Dripping Life Jan 10

Unless they’ve worked as a coach or been married to a coach, the general public may have little idea about a coach’s life away from school and the field or court, the diamond, track, pool or range…and while the job of coaching may appear fairly simple, men and women who are passionate about coaching will agree, it’s not only complex, but also about far more than being an expert on the sport.

Today’s coaches serve many masters and wear many hats (or more appropriately, many caps). Coaches are accountable, first and foremost, to the individual students they coach. Responsible for developing skills required to be successful in competition, most coaches will tell you, they feel more responsibility for molding and shaping young men and women – coming from all walks of life, all types of family situation – to be good citizens with the ability to contribute positively to their communities as well as their chosen careers.

But the task of coaching doesn’t stop there.

Coaches also must shape athletes of all skill levels, melding the individual talents and personalities into a cohesive team, able to focus for an entire season as a competitive force, equal or better than every other team on the schedule. (Sounds like herding cats, right?) This task must be accomplished, simultaneously, with team members balancing the demands of the classroom, hormones and home responsibilities, all the while, teens learning about who they are. In this undeniably daunting process, young men and women also must be learning independence, responsibility, accountability and preparing to take the next step in their lives.

In some districts, coaches juggle class schedules during the day along with coaching before and/or after school. In others, coaches have the luxury of giving their total attention to their athletes, the sport and the preparation necessary to compete.

Depending on budgets, coaches may be asked to oversee additional, adjuncts to the sport they are coaching. Years ago, assistant coaches could find themselves doing laundry, overseeing weight training and physical conditioning as well as being trained to administer first aid for minor injuries and working closely with the team doctor in rehabbing players. They also may be monitoring individual team members’ classroom performance, serving as a sounding board for players’ personal problems and finding resources for athletes needing support in various areas of their lives.

When my late husband coached football and track, he was awakened early in the morning to go to the local sheriff’s department or police station to give a kid a ride home after being caught breaking a law. Several times, he went to retrieve a run-away from another town. Coaching, to me, during and out of season, seemed like a 24/7 commitment.

Anyone coaching any length of time can tell you some of the most frustrating aspects of their jobs often comes in the form of parents. “As coaches, we are prepared to help – and want to help – students with the baggage they carry,” a retired coach explained, “but there are times when we simply cannot please every parent. When a new coach comes to a school, he or she is surrounded by supporters – a booster club, teaching colleagues, administrators, the student body and parents. However, we know or learn by experience, as soon as we begin making decisions, and it could involve anything, from uniforms to practice times to position assignments or our dress code when we travel. With each decision, we make at least one enemy.

“It may take several seasons even a decade or two, but you can reach a tipping point, and that’s the time to dust off your resume,” he said.

Over the years, coaches have embraced new technology to improve their teaching and coaching efforts, plus cell phones also have made communications easier and more effective. Collaboration between middle and high school athletic programs also have enhanced team-building and teaching effectiveness.

However, to wear all the necessary coaching caps and to be accountable to every stakeholder involved in a sport takes time. This leaves rare time for family, friends and life’s other activities. 

The dedication of these men and women, like most educators, is off the charts while their love of the sport and commitment to the students they coach is through the roof. Ask any coach, and more often than not, they chose coaching because of a life-changing role model who was a coach.

So, there may be many trophies in the school’s trophy case, thousands of followers on Twitter and an entire student body that rallies behind each sports team through the year…all because of a dedicated staff of coaches.  But ask any coach and they’ll tell you, before the trophies and media attention, their proudest achievements are the next generations of young people they came to know, teach, mentor and watched as they grew into the men and women who walked across the stage at graduation.

Thanks, Coach!