I spent many years helping coach both a high school swim team, and a junior swim team.  Watching the head coach of those teams, I learned many truths about myself, and what it took to be an effective coach.  He is one of the best.  When I worked with him he had already won thirteen state championships in a row.

1. A good coach will get to know every student/ Athlete they work with—not just the ones they think will win.

Showing you care about each individual can inspire amazing results in even the most humble of athletes.  There is the potential for greatness in all of us.

2. A good coach doesn’t have favorites, they have teams.

Nobody is given a spot or a race.  They earn it before every game or meet.  No matter age or height of stature, if you beat the big bad senior, the spot is yours.  This is the only way a coach can truly be seen as impartial.

3. A good coach doesn’t worry about the score board.  He’s more concerned with his athlete’s—are they learning and growing throughout the season?

The coach I worked with never crunched numbers, or tried to manipulate the score by using only his supposedly “best” swimmers, even if we fell behind in meets.  He refused to do more than inspire and teach.  He always let the kids know the competition side of the sport was up to them.  And they, understanding the faith their coach had in them, stepped-it-up on more than one occasion.

For those coaches out there who have favorites, and think winning is everything.  Ask yourself this question:  Who are you here for–yourself–or those student/ Athletes who have been entrusted into your care?