“I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for 10 years already!” I am sure every coach reading this has said, or will one day say, that exact same line. It seems as if my coaching career is flying by a lot faster than my playing career. Before I get into my thoughts, I wanted to take a minute to thank all the athletes I have worked with over the years. An athlete without a coach is still an athlete; a coach without an athlete is not a coach. I also wanted to thank my mentors and close friends in the profession. I have met some incredible people over the years, and I appreciate all who have made an impact on my life.
At 33 years old, I still consider myself a young coach. However, I am far wiser today than when I was 23 and thought I had everything figured out. This article is for me to look back on another 10 years from now and for every aspiring, young coach out there. Enjoy!
1. Building culture stems from building relationships.
I have worked with multiple teams over my coaching career and the best teams embody the best culture. To me, a great culture can be defined by every single team member holding themselves and each other to the highest level of accountability attainable. Sure, it takes good players and good schemes to win. In the weight room, it takes a solid program with a great foundation to develop an athlete. But the schemes and programs only work if the athletes “buy-in.” The “buying-in" is where culture is created. For the players to trust each other and trust the process, they must trust that the coaching staff has their best interest. There is no “one size fits all” for coaching, each athlete must have a tailored approach. It's on the coach to get the most out of each athlete and it starts with building relationships.
TAKE ACTION: Get to know your athletes on a professional and personal level. Doing this will develop a great foundation for building a relationship. Find out what kind of music they like, learn about their support system, ask them how they are feeling today, ask them about their goals, figure out what makes them tick. The quicker you learn these things about your athletes, the easier it is to understand them and coach them, and in turn they will know that you care about them as a person, not just as an athlete.
2. It doesn’t matter how much you know if you can't communicate the information effectively.
It is important that you know your stuff. Athletes want to be coached and they need the correct information to improve and be successful. With that being said, coaches need to convey their information in a way that the athlete understands. Going back to lesson #1, athletes need a tailored approach to coaching. I’m not saying you need to hold one athlete's hand and cuss out another. I’m saying that everyone learns differently and absorbs information differently. The key to getting your athletes to perform a task is making sure they understand the task clearly so they can give 100% effort without overthinking.
TAKE ACTION: Practice different coaching cues on different athletes. Find cues that work and use them, throw out the cues that don’t seem too effective. Make connections to something they’re familiar with, for example: If a basketball player is struggling with “sticking” a vertical jump landing, try to cue them to “land in your defensive basketball stance.”
3. Keep track of everything you do.
I may be a hoarder, but in my mind “I’m going to need this one day.” I should say to just keep track of the important things that you do. I have a crazy obsession with keeping my past work, writing in journals, and documenting things that probably don’t need documented. It’s cool for me to refer back 10 years ago and see what my coaching philosophies and ideas were. I believe that the best way to improve is to learn from past experiences. The only way to learn from the past is to have old information on what worked and what didn’t. Things I did 10 years ago still work for me today! Other things have been thrown out completely or altered and adapted to better fit how I coach in 2022.
TAKE ACTION: Always keep a small notebook and pen with you. After practice, write down any thoughts or pieces of important information and make sure to date it. Use a different notebook to take notes at any coaching clinic or when meeting with other coaches to talk shop. Finally, keep old strength programs or old playbooks. If you stay organized from the beginning, it will make things a lot easier to find when you need them (I wish I had this advice at 23).
4. Never marry your own ideas or philosophies.
This lesson is a continuation of Lesson #3. It is important to learn from past experiences and adapt to improve. If everyone around you is improving and you are staying the same, you are going to get passed by quickly. Sports and people are continuously changing and evolving. It is important to do the same as a coach. Just because you’ve always done something a certain way, doesn’t mean there aren't better ways to do it.
5. Keep learning.
You don’t know it all and you never will. Check your ego at the door and learn from as many different people as you can. I used to think that I ONLY needed to learn from D1 or NFL coaches. I assumed they were the best of the best, and no offense to them, I was wrong. There are so many great, knowledgeable coaches out there with years of experience. Some of the best coaches I’ve met were coaching at the high school level or in the private sector running their own business. I also used to think that I could only learn from “team” coaches dealing with sports performance, once again I was wrong. There are so many different aspects included in a sports performance program and it's important to have a foundation of different realms of training. I have learned from yoga instructors, physical therapists, power lifting coaches, Olympic lifting coaches, track coaches, CROSSFIT COACHES (yes, I said CrossFit) and so many more. Always be willing to ask questions and learn from those with experience. TAKE ACTION: Social media, when used correctly, is a great place to network. Don’t be afraid to send a message, introduce yourself, and ask a question. There are plenty of coaches willing to share information. If you want to take it a step further, ask if you can visit their facility and sit in on a training session or practice. If you can’t make that happen, find out if they are speaking at any open clinics and go listen to them speak. Clinics are a great place to network. Always be respectful and thank them for their time. A handwritten note or a follow-up, thank you email is a lost art!
