by Dr. Alan Goldberg
The best coaches are FLEXIBLE – They approach their teaching by continuously looking for a beter way to reach each athlete. When an athlete struggles learning something the better coaches do not look at this as a “learning disability” and blame the athlete for their incompetence. Instead they approach it as a “teaching disability” and therefore change how they are presenting the material to that athlete. If one approach doesn’t work, then they try another until they figure out the best way to reach that particular athlete. Just because that athlete may not be responding to your coaching does not mean that he/she has an attitude or commitment problem. Coaches who are rigid, who continually adopt the attitude that “it’s my way or the highway” are far less effective than those coaches who have mastered the fine art of being flexible. Understand here that flexibility does NOT mean being wishy-washy. You can be flexible and strong at the same time.
