Caring as a Coach

It is vital that coach cares about their athletes and how they do. Most coaches are good coaches because they do care. That is normally where it begins and then they develop from that basic foundation.

I have been doing this for awhile now. Not as long as many out there, but 12 years as a club coach and in my 10th season as a high school swim coach. As a young coach I cared so much, almost too much. I learned a lot from these years I cared so much. One of the biggest thing was what works and what just ends with conflict and not so good results.

I figured out that if a coach cares more than the athlete about their performance, it doesn't work out. If a parent cares more about the swimmers performance than the athlete, then it doesn't work out.

Young swimmers want to please their parents and coaches, so this method does work for young swimmers. Many young swimmers don't understand, so it is hard to know what to care about. They look to parents and coaches to what they should care about.

The older swimmer though is where the problems arise. A swimmer must care more than the coach and parent about performance. They must also care more about their practice than their coach and parent. The second of the two is the harder one, and it mainly stems from parent and coach teaching the athlete when young that practice is important. Problems and conflict will come up in the swimmers relationship with parent and coach if they care more than the athlete.

As a coach, I have seen many young coaches go into high school coaching very enthusiastic and full of desire to make their swimmers fast. I've have so many burn out, as they are always at conflict with trying to get their high school swimmer to care more about their practice and performance, and to have their care be as much as their own. A few years, and then they are done, or at least need a break. I made it past these years with some experiences that made me realize the flaw in caring more than the athlete. It keeps you up at night saying, "if only."

After a few experiences, I began to concentrate on the athletes that I had more control of their improvement. Unfortunately, it wasn't always the kids you wanted it to be, but when I put my concentration on those who showed up and put forth the effort you asked of them, it became much more enjoyable. It began to spread. More kids would give their time and effort after I begun this way of looking at coaching. I spent less time trying to motivate the ones I had been trying to motivate for years, and concentrated on the ones who were looking to be motivated. I was able to recognize the ones who were looking for motivation, even without asking for it. I also began to notice the ones that fought against the motivation, and where not there to be athletes, but there to be participants.

My belief is if the athlete cares more about their practice and performance than their coach and parent, then there is more success for the athlete. This doesn't mean that the coach and parent don't care, but that they don't care over and above the older athlete.