What I Think I Learned While Coaching- Volume 7

This makes the 7th edition of this piece I try to write after every season. This season presented some serious challenges and some amazing successes. Here’s what I think I learned. Keep in mind, I'm probably repeating or saying something similar after 7 of these.
 
Enjoy those moments when/if they happen- A couple seasons ago, the girls team reached the state final (result wasn’t what we wanted, still awesome). If I was a betting man, I would have bet they’d be back there at least once in the last two seasons. I was wrong. On top of that, I did not enjoy the moments after our semi-final win and our build up to the final, not as much as I could have.
 
This season, the boys reached the state final. An achievement in itself and one I was more willing to enjoy the moments of because there are no guarantees in coaching or sports (except that it’s unpredictable). The team was obviously special, it was a tight group and one with some special players leading the way. We learned a ton about ourselves quickly and that drove us to the final.

Even in the drubbing handed to us in the final, I tried to enjoy the moment outside of the game itself much more than last time. There wasa moment I swore I’d change if I ever got a chance in another final from what occurred in the previous one. I handed out our runner-up medals myself. Despite the crappy feeling of the players, I got to tell them individually how proud of them I was and remind them to keep their heads up.

I am not everyone’s cup of tea- This is something I’ve always known, but became even more clear to me. There were significant coaching changes to the staff this season and to say how I generally am, might have been the culprit, is probably true. In the end, I have to be who I am (while adapting to the situation as best as I can) because if I change too much, then I’m not longer me, right? In any case, not everyone is going to be liked by everyone, just be civil as best as possible and try to do right by the players.
 
Give it to them straight- I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but it bares repeating. There’s always a fine line to dance between beating around the bush and being an asshole when it comes to telling a group, or individual, what needs to be said. There’s too much time spent on things like a compliment sandwich or trying to sugar coat things that need to be improved or changed. Let me point this out to everyone, we have 2.5 weeks of pre-season to teach a brand new sport to about half the players usually, maybe a bigger percentage than that some years. Then we have 7 weeks in the season, that’s it. To say the least, we have 0 time for mucking around and dancing circles around an issue. If there’s an issue with the team, I’ll either tell the leadership and they’ll get into their teammates or if it’s an issue that continues to occur, then it’s my turn. Likewise, if there’s a player that we need to address a problem (character, skill or otherwise) have a straight forward, honest, but not dickish conversation with them. Especially with boys, they don’t always between the lines at this age, so straight forward is going to be the way to go to get the message through. As long as it is approached the right way, there's nothing wrong with an honest conversation about what's needed from everyone, no sugaring up required.

Overall, it was another good season in the bank. I put more experience into the bucket and got a chance to coach in a final again. It's one more to add to the memories and one more reason to give me to come back for more. Thanks for reading friends and look forward to being back into the swing with the gym & all.