A Quest for Greatness

In today’s coaching world, there are a million different ways to put your team or program into a class by itself. Every coach has their own idea that they think will bring their team together and help them gain that extra edge to win a conference, or maybe even a national championship. As a former college baseball player and coach of various select youth leagues, I have a little insight on what coaches can do to create a team/program that is in a class by itself.

One Team-One Goal. The best way that a coach can create a championship mentality for the team is to get all of the players on board and chasing the same goal. This can be a difficult task for those teams that have a few individuals with egos; those athletes with big egos tend to worry about themselves rather than focus on what is best for the team. The coaches can only do so much in trying to guide that player in the direction that best suites the team. When this ‘ego’ situation arises the coach’s ace-in-the-hole is the core group of returning players who have been on the team for a couple of years. These returners need to take the new ‘ego’ athletes, those who see themselves as individuals, under their wing and show them the ropes. This will take a couple of weeks to accomplish because the initial thought of the incoming player is going to be, “I have done this my whole career and it has served me well”. However, once the ‘ego-driven’ individuals buy-in to the team goal your athletes will form a brotherhood. Everyone will be focused on winning the championship and will do anything to get there.

Building Men of Character. Another way that a coach can create a strong team product that is in a class by itself is to shape the young boys that come into the program and turn them into men. From the very beginning, the head coach and his assistants have to make it known that it is a privilege to play sports. As an athlete you are not entitled to anything. The coach then needs to put in perspective that the player is a student-athlete --- student first and athlete second. Most athletes come into college with the ultimate goal of making it to the professional level of their sport, but if you look at the statistics only about 2-3% make it to the pros.  Although a lot of coaches only care about the on-field performances of the athletes, a successful coach will stress the importance of getting an education.  He needs to make sure that the athletes obtain their education so that they have something to fall back on if they do not make it to the next level.

Life Lessons from the Dugout.  A collegiate athlete’s career only last four years. You may think that four years is a long time, but from personal experience it flies by. During that time an athlete is around his coach almost every day. As a coach you should get excited because you have the opportunity to teach your players life lessons that they will be able to use their entire life. When most people hear about life lessons, they probably think something like sportsmanship and how to be a good sport. However, I am referring to a much bigger picture when I talk about life lessons - I am referring to relationship advice, financial advice, basically anything that will help athletes whenever they have hung up their cleats. A lesson that my coach gave me when I played college baseball was that communication is the key to any good relationship. During my career, I played in the outfield where catching a fly ball often involves two other guys sprinting directly towards each other at full speed to catch the same ball. In order to avoid collisions, you have to communicate with each other so that you can catch the ball and get an out without hurting anyone. Communication is key to success on the field and success in a relationship – this is a life lesson that has stuck with me for three years and I will remember for the rest of my life.

Every coach has their own coaching style and different ways that they can put their team into a class by itself. Now it’s your job to go out and find your own coaching philosophy and create your own legacy.