6. Stop and smell the roses, but then keep on going
Enjoy the process of developing as a coach. If you are coaching at the collegiate or professional level, you may be bouncing around from city to city. You may get started making $0 to one day supporting a family of 4. I am living proof of that. 10 years ago, I was making $0, 4 hours away from my family, volunteering my time to learn, network, and grow a resume. There were days that I loved what I was doing and other days that I wanted to go get a normal 9-5 sales job. At times, it’s challenging to appreciate where you are and appreciate what you are doing. Looking back on those days, I miss my colleagues and the athletes I got to coach. I appreciate those times more now than I did back then. Take it all in, give 100% effort every single day, coach your athletes to the best of your ability, and enjoy where you are. It’s all part of the process.
7. Know your worth
In the coaching world, you start at the bottom of the totem pole. Internships and voluntary positions are pretty much a guaranteed starting point. However, you can’t intern and volunteer forever. At some point, you must build a career to support yourself and your family. Don’t be afraid to respectfully find and/or create other opportunities for yourself. If you are a volunteer or an intern, work as hard as you can to prove to the coaches above you that you can be trusted as a coach. Search for a graduate assistant position or maybe even an assistant coaching position and ask your colleagues for help! The real leaders in coaching want to help. They will write letters of recommendation when needed and even call other coaching friends to put in a good word to help you get the next job. Here is where I will be brutally honest: Coaching can be cutthroat and there are a lot of egos involved in the profession. It’s not rare to find yourself in a toxic environment. The tough part in coaching is job security so it’s also important to “read the room.” Understand the real value that you bring to the coaching staff and understand at what level the rest of the staff values you. TAKE ACTION: Don’t be afraid to hustle! Build a website, start a blog, post content on social media, build an online coaching course, etc... It’s ok to find ways to build a brand, make money, improve your value, and feed your family.
8. Budget your time
I am still working on this. Having 2 kids, running a business, coaching, finding time to workout, finding time to eat healthier meals, finding time to spend with my wife, and of course finding time to write this damn article. It’s a lot when you think about it! The easiest way to manage everything is to do your best to prioritize. I admit that I spend too much time on my phone. I scroll aimlessly on Twitter and Instagram and it really doesn’t provide too much value for my life. Maybe bingeing 8 hours of Stranger Things while eating popcorn and pizza interferes with your priorities. It’s ok! Just get back on track as soon as you can and keep rolling. TAKE ACTION: I’ve tried multiple ways to organize my time and there are pros and cons to every plan. The key is to find which plan works best for you. Here is what I have found most useful for myself: Every weekend, I set up a 24-hour schedule for each day of the week. I then list the mandatory activities which are sleeping, eating, and hygiene. I then list everything I need to accomplish for the week. This can be anything related to your job or personal activity. Some things I include are spending time with family, working out, writing for my blog, training my athletes, responding to emails. I then decide which of these are priorities and which can be cut out. At that point you can decide how much time you’d like to spend on each thing. The reason I like this method is because of how random my weeks are. Sometimes I can spend mornings with the family, other times I spend more time with them in the evenings. Nothing is specifically scheduled for a specific time; I just make sure I get the hours I budgeted for during my planning. Be sure to track your hours. Each weekend you can reevaluate where you are spending your time to plan for the following week. If you need help with this, send me a message and I’ll send over an example plan.
9. Always shoot for the moon! You can change your flight path to land on a star.
I wanted to play in the NFL. Didn’t work out. So, I changed my dream to being the next head football coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But over my first 4 years of coaching, I realized there are a lot of things outside of my control. I realized there is a ton of luck involved in coaching and more sacrifice than you can imagine. The scary thing in coaching at the collegiate or professional level is job security and uncertainty. You can’t always control what other coaches are doing. You can’t always control what an NFL owner or University Boosters want to do. You can be as close to your dream as possible, get fired, and now you must start back at the beginning. I’ve seen it happen to multiple friends and coworkers. Being a good coach helps, but it won’t always land you a big-time job and it won’t ever guarantee you job security. I’m not writing this to deter you from chasing a dream. I’m writing this so you can find your higher purpose and to help you prioritize the important things in your life. The most important part about any job is enjoying where you are and living your life exactly how you pictured living it. If you are coaching at the high school level and absolutely love everything about your life, stay there! As much as I wanted to be the next head football coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, I didn’t want to miss out on time with my family. I didn’t want to leave my chances up to luck.
10. Work to live, don’t live to work
I’ve adapted this to be a personal mission statement. Do what is required to live the life you dream of. Focus on your job, don’t be afraid to take risks, work as hard and as smart as you possibly can. But we are only on this earth for a short period of time. Enjoy your time here! When I first started coaching, all I could think about was work. It distracted me from everything else important in my life. When I finally realized this, I knew I had to make some changes. It was challenging. I had to slightly edit my mentality and my identity. I had to redefine my purpose. When I’m gone, I don’t care what my job resume says. People will say he was a great father, a great husband, and a great person. He was also a pretty damn good coach.
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