring I had a few swimmers dropped out, more than normal, and I took it very hard. They were swimmers I had since I was just the Age-Group Coach. I found myself parked in a parking lot at about 10:00 at night crying, and making the phone call to quit. My club president didn't let me.

Years later, I had swimmers decide to leave my team to go to another team. Swimmers I had from a very young age, and had built them into fast swimmers. Again feeling very connected I found myself again in an empty parking lot crying and on the phone. This time it was a little different because I also had the stress of being unable to find a job after college and all the savings I had done while in college had now gone to almost nothing. I wasn't quitting after this incident though. I had become stronger.

I have a feeling of being an imposter. The feeling that I wonder if I am only an imposter swim coach. Early in my career this would keep up at nights. Now it becomes nothing but motivation to look and learn for more. I am not afraid to realize that I am wrong. I fix it, and make myself better. Reinvent myself. Realize what I do to be a good coach, and the things I can do to become better. Keep the good and develop that which is not.

The journey is hard, not because of the time put into it (even though theose can add up at times), but because we put our passion and emotion into what we do. They are not merely bumps in the road, but true obstacles that test your desire to be a good coach. Overcome them, and you become better. Leave coaching, and then you pursue your next endeavor, as the next person will come to try the journey out for themselves.