Volunteer Coaching
The mentality of a volunteer coach becomes important to the success of a sport for several reasons. First, a coach must be able to relate to the players, gain their respect, and most important, earn a players trust. Second, a coach must be able to teach excellent fundamentals of a sport in an atmosphere that is filled with determination, desire and be enjoyable to the players. Finally, a coach needs to teach the importance of sportsmanship and at the same time meet the parent’s expectations. Utilizing these techniques will provide an enjoyable, challenging and in the end, a rewarding experience for a player.
First, a coach will start the season by relating to the players on the team on all levels. This becomes essential to earning a player’s respect. From the start of the first whistle the coach begins to enforce the rules and utilizes proper instruction that provides a guideline for the players to follow. Without these rules and instructions players won’t learn to respect the coach, fans or the referees that manage the game. A coach must use excellent communication skills to keep the players attention because if the players aren’t listening or paying attention then the coach loses an important aspect of coaching and that’s respect. Coaches will teach respect to the players by treating them like players and not kids. Players know only what they are taught, while kids only know what they’ve been told. Coaches also realize that it can be very challenging for players to learn a new sport. A coach will also be sensitive to the players needs by being fair, consistent, and patient. Sometimes, a coach will realize that it’s important to utilize one on one coaching to improve a player that is not performing as well as the other players. As the coach becomes a player’s friend the coach begins to gain the trust and respect of the player on all levels of the game. The coach can also relate to players by not screaming or putting down...