Email Campaign Archive

Characteristics of the Career Coach

-By Tom Houser

Coach Houser: As it stands right now, I'm done
with coaching after this season. As much as I try,
I've realized the ordeal of this season has taken
the 'fire' out of me. I've found myself
re-thinking the long drives in my car, rethinking
even the effort I put into practice and matches.
I've worked very hard to be a good coach, a good
example, and to make the kids' volleyball/club
experience something special. It just doesn't
seem worth it any longer.

Coach Houser's Reply:

I guess I've read emails from 30 coaches saying,
"I'm done after this season." But after reading
this coach's email, I started thinking. I've been
day dreaming, and wondering to myself, "Even
though I've been upset, angry and disappointed,
why haven't I ever felt like this?" 

How did Bobby Knight and Dean Smith coach 40-some
years? I didn't used to think I had ANYTHING in
common with Bobby Knight, and would have gotten
angry if anyone told me I did. But maybe, in my
23rd year of coaching, I have more in common with
him than I think.  Readers, please don't
misunderstand me. I'm not saying anything
negative at all about the emailer above. And if
you are also considering giving up coaching, I'm
not criticizing you either. 

Here are two examples of experiences I would have
paid to get out of: After one season of being the
varsity football cheer sponsor, I got out of that
as quickly as my athletic director would allow me.
And after teaching and coaching at the inner-city
school for only 4 months, I begged to be allowed to
leave. "Bagging groceries is better than teaching
here." (They made me stay until my 1-year contract
expired.) So I've "had enough" of certain situations
also. But coaching hasn't been one of them. Yet.

I usually answer questions from coaches pretty
quickly. Hey, I've already seen most of the
questions before. But the email above really made
me become introspective. Not only have I become
enlightened about why I've coached for so long,
but I wrote this article to help lift the fog
that's been keeping you from seeing your own
coaching future! Let's get started! 

There are four characteristics of the long-term coach:

Characteristic #1: The Coach Enjoys The Challenge
And Has A Special Enthusiasm.

"Oh, boy, oh, boy," the coach says. "Only three
more weeks until our first practice." 

The coach may have 12 players returning from the
year before. If so, he's ready to drive them to a
championship! Or maybe the program lost 12 to
graduation, and he knows "the experts" don't think
his team has a chance. He uses that as extra
motivation. 

It doesn't matter what strengths the team has, or
what the team lacks. He is up to the task. Each
team is like a piece of artwork to this coach. He
knows that the more he works on it, the better
it'll look and the more it'll be worth. Sure, all
"artists" have different gifts; but, he believes
his gift creates a unique masterpiece each season!
 
The coach has had some losing seasons, and he can
still feel the pain of dropping matches to teams
that hadn't beaten his troops in years. The coach
also reflects sometimes on the big wins, those
that made him jump, that made him shave, that made
him proud of his players and his career choice.
All these memories motivate the coach! "Let's do
it again! I can't wait!!" 

The coach may need some time off, but not much.
After a few days or a week, he's itching to get
back at the job. Personally, I stopped needing
time off when I reached the age of 12. Leisure is
torture to me. (This characteristic of mine hasn't
been good for my marriages! Haha) 

This coach realizes that his team must have fun!
How he defines fun can sometimes be a mystery.
Haha. But he realizes that his team must have some
smiles, some bonding and some time off. He's
driven, but he's realistic in his demands of his
players. 

"Nothing great is accomplished without enthusiasm."
-Eleanor Roosevelt.

"Winners meet life's challenges head on, knowing
there are no guarantees, and give it all they've
got. And they never think it's too late or too
early to begin."
-Clyde Drexler

Characteristic #2: The Coach Has Confidence.

The coach knows what it takes for a team to win.
He knows which skills must be emphasized, and
which are over-rated. He knows what little things
will save crucial points. He can quickly discover
the weaknesses in his team, and has the
self-esteem to know that if they're fixable, he
can do it! 

This coach believes that he can out-coach many of
his peers, and he inwardly loves the chance to
prove it year after year. But this coach doesn't
stand still. He goes to coaching clinics, he reads
and he researches. Yet, he will not fall for fads.
He knows what works, and must be convinced of the
effectiveness of the new before he will scrap the
old. 

The confidence of this coach his risen over the
years in a cyclical fashion. He was successful in
his first coaching endeavors, and that gave him
the hunger to read, ask and think about his sport.
Thus he became even more successful, which
attracted quality players to his program. This
guaranteed his success against lesser programs.
This constant success attracted more players, led
to more success, built more confidence, etc. 

I guess you could say this coach has a big ego.
But just like attitude, having ego isn't always a
bad thing. In fact, show me a coach with no ego,
I'll show you one I can out-coach and beat 80% of
the time. 

What this coach must be careful of is the "big
head". A few successful long-term coaches are
inherently modest. It's my experience, however,
that most aren't and have to fight to remain
humble. So as a person coaches longer and longer,
they must stay modest regarding their success.
Hey, the coach will create enough enemies because
of all the wins. He doesn't need to create more
through his arrogance! 

