Many
different opinions exist about coaches being in the classroom. Some believe
that coaches do not put their full effort in while teaching, and therefore
should not be in the classroom. Others believe that coaches are the best
teachers that they ever had. So what is the difference?
On
any weekday, a coach begins around 7:00-7:30 a.m. (if they are lucky). They
have morning practice, teach five or six classes, have maybe one conference
period, and then have practice again after school. After practice they are
dealing with athletes, injuries, questions, paperwork, film, etc. They will be
lucky to leave the gym before 7:00 p.m. On a game night it will be even later,
sometimes a coach will not end their day until well after 10:00 p.m. So when do they have time to grade papers, do
lesson plans, and keep up with student’s missing work?1
Coaches
are born teachers2; their job is to teach the athletes how to
perfect the playing of their sport. This comes in handy in the classroom when
coaches are used to adapting their teaching to reach all athletes. The most
important step would be time management. A coach has to make time to do the
lesson plans and get materials ready for the next day. Their conference period
must be used to plan for their class and their class only. Since a majority of
their time will be spent outside of the classroom, coaches must leave that
title at the door of the classroom, and step in their
room each day giving 110% as the teacher. With the diverse skills coaches have acquired, they should be some of the best teachers. With their will to push themselves and succeed, their success should be just as great as their success on the court/field.
1Sage,
G. H. (1987). The Social World of High School Athletic Coaches: Multiple Role
Demands and Their Consequences. Sociology
of Sport Journal, 4(3).
2Drewe,
S. B. (2000). An Examination of the Relationship Between Coaching and Teaching.
Quest,
52.
I truly believe a coach is a teacher and a teacher is a coach. In today's society, teachers wear so many different hats throughout a school day - ranging from actual teaching subject matter to counselor to janitor to mentor to another teacher. On top of that, coaches add coaching duties as well. Nonetheless, a coach teaches a game to athletes and teaches knowledge to students. It is a disgrace to the profession those coaches that underestimate the power of the classroom - reaching kids that aren't as privileged to be in the gym or on the field. The way I see it: teacher 1st, coach 2nd. Those that sign up to coach will put in more hours - there's your difference. Good blog!
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