Coaches....when do you realize that you are a good coach?

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This isn't a quest for props, because I personally don't need attaboys. I get my pay when I see the girls do the things that we work on in practice & I have been paid quite well lately (Kudos to you Ohio Glory '01 ladies.....you continue to make me smile).
This question is more aimed towards the experienced coaches....those who have made the run from the younger ages up through to the older ages, maybe even twice.
At what point did you realize that you were born to do this & have developed into a good coach. Conversely, at what time do you realize that maybe it's time to hang it up & let somebody else handle your DD?

 

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I really don't know if this means anything about how good of a coach I was, I coached HS as an assistant for 5 years, been out for 3 now. When kids I coached 6-7 years ago to this day still call me coach whenever I run into them, it kinda makes me feel pretty good.

 

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I don't know that it ever occurs. I have coached at about every level and been doing it for 16 years. Other than game strategy, which I feel like I have a very good handle on, I doubt myself in every other area.

 

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When your sitting in a restaurant and they come up to wait on you and say they had a blast playing back then for you....

thats when it's worth it all and you know you did good..... Or when you see a parent and they ask why aren't you coaching anymore??

 

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I don't know that it ever occurs. I have coached at about every level and been doing it for 16 years. Other than game strategy, which I feel like I have a very good handle on, I doubt myself in every other area.

Absolutely. One year you are riding high but the next can find yourself quite humbled. Those odd age years can be especially rough.

 

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Those odd age years can be especially rough.

I hear that!
I'm not suggesting that I'm considering putting the bucket away. We don't get graded, you know? I think i'm doing right, and I'm following my own plan of working towards that day when I bump into a former player 20 years from now & she introduces me to her daughter & says "Hey, Brianna....this the guy I told you about. I want you to meet Coach Chris".
Not in a hurry to get there, but that would be nirvana!!

 

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3 things for me.......
1. The moment when you can let go of the reins because your team starts talking on the field, telling each other what I was about to tell them. 2. When my players recognize a situation you worked on in practice, execute it perfectly, come off the field smiling, give you a high five, and say thank you. 3. And when other coaches or parents send players to you because they trust you.
I love this game and I love coaching!!!!

 

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When you're in the dugout and you hear several of your players echo coaching tips to their peers. Or when you over hear one your players say to another player you haven't coached. "Hey listen to him, he knows what he's talking about." You have made an impact

 

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3 things for me.......
1. The moment when you can let go of the reins because your team starts talking on the field, telling each other what I was about to tell them. 2. When my players recognize a situation you worked on in practice, execute it perfectly, come off the field smiling, give you a high five, and say thank you. 3. And when other coaches or parents send players to you because they trust you.
I love this game and I love coaching!!!!

The most reliable way is when a highly respected coach tells you and you continue looking for ways to do a better job.

 

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I am going into my 18th season of coaching girls and I have seen coaches from ALL spectrums. I think that if a coach is looking for a measuring stick for their own performance then here are a few things to consider. Do your past players that you were very tough on thank you long after they need you? Do parents and coaches from the teams that you have the biggest rivalries with come up and congratulate you on your teams performance? How much have the players that you added in August tryouts advanced and developed throughout the fall, winter, spring and summer? Do your current players, coaches and parents truly respect and believe in you? Do you deliver on or exceed the expectations that are set? Do you LOVE this game and the PLAYERS that play it? Do you set a VERY high bar of achievable goals and then evaluate and measure the progress of each of your players along the way? What percentage of your players WANT to return to your team each season? Do you plan your life around softball? Those are a few questions to ask yourself.

 

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When DD puts on twitter... In the end my Dad was the best coach she has ever had..

 

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... when other players approach YOU because they want to be on YOUR team.

 

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On the other side of the coin, you should probably consider retirement if you're on OFC in November - "Still looking to add a few quality players", and again in January, and March.

 

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I've had dozen of girls and their families love me and pay me compliments over the years, and dozens who quit or didn't come back the next year, almost always because they thought I didn't play them enough or in the right position. If your measuring stick is praise from past players and their families, I guess I will argue that should only be one gauge and may not be the best one. Others have mentioned about the improvement of players which I think is a better one, but the best two in my opinion are:

1) Did you maximize the results of the individual players and the team with the talent you had to work with ...
2) ... and did you do that in a way that you can be proud of, and which taught the players a little something about life and doing things with integrity, a strong work ethic, sportsmanship and class?

 

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A sign of a good coach is continuous improvement among the team throughout the year! Also, if you are one of the "few" coaches that has DD on the team, the ability to stil be fair to all players and remember to be the coach first. :yahoo:

 

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My Best Measuring Stick is when my head can fit in 25's_dad's HAT.......Enough Said!!!!

 

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"I've had dozen of girls and their families love me and pay me compliments over the years, and dozens who quit or didn't come back the next year, almost always because they thought I didn't play them enough or in the right position. If your measuring stick is praise from past players and their families, I guess I will argue that should only be one gauge and may not be the best one. Others have mentioned about the improvement of players which I think is a better one, but the best two in my opinion are:

1) Did you maximize the results of the individual players and the team with the talent you had to work with ...
2) ... and did you do that in a way that you can be proud of, and which taught the players a little something about life and doing things with integrity, a strong work ethic, sportsmanship and class?

Agree with both! My measuring sticks for evaluation are 1) "Is everyone a better player today then when they started the year" and 2) "What was my record in games that my decisions made the difference in the outcome?" A good coach makes everyone better and put their teams and players into a position to be successful.

Good Coaches never stop learning the game and work everyday to get better.

 

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Here are my thoughts. When you have the respect of your peers, parents, players, and even the umpires. I have coached baseball, softball, and football, and I remember roughly 90% of my players names and their parents. It's always a nice compliment when your former players and parents refer to you as coach. Oh yeah, winning helps too, but that's not how you are remembered IMO. I realized it was time to stop coaching when it seemed more like a commitment than having fun. Now I walk on the dark side (umpire), and I find myself questioning coaching moves (in my head) all the time. So, I guess you can take the coach away from the game, but you can't take the game away from the coach at heart.

 

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I think the umpire point is a really good one. They get to see so many different teams each season and can recognize those teams that are getting better and which ones aren't. I think that the really good umpires appreciate a good coach that keeps them on their toes. I know I appreciate a good umpire that keeps me on mine! A good umpire and a good coach may not always agree but they certainly can respect each others abilities...I know I do!

 

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a couple additional thoughts to what has already been said... when other coaches of all calibers talk highly of the said coach it's a good chance they might be good and when a player/family leaves (ages out, greener grass, etc) they have nothing but great things to say after leaving. It's the safest time to be commented about and what do they have to lose. Players tend to stay where they like the coaching, the players, the culture, schedule, team management, and the parents aren't disgruntled for those criteria make a mental soup that is either tasty or not even close to palatable. So, it is what it is...

For me, never considered myself to be good. Just doesn't equate to me as important. Results are... I'm a student of the game and IF I was dumb enough to rank or evaluate my abilities I'm missing the goals. In mind. I do love what I do, that does matter too. I also know that I'm not bad...so that keeps me happy as well.