There’s a thread on the Volley Talk forum which gets into the subject of coaching traits – desirable and undesirable. One of the posters presented the following list of the traits possessed by the best coaches.
- Very competitive people, who teach and promote competitiveness at all times
- Very confident people; their players believe they are going to win
- Excellent teacher’s of the game; many have a system they believe in and certain type of athlete to fit that system; fundamentally very strong
- Push their players to be better than they themselves think they can be; very demanding
- Intensity, toughness, togetherness are a huge part of the “culture” of their team
- Expectations are always sky high in every part of the program; athletically, academically and off the court
- Care very deeply for the well-being and success of their players
- Teach life lessons; players often feel they’ve been a part of something special
- May be demanding; but always have their players’ back; trust
- Tough-love is always mixed with praise and pride in their players
Number 6 leans a bit toward those coaching for a school, but equally can apply to someone who runs a club team or is otherwise more than just a team coach. Also, there is a bit of a balancing action on the subject of confidence from #2. Similarly, I’d also add to #4 that you don’t want to restrain your team’s development. Beyond that, though, I think this is a very solid list. These are certainly things I try to make a big part of my own coaching.
What about yourself? Anything you would add to this list? Or in contrast, anything you would remove?
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