Before we discuss what qualities and skill sets that make for a good coach, we need to first acknowledge how very difficult this profession of coaching really is. Coaching is sometimes a thankless, frustrating “no-win” kind of activity. It’s most often done in a public fishbowl.
In other words, if you coach, then you are in a highly visible position that continually exposes you to the public’s scrutiny and evaluation. It’s one of those areas where the general public regularly weighs in on what kind of a job they think you’re doing whether you want their evaluation or not.
When it comes to judging your performance, everyone seems to be an expert and have the “qualifications” to criticise you. Fans, parents, students, the media, and the team’s organisation or administration all seem at the ready to offer you either the thumbs up or thumbs down signal.
What’s even more frustrating for a coach is that so much of this external judgment comes from individuals who don’t seem to have a clue about you, your players, or what you’re trying to accomplish with the team.
Coaching is also one of those areas where your professional effectiveness is almost always narrowly measured by something that is very often totally out of your control: winning and losing.
In many ways you can be a bad or ineffective coach, yet because you are lucky enough to have great players on your squad, you win all the time. Because of this external record you are considered in your profession to be a “great” coach. Similarly, you can be a wonderful coach and teacher but because of a lack of player talent, luck, or other circumstances beyond your control such as player injuries, your won-loss record is just mediocre and, as a consequence of this, you’re seen as an ineffective coach.
Like I said, coaching its easy isn’t it…..
