My Coaching Philosophy - Spirit Leaders

First and foremost, I want to say that education is key to successful athletes and contributing members of society. I remind my athletes and the coaches that I mentor that we do not attend high school to play sports, we attend high school to gain an education and learn about the world we live in. Those students who are able to juggle academics and athletics will be the best leaders in their community.

I feel strongly that students should take the opportunity to participate in athletics and clubs available to them while they have the chance. We only attend high school for 4 years and the lessons learned, friends made, and experiences we have during that time challenge us and define us as individuals for the rest of our lives. High School athletics put our kids in leadership roles, especially those in the Spirit Positions, i.e. cheer, dance, and mascot.

Cheerleaders and Dancers have always been expected to lead the crowd and keep them screaming and yelling for their team. As time has evolved the expectations of these students have also evolved. Presently they are expected to be ambassadors for their school. They set the example for the student body in athleticism, academics, service, and support. They must uphold themselves in a manner that other members of the student body are not expected to.

I feel that our Spirit Programs, both Cheer, and Dance, should be held to the highest of standards. Coaches should be knowledgeable in their activity and safety should be at the forefront of their minds. Whether a school hosts a program that is sideline based and spends its time supporting other sports or a school carries a highly athletic and competitive squad, their focus should be on their leadership role and safety. Each school has a unique opportunity to develop a program that best fits the needs of their school and community.

Countdown to Zero

The end of the beginning.

As the 2013 A to Z challenge reaches the end, we find ourselves at the beginning of the cheer season.  Most coaches are busy preparing and hosting tryouts, figuring out budgets, deciding on spirit packs, and planning the summer season.  As usual, during the blogging process I have discovered new things about my surroundings and myself.  I have made new friends, connected with new coaches and new people and still have lots to work on.  I want to take a little time and share with you some of the things that I need to work and what I have learned in the last thirty days.

Learned.

I have learned that as I get older and gain more experience, I learn to see past the BS excuses my students give me.  I know when their heart is not in it and when they are just going through the motions.  I need to not take it personally when a student leave the program, not every one is a cheerleader and not everyone works well in my style.

Work to do.

I really want to focus on hitting all those individual and team goals that we set at the beginning of the season.  I want them to feel like they are working hard and accomplishing things every day.  I want our program to continue to be a role model for other schools.

Learned.

This season is going to be an emotional one.  As the blog challenge progressed, I learned that 90% of the coaching knowledge I have, was learned at my current school.  Each year I come closer and closer to retiring as a coach and the thought of not being with my current school, students and staff saddens me.  I will be forever grateful for the lessons learned and memories made here.

Work to do. 

Focus on the individuals to make the team better.  I need to make sure that I connect with each team member each day.  They need to know that I care about them and the work they do.  Motivation to carry on the traditions set before them and leave their mark on the program.

Learned. 

I have learned that I need to spend some time on my coaching knowledge.  As we head into the new season with the new rules, I need to be better about asking for help and letting some of the control go.  (Eeeekkk!)  I need to stay on top of the trends and techniques that will make us better. 

Work to do.

Stick to the practice plan.  I usually have the entire season planned out by the first practice.  I need to stay focused on that plan so that we get everything done that needs done.  I need to help them do the best job they can do.

Learned.

I have learned that you cannot rebuild a burned bridge in a year.  Some things are beyond repair and sometimes you just have to let those people go.  I have done my part and built my bridge back up, but if they don’t want to cross it, at some point we have to realize it is their loss.

Work to do.

I need to prepare my assistant coaches and staff to lead and the team.  I will never be able to retire if I don’t train my replacement.  Let go.  Let them lead.  Let them have control.

Learned. 

I have learned that no matter the circumstances, life goes on.  We can think, plan and prepare all we want but at the end of the day, things are going to happen and we need to be able to roll with it and move on.  My program is successful because I have made it successful.  The kids come and go.  Some work hard and some don’t, but all of them have made this program successful.  As a coach, I learned from every single one of my cheerleaders and I hope they have learned from me.

Thank you for following along the past 30 days.  I hope that you too have learned something or have something that has inspired you.  I know that the comments of the readers opened my eyes many times.

Cheers!

*\o/*

CW3

Variety in Coaching

The longer you coach, the more you see. 

The more you see, the more you learn. 

The more you learn, the more you have to teach. 

-ELW

As a veteran coach I am asked all the time how I figured out my coaching style and what to do in certain situations.  My answer is always the same… Time.  When I started out coaching that first JV team, I had so many plans and dreams of what they would be.  I quickly learned that my dreams and plans are directly related to what they want to do.  There is a saying “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”  This is SO true with coaching youth and teens!  As adults we tend to forget that teens don’t have the same plans or dreams that we do.  They do not see the world as we do.  We see the potential in our athletes when our athletes see sleep and food.

A long time coach will tell you that they start each year with those same plans and goals that they did the first year.  The difference is, the longer you have been coaching the better you get and motivation and getting the team to buy into what your trying to do. You have to change the way you coach a little bit each year to motivate the different types of students and different types of athletes.  You don’t change your expectations, you simply change the delivery. 

I have former athletes that come back, watch practices, and say to me, “Man! You have gotten so soft!  We would NEVER have gotten away with what these guys are doing!”  Also, some come back and say to me that I have gotten mean and they are glad they cheered for me when they did.  At the end of the year, the teams all accomplish the same goals.  They all learned what they needed to learn and participated to the best of their ability.  Very rarely do we have teams that finish a season a disappointment.  The teams learn to work hard every year their own way. 

Some years I am mean and some years I am super nice.  I have learned how to read my team and know how to motivate them.  There are still some years or some seasons where I miss the mark and the teams are not as good as they could have been.  Sometimes it is my coaching and sometimes it is the kids.  Sometimes you get cheerleaders and sometimes you get girls that want to be called cheerleaders.  You learn to do the best you can with what you have. 

At the beginning of every year, I start practices with the same basic plan.  We review or learn motions, jumps, basic tumbling, the fight song and our stunt progressions.  I learn about the team while they are mastering these skills.  If they have the motivation to get through their basics, I know that they are a motivated group and I can push them a little harder.  If it takes the full three weeks of summer practices to learn the basics, I know I have a playful team on my hands and if I push to fast, they will push back.  The teams that learn slower are not bad; they just have a different focus. This theory works most of the time.  I am always evaluating and re-evaluating my team, taking the motivational temperature of their skills.  I have also learned to pay attention to their school schedules.  Major school functions have a direct impact on the athletes.  I know that if we are coming up on Homecoming week that I am going to lose their focus for a while.  We have to be solid in our routines at least a week before any major school function.  If not, we will not have a stellar performance. 

For those coaches who have been coaching a while, please reach out to the new coaches around you and share your experiences.  They are going to need advice when their vision of what those first seasons fizzles before them.

For the coaches that are new and have all the dreams and goals and plans, please keep those dreams!  Listen to the coaches around you that have been there.  They can offer advice and guidance to make sure your dreams are realized!

We are not alone in our coaching.  We should never have to reinvent the wheel!  Listen and learn from each other!  There is a lot of knowledge and experience around you.