Sure this coach's team may have some bad nights.
But he realizes that there are days like that,
those days are fleeting, and they don't faze him.
He's hungry to go back to work, to find the
reasons for his team's poor performance, and find
the solutions. 

This coach believes he will say the right thing to
the press, to his bosses and to his players. In
his younger days, he tried to be very careful
about what he said; but, his untrained mouth still
blundered. This upset him. But, now, he rarely
says the wrong thing, and has dozens of motivation
stories, one for just about every situation. 

"Optimism means expecting the best, but confidence
means knowing how to handle the worst."
-The Zurich Axioms

Characteristic #3: The Coach Is Not Distracted
By The Insignificant

I call this "Coaching Blinders." Some nights the
lights won't come on in the gym. Some days the
coach is told at 11 a.m. that the match for that
night has been postponed. Well, this coach adjusts
and finds something that will benefit his team. It
might be the weight room, it might be watching
video or it might be a team meal. 

If he's coaching a "lesser" sport, he doesn't get
upset about his comparatively low pay. He knew
about this before he took the job. Why concentrate
on it? Why lose sleep over something that you have
no control over? If you buy a house in a flood
plain, why lose sleep wondering when it's going to
rain? 

The coach also doesn't spend time irritated about
other sports' preferential treatment. So that team
has a new stadium? "Whatever," he said inwardly.
"I have a camp brochure to create." So another
team's coach does ads for a car dealership. "I
could have been a baseball coach too, but I
decided not to." The long-term coach is so busy
working, he has little time to be jealous. Plus
winning is more fun! 

In fact, if you are agitated by all the
distractions around you, then your team will not
be focused either! The JV coach at my old school
was extremely bothered by issues such as low pay
and special perks given to other coaches/programs.
When she took over the program after I left in
2000, her irritation grew to the point where she
was unable to successfully lead the program. She
gave it up after only one year.

You may also describe this coach as relentless.
There is not a problem too big to solve. There is
not an opponent on the schedule that he can't find
some weaknesses. Then he will teach his players
how to exploit them! And he believes that he can
teach any kid, from any background, how to be a
benefit to his team.

This coach has learned to delegate. He tells his
assistants, "Leave the jobs that the kids can do
to the kids. We'll do all the jobs that the kids
can't do." This will prevent the stress of having
100 things to do and only having time to do 50. 

Finally, this coach thinks "team" in every
decision he makes. Even when things go wrong, even
when a player is injured or quits, even when he
has a player in academic trouble, he's always
thinking about the team. This is how the coach
gets through every situation. 

"Ridding oneself of distractions is composure.
It's also known as mental toughness."
-Author unknown
 

Characteristic #4: The Coach Has An Uncommon
Willingness To Work

The coach that we're describing will plan practice
meticulously, not because it's a habit, but
because he wants to squeeze every bit of
improvement out of his team. He will create goals
for his practice. Sample goals are:

a) fixing problems that he's seen or he knows about;

b) concentrating on his team's weaknesses;

c) reinforcing the critical skills of the game, or;

d) pushing the team to perform skills that they're
not performing well. 

Then he will create/use drills to focus on the
goals. I watched a coach recently run a drill
where he gave points to his team for exhibiting
certain behaviors. I asked, "Have you considered
giving a point when you see x?" He responded, "The
players already do that. No need to be rewarded for
what they've already been trained to do." Huh. I
thought that was pretty smart! 

This coach will study and scout opponents
thoroughly. He says to himself, "There has to be a
way to put more pressure on them!" He will swap
tapes, see the opponents in person, and talk to
people he trusts. 

This coach is the workaholic. He is the one who
may have arguments with his spouse about the
painting that needs doing, the car that needs an
inspection sticker, and attending every one of the
children's soccer games. I'm warning you before
you fall into the workaholic's pit because you
might not see it coming! For this coach, the
decisions related to working are heart-wrenching:
Go out to dinner with the in-laws, or go watch the
Central vs. Western match? Go on vacation, or
direct a camp at his school? Go to the PTSA
meeting, or compile the stats from the conference
leader's matches you have on video? He struggles
with, "Which one do I neglect?" 

"Regardless of how hard you work, I will be
working harder."
-Roy Williams.

"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
-Thomas Edison.

In the days after I received the email, I thought
several times about the men and women I've known
who had coached for decades. I guess I possess
about 70% of the characteristics I listed. But, if
I'm going to coach for 15 or 20 more years, I'll
need to acquire more! 

Why not visit Dave at the forum and tell us how
many years you've been coaching, and how many more
years you foresee yourself working with the
children. And with the athletic director. And with
the parents. Haha And with the men who are
refinishing the gym floor the day tryouts were
scheduled to begin. I'll stop there! 

-Tom Houser
Head Coach, 2008 Roanoke Junior 15 Nationals
Director, STAR Volleyball Camps
Author, "I Can't Wait" Drill Collection and Ebooks
www.coachhouser.com