Treat coaching like a signal light. Putting a signal light on the book cover indicates the importance for a coach to know when to stop, when to be careful and when to move forward. RED coaching means to stop whatever you are doing and, unless corrected, don’t coach. YELLOW coaching means to use caution, because some athletes will get turned off by what you say and do. GREEN coaching has value because the athlete has a positive reason to perform. Read your signal light. LET’S GET STARTED So, you’ve decided to coach. Ready or not, you are excited and eager to get started. This book, What Every Coach Should Know (let’s call it WECSK for short), offers a wide range of proven principles and a how-to-do-it anthology on coaching behavior, good and not so good. Most normally behaved adults try their best to act in ways they deem acceptable. They laugh at a comedian, cheer at a baseball game and talk quietly in a library. Yet, when they put on a coaching cap, they experience a complete personality change. As a coach, you choose your behaviors and consequences that you share with your players. Before you start, you must address the Red Coaching behaviors and then the Yellow Coaching behaviors to see if they match your personality. Green Coaching comes with information to add on, to review, change, revise, delete or borrow so that you can polish your coaching philosophy. Bottom line: There is no one-size-fits-all approach to coaching. RED COACHING (Part 1) My recommendation is to start with the Red Coaching section. Do not for one moment think that you can skip over this part. The biggest obstacle faced by coaches comes from their own behavior. In this section, I will present a defined list of things you should not do in coaching. If I were your teacher, this would be required reading. The Red Coaching sections describe precisely what you flat-out should not be doing with players. If any Red Coaching is part of your personality and experience, correct it or don’t coach. In the comic strip “Dilbert,” all the characters are constantly put down, bullied or being intimidated, which typifies Red Coaching. Nothing is more arrogant than when a coach knows better yet continues to perform in a certain way. It’s a copout to ignore this advice, because in the end the player suffers, and you have no one to blame but yourself. If you are truly motivated, you must make an effort not to be a Red Coach. This might not be easy, but it is absolutely necessary.
YELLOW COACHING (Part 1) A game is just a game, nothing more, and Yellow coaching behaviors can turn players off so fast. If this an individual’s first experience to play a sport, the consequences may push him to find another sport to play. You need to take this section seriously. It is my observation and experience that Yellow Coaching is almost as bad as Red Coaching and is barely tolerable, but only under a limited number of circumstances. • Players find mixed messages difficult to grasp. • Nothing seems to please the coach when a player disagrees. • Players become confused by personality changes in the coach. • These coaches are survivors because of their personality. • Too many negative words spoken by the coach can hurt.
GREEN COACHING (Part 1) Coaching is all about the journey, the quest, laying the foundation, putting in roots and building relationships. It is imperative that all coaches know why they want to coach. Coaches don’t stay the same; they either get better or they get worse! The first rule of thumb in coaching is to give your players something to believe. Never doubt that your team of dedicated players can climb the mountain. This section dedicated to Green Coaching will start you on the right path. Grab your highlight marker and do some serious underlining. Under no circumstance should you skip over any of these coaching principles. Regardless of who you are, do your homework. Analyze each piece of advice to get the full picture of what coaching is all about. All Green Coaching behaviors work effectively with young kids. It is vital for the coach to be more concerned about the self-growth of each player than winning games. As a coach, you must work to move your comfort zone and that of your players. Coaching teenagers is where you as a coach will be tested differently, because that is when talent begins to separate individuals. College and professional sports bring pressure for both the coaches and players to perform at their highest level. Sadly, in the interest of getting to the top of the mountain, the driving force is the mighty dollar. GREEN COACHING (Part 2) Green Coaches are teachers who give clear and precise instruction so that all techniques are executed correctly. The better prepared they are, the more players will expend maximum effort. You can choose to change your behavior as a Green Coach when you accept current reality. Before you start coaching, you must possess and demonstrate a high degree of integrity, which simply means you walk your talk. Make sure you do what you say you’ll do. And most importantly as a coach, learn from your mistakes and control your behavior so all involved can grow. There are no secrets for Green Coaching that can’t be found by the flick of a page. This go-to-it section is loaded with coaching gems. You really can’t go wrong if Green Coaching forms the basis of your coaching philosophy. If you are not addicted to the final score, you will find this section to your liking. It starts with a coaching philosophy that focuses on player development.
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