Things for Coaches to Think About

1. Being able to manage people, not knowledge of the game makes a great coach.

2. A successful coach has compassion for their player’s feelings.

3. Being able to relate to the player’s frustrations gives a coach the edge.

4. Motivation comes from within, if a player doesn’t have it, a coach can’t give it to them, but a coach can inspire a player to play over their head if they are motivated.

5. There is no athlete alive who won’t work for positive strokes from a coach.

6. Coach the heart, because that’s where the game is won or lost.

7. Coaches who believe that to be a great player all you need is great physical ability, will be disappointed by those natural athletes who don’t have the heart for the game. And will be presently surprised by lesser athletes with and insatiable love for the game.

8. Coaches who teach their players to love “the game” and not about the need to win “the game”, will find themselves with a team of winners who will make the winning happen because it’s fun.

9. When the fun is gone the consistent winning is over.

10. It is the rare player who can endure the mental and physical rigors of year round training. Give them a break.

11. A team is only as good as the weakest player on the bench, so train every player on the roster as if they were starting the next game.

12. Never blame a player for causing the team to lose a game, blame the coach for improper preparation.

13. Attention to detail will make the team a winner.

14. A winning tradition is worth more then super-stars to any team.

15. Start with the players when building a system, don’t start with a system and try to make the players fit.

16. Use every game as the basis for the next practice.

17. Discipline is the foundation a good team is built on.

18. Don’t let your need to win overcome your requirement to be ethical.

19. Players don’t care what you think until they think you care.

20. Failure is like fertilizer, it may stink, but it will help you grow.