Definition of a good coach.

[957tiger]

Just curious on what makes a coach a good coach or just an average coach. My thoughts are that a good coach understands the game , knows the rules and does his best to understand what drives and distracts the young men on his team.

[957tiger]

I am surprised that no one has replied to this thread. With the play-offs in the final weeks, and some teams hitting on all cylinders, others not. How does a coach motivate his staff and players in August to play in December?

[Gobbla2001]

found it in the dictionary

good coach - a coach that is good ;)

nah, I think it is a coach who not only gets his team ready for every game mentally and physically, but demands more out of their lives and in their classes...

[KingRob]

yes, all that is important, but just as important.....They better win some games!;)

[bp80884]

Originally posted by 957tiger
Just curious on what makes a coach a good coach or just an average coach. My thoughts are that a good coach understands the game , knows the rules and does his best to understand what drives and distracts the young men on his team.

I think a mark of a great coach is how his team responds to defeat. To me, in youth & high school sports, sportsmanship comes a close second to winning. I would personally prefer to lose with class than win with shame.

[coach]

http://bbs.3adownlow.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88765&highlight=coaching

this might help you out

[CenTexSports]

A great coach is one that Coaches during the game instead of officiating (of course I look from a different perspective).

[jambo67]

Parents can derail a good coach long before the first play is called. If the politics work in a coach's favor then their philosophy might have a chance and a short contract may pan-out into good run. Then a no playoff season happens and the boosters get all in a tizzy convinced there is no way their kids just dont have the stomach for the fight, it's gotta be the coaches "because our kids rule!" Then the coach gets fired and the next school he goes to already has a preconceived notion. The internet is the best thing that has ever happened for coaching, it's also the worst.

[swstangs001]

prepares for games....makes good adjustments....is classy and a good guy

[957tiger]

Unlike in the past, the Head coach may also be the AD. Their duties often involve sports they are not familiar or comfortable with. You have to be comfortable with the people you have put in charge. Todays student athelete has greater demands placed on them, if the player succeeds, so does the coach. As I re-read the thread that Coach directed me to, it reminded me of a coach I once had. This guy pushed us hard, ex-military and very intense. His success was measured not always in wins, but getting to know the player, and their family, he could tell if you were having a good day or a bad day and treated you accordingly. There was once a time when a coach made a so-so player or troubled kid his project, now days it seems there is no time for the interaction that was once the norm. Kids feed off their coaches, both good and bad. Sometimes they are a reflection of the coaching style they are exposed to.

[Dogman_1969]

Originally posted by swstangs001
prepares for games....makes good adjustments....is classy and a good guy

I agree plus a good coach makes average players good and good players great..........

[westcoast54]

A good coach must surround himself with other good and LOYAL coaches. If not, you will be in trouble.

[All out CAT]

Jerry Vance

[crabman]

Agree with Jerry Vance. Also Hugh Sandifer, Dan Hooks, and Mark Reeve.

[44INAROW]

Amen Crabman....... I agree 100% - :clap:

[coachkiss]

I can't remember the guys name. I sure wish I could, but one night at coaching school, the staff I was on got roped into listening to some guy. I thought I knew a lot, and this guy basically embarrassed me because he described many of the things that I was doing, and it led to a lot of changes in the way that I coached. I can't remember it all, but I bet coachc45 can fill in some blanks, and maybe the guys' name.

He talked about the difference between a high-level coach and a "lineup coach".

A lineup coach complains about the talent that the school has, and blames the shortcomings of the team on the players. A high level coach turns #2 tomatoes into #1 tomatoes.

A lineup coach is very laid back in practice all week and not showing intensity and tries to flip a switch on Friday night and yells and screams at the kids. A high level coach coaches with the same intensity in practice that he does in the games, because he realizes that games are won in practice.

A lineup coach tries to come up with a different lineup or formation to succeed each week. A high level coach puts in an offense and tries to teach those plays and that defense better. He doesn't try to do too much, he teaches his kids to the best they can in the offense and defense they have put in place.

A lineup coach thinks the game is about him and where he is going to coach next. A high level coach realizes that each day is a day to teach kids about the game of life and becomes a mentor to the kids. He also realizes that this game is ultimately for the kids and it is played by them.

A lineup coach spends a lot of time running team offense and team defense. A high level coach will spend the majority of his time in practice coaching technique and individual skills, realizing that these are the building blocks to a successful offense and defense.

When this coach said those things, I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Everybody on the staff felt that way. It really was a night that changed my life forever (as sappy as that sounds). I realized that I wasn't a very good coach, and we all took steps to change that.

We instituted ABC drills for offense and defense. We broke down the very essential things that each position had to know how to do to be successful. Whether it was how a linebacker should run to make a tackle to how a lineman performs a reach block, we did those drills every day in practice. We did them in pregame. We did them for offense and defense. We spent less time in team and more on the basics.

I would like to end the story with a Rudy type moment of winning a state championship, but we didn't have that type of success. However, we took a 2-8 team that graduated a lot of people to a 5-5 team that missed the playoffs by 3 points. I still feel that year was the best coaching job I ever did. Even though I'm out of high school coaching now, I still try to use many of those same principles in coaching youth sports, whether it is baseball, wrestling, or football.

Heck, I even use those things in my current job and life in general.

I guess somewhere in there is my definition of a good coach.