Personal Statement : My Coaching Philosophy

Having a coach in life will positively influence your character and your skills. Also, having a coach doesn’t necessarily mean that your playing on a field. A coach can be anyone from a role model to a parent or guardian, a teacher, a pastor, a mentor, or sometimes even a best friend. One of the most important things for a coach to have is influence, and more important than that is that the influence he has on his players must be positive. As a leader, a coaches job is to better his players on and off of the field. This is done by developing the character of his players through encouragement and helping them understand that the game is more than just about winning. A good coach will always put the needs of his players first before he considers himself as a factor. If a coach is successful his players will develop a strong sense of self-motivation. This helps by allowing the player to

From a very young age, I have loved being involved in sport and fitness. My earliest memories all involve me running around with a ball or a bat of some kind either in my hand or at my feet. My love for physical activity has remained and since then, I have becoming increasingly interested in coaching and the more theoretical side of sport. This has inspired me to pursue a career in physical education and coaching.

Coaching philosophies differ all over the world, from one sport to another. They are the central foundation to any good coach’s success in his/her respected programs. A coach’s philosophy does not only guide and lead the other members of the staff in the right direction, but it also allows each athlete to know what is expected of them, and how they should behave. By being aware of a coach’s philosophy, the athlete is fully responsible for his/her actions both on and off the field of play. In the words of the great Nick Saban, "It 's about what you control, every minute of every day. You always have to have a winning attitude and discipline, in practices, weight training, conditioning, in the classroom, in everything. It 's a process."

It is my job as a coach to help develop athletes physically, psychologically, and socially while helping them have fun by playing a sport. I will do this by being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude in practice, games, and while not coaching. This cooperative approach to coaching will create a sense of community within the team I coach, and the athletes will feel more welcome to discuss their thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns with me. Creating this setting and relationships with athletes will only benefit the team by creating a team culture necessary for the well-being and success of high school sports’ teams. Success in sports means accomplishing goals set by the team, not winning. Winning is important, but just striving to win is even more vital toward the success of teams. As a coach, I will also be a motivator for athletes. Athletes will see me come to practice with a positive attitude, displaying my passion. This is the beginning of how I will motivate athletes. Motivation starts with my attitude, and athletes pick up on this. In order to motivate and want to be motivated, there must be a reason, a why? I will use the teams’ goals they will set, in order to motivate them to give their best effort in order to achieve success by reaching their

However, when we talk about youth sports, our main concern is with providing players with a positive, character building experience. Winning is not the only acceptable outcome for youth players, and coaches need to understand this principle. “With a winning philosophy young athletes may lose out on opportunities to develop their skills, to enjoy participation, and to grow socially and emotionally. Well informed coaches realize that success is not equivalent to winning games, and failure is not the same as losing.” (Enhancing Coach-Parent Relationships in Youth Sports, 15)

I want to be a successful coach that helps my athletes develop physically, psychologically, and socially. As a coach, I will develop self-confidence in my players by practicing the fundamentals and then building off of each practice. I will focus on interpreting a more challenging activity or skill in the practice plan each day. My practice plans will always include a warm up and a cool down to prevent any of my players from getting injured.

If you plan to become a coach because you heard it’s the fast track to earning a 6-

I’m still not 100% what I want to do after obtaining my degree, but a Health Coach is something I have strong interest in. A Health Coach helps clients to cultivate a healthier lifestyle. Many of their duties include, assessing a client’s current health conditions, developing goals, providing counseling services, treatment meals, health screening and tracking client’s progress. Health Coaches play a huge role in a person’s life by being a positive and educational influence in their daily lives, and could save and prolong lives.

Coaching, however challenging, is a great way to influence the lives of others while also building their character. For as long as there have been sports, there have been people teaching the sport to the players and making them better at it. Coaches must have certain qualities in order to obtain success. One must also look at a coach’s motivation for his job, his passion for what he does, his methods for coaching, and how he became a coach in order to fully understand him. There are many questions someone may want to ask a coach about his profession if they are interested in coaching. Some questions would include: Why did he choose this as a profession? How did he get into coaching? What does one have to do to get a job as a coach? How

The path that lead me to choose Sport Management as a major began at a young age where I demonstrated my admiration for sports. I have been participating in sports my entire life and still do to this day. Unfortunately, my time as an athlete will eventually come to an end and I will need to find an occupation that I have passion for. I asked myself the question, “Why not continue my passion in sports”? Being able to work with sports, but not directly in the spotlight, as an athlete is something I would love to be apart of.

Utilizing the six principles of coaching the one that is the most important is establishing a positive work relationship. As a mentor of others, it is important that the person or persons have a healthy respect for their mentor. Being a mentor it is important that the person respect the individual providing them with guidance on the do’s and don’ts of the job. A mentor cannot be unapproachable, they have to make themselves available and remain positive with all interaction. You cannot mentor if the person being mentored has no connection with their mentor, this lack of connection leads to no positive dialogue between the mentor and the subordinate, which in the end creates mistrust and that is counterproductive in mentoring.

I really came into this session with an open mind especially considering a longtime friend and former colleague, who was also a social studies teacher, just started his first year as an elementary school principal and has enjoyed the transition greatly. The one collective point I got from her is how important leadership is and how intently she has tried to model leadership in her school systems. The simple issue of how to institute one’s identity into the principal or administrative setting seemed to loom over my decision to attend the IPLA. One lesson I learned from coaching, albeit a little late for my coaching career, was that doing things the way they had always been done is not necessarily the best or correct way. I assumed that as I took over the head coaching job with a group of coaches that I had coached with for years that the only way to continue was down the same path that had lead us to where we were. I learned after 4 years that I should have made my identity part of the position rather than co-exist with the previous head coach’s identity. I never really gave myself a chance to succeed my way. If I had a second chance, I would take a very different approach but this has led to a lot of apprehension for me about my administrative success.

At their finest, coaches perfect their player’s flaws to push them to their potential ability, improve their skills, and create determination within the team. They can expand the importance of such a sport to intensify motivation and the value of good sportsmanship for the sake of not only their reputation, but the outcome that comes from it. Coaches must not lag when it comes to hardships that comes about; they must stay connected. The closer the connection between a player and a coach the better they are moving forward and continuing on the love of the sport and job.

My coaching niche at the moment is youth. Throughout my life I’ve gravitated to helping others that were younger than me. I believe it began from being an older brother. Since a young age I’ve taken on the responsibility of helping and assisting my siblings. We have a relationship in which they often come to me for advice. Open discussion is conducted and we work through issues together. It was from this that I realized the joy and rewarding aspect of coaching. With my experiences and positive manner I have seen what a helpful hand can do. My coaching philosophy is simple, believe in the process and yourself. Be open to change and just because you may not agree with everything don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone.

As a child I grew up playing football, and I’ve always had a passion for the game. After playing my final down, I knew that my days with the sport were not over. Football is a sport that molds boys into men. My dream is to become a football coach. My coaches had a very strong impact on my life and helped me evolve into the person I am today. By becoming a football coach I will have the ability to make an impact on my player’s life like my coaches did with mine. My biggest inspiration in becoming a football coach is Lou Holtz. Coach Holtz showed me that just because I am finished playing doesn’t mean that I can’t have a passion for the game. The way he carried himself and the passion he emitted helped me decide that this was something I