Friday, June 20, 2014

More Things That Coaching Has Taught Me


A lot of coaching knowledge has been rattling around in my brain. While I try to categorize it, here is the ongoing list of great lessons I have learned in the 10 seasons I’ve been back into it. Some of these are messages from great coaches (who would not appreciate being quoted here, I’m sure), while others are rules and lessons I have learned (sometimes the hard way):
Lessons 1-10 can be found HERE.
Lessons 11-20 can be found HERE.
Lessons 21-25 can be found HERE.
Lessons 26-31 can be found HERE.
Lessons 32-38 can be found HERE.

Lessons 39-44 can be found HERE. 

45.) Some coaches look poorly nourished, however I would attribute some of that to swallowing a lot of pride rather than poor nutrition...

46.) ...although some coaches are genuinely poorly nourished. I learned a lot from doing this interview with CSIO's Nutritionist.

47.) Not everyone will understand why you do what you do. Communication can help, but sometimes it's best to move on and ignore the detractors. You'll likely outlast them. 

48.) Athletes always perform their best when they are excited and believe in what they're doing... the trick is to keep them that way.

49.) There is a negative relationship between how long it has been since you've retired from swimming and your ability to beat your athletes in a race. Remember that... particularly because there seems to be an inverse relationship in your stronger belief that you can beat them as more time goes by.

50.) This is the best job in the world, despite all of the challenges, and I don't want to do anything else.