Qualities of a Coach

Coaching a sports team, whether it is a profession or a hobby with a recreational league, can be a demanding position. While the game itself is designed to be fun, sports are also supposed to be competitive. Competition brings out the best and sometimes the worst in players--and, in youth sports, sometimes the parents as well. To be a successful coach on any level, it will be helpful to have a key set of essential qualities.

  1. Leadership

    • When you are in charge of a sports team, you can be sure that your players and other members of the staff are watching your every move. With this kind of attention, it is important to display leadership qualities at all times. Lead by example and you will have a better chance of seeing your players and staff act and perform in the way you want them to.

      Show up on time for practice, avoid constant referee confrontations and yelling, and generally avoid any activity that would be undesirable in your players. If they see you do it, then they think you should be okay with them doing it.

    Fairness

    • Inevitably you are going to have some players on your team who outshine the others in terms of talent. Some kids are simply born with that special something and others can work as hard as they can and never reach that level. As a coach you must realize that being good does not entitle you to different treatment from the others. What you must do is highlight the features of your best players so your less-proficient players can grow as quickly as possible.

      Since winning is a priority for coaches, it will obviously be necessary to play the best players to give the team the best chance to win. However, fairness is a different matter. Treat every player on the team equally, regardless of talent level or perceived potential. The star player shouldn’t be able to get away with showing up late for practice without consequence, when a less talented player who came in late last week had to run laps for an hour.

    Patience

    • As a coach you must be a teacher, especially in youth sports. Some players may not be experienced in the sport at all. They will have to learn everything directly from you. Patience will be an important quality at this point in coaching.

      Every young athlete learns at a different pace and with various levels of understanding. Take the time to properly explain what you want them to know, and be willing to work with some players considerably longer than you had to with a faster learner.

    Handle Criticism

    • Parents of youth sports athletes and media that cover sports on the high school, college and professional level tend to be very critical of coaches when they make a questionable decision–especially if the team is not doing well. To be successful, a coach needs to be able to handle all types of harsh criticism and keep his cool about it.

    Skills

    • Don’t expect your players to do anything that you don’t know how to do yourself. You will not be able to properly teach a football team how to pass block on offense if you do not know how to get out on the field and demonstrate it for them. He doesn’t have to be a good athlete necessarily, but a coach must have the skills to back up what he expects his team to do.