The COURAGE to Coach

"I was fortunate to have coaches who had the COURAGE to coach me. They weren't trying to be my friend or hang out with me. They said this is what you HAVE to do: Be a good person, go to school, go compete!!"

I heard NBA legend Isaiah Thomas say this on a podcast yesterday when talking about his coaches. At every level, he played for tough, demanding coaches.

A lot of high-level coaches say that we have to have a more relationship-based approach to effectively reach, teach, and inspire today's athletes. We have to be ready to explain the why behind our methods, and we have to build relationships so that our athletes trust us and let us in.

But we still have to COACH and TEACH. We still have to hold them accountable and hold them to the standards that we set, and we have to have the courage to correct when needed.

A high-level soccer coach said that the best coaches he sees are coaches who are able to hold their players accountable and correct them while still giving them the praise that they need to confidently work through mistakes during the learning process and while competing.