 Athletics
and Memories
As we work with individuals within the
realm of athletics, it is good to keep in mind that rarely do athletes
remember scores and specific games. As a rule, participants remember
specific moments of games or practices. Perhaps more to the point,
athletes remember their interactions with team members and coaches.
I remember one specific play in 9th grade. I really don't remember
who we were playing, but I remember a friend of mine, who had the
flu, was playing middle linebacker. From my outside linebacker position
I remember hearing the official ask Steve if he was alright. He
screamed back, "I’m fine…." followed by an
upchuck of lunch. I can still see the vomit flowing through his
mask. I remember thinking "wow…this guys is one tough
stud." I don't know who we were playing, or the final.
I will never forget the High School football coach, Don Requa.
I had him for algebra. He was a teacher on and off the field. He
was tough, but kind. He taught us how to play football, and how
to be contributing adults. When he retired, hundreds of past high
school athletes threw a retirement party, and gave him a golf cart
and a bunch of other stuff. What a testimony to his coaching style
of "people first, score second."
I am sure that, as you read this account, your own memories came.
What did you remember? The score? The coach? Your team members?
Here is a question for all coaches…"What kind of memories
are you making for your athletes?" …for that is what
will stay with them all their lives! Do you yell and scream? Curse
the officials or team members for mistakes? Or do you take advantage
of teaching moments? What is the message or lesson that you want
to leave with your athletes? I love sports and athletics because
of the lessons learned, and the people I was with.
Robert
McGowan
Coaching & Sports Section Editor
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Coach
Training Alliance
Spiritual coaching taps into the power center,
both within the client and within the coach. Giving credence to
this immaterial intelligence, coaches can aid clients in hearing
the messages in their heart, supporting them to take action and
effect changes from that place of inner strength. More...
Leadership coaching is a highly specialized field
of coaching. This is indicative of the many different styles of
leadership philosophies that vary from Ghandi-ish to Patton-esque
types of leadership. More...
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Do
you feel it is better to be a command style coach or a
cooperative style coach? Command, meaning the coach makes
all decisions and cooperative meaning the decision making
is shared between both the athlete and the coach. Why
do you feel this way? Please post in the
forum. |
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The
University Classroom Redefined: Coaching & Teaching
Arlene
Gorton, Professor Emerita
Robert
J. Rothenberg, Track
Matt
Kredich, Men's & Women's Swimming
Stuart
LeGassick, Men's & Women's Squash
Carolan
Norris, Field Hockey
Scott
Roop, Crew
Norma
Taylor, Tennis
At the annual Brown Hall of Fame dinner in November, 2000, Bob
Rothenberg, head coach of Track, gave a moving speech in accepting
his award. He described his decades of experience as a coach at
Brown and reminded the audience that the connection between academic
and athletic endeavor should be fully integrated at an Ivy League
institution. He noted that his own career had begun as a high school
history teacher following his graduation from Brown in 1965. His
approach to coaching track was a direct outgrowth of his experiences
as teacher of an academic subject. More...
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| How to Have Fun Playing Sports
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Player
Tips: To win the game is great, To play the game is
greater, To love the game is greatest .
Kids tell us that what they want most in
sports is to have fun, to learn new skills and get better at the
skills they already have, to develop physical fitness, and to compete
against other children. Your coaches try to do their best to help
you achieve these goals. But you have to help too! What can YOU
do? Here are some ideas:
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Always
try as hard as you can, both in practice and in competition.
Remember that practicing your skills is the most important thing
you can do to make yourself a better athlete. |
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Everyone
makes mistakes when they play sports, even the very best athletes
like the professionals. Don't get upset at yourself or others
when mistakes happen. Just try harder the next time. No one
is perfect.
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Help
you teammates to get better too. Encourage them, don't criticize
them. Pay attention when your coaches are teaching you skills
or strategies. Ask questions if you don't understand what they
said.
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Your parents
may not know very much about the sport you are playing. Talk
to them about your sport. Explain how the sport is played. Tell
them what you do in practices to learn your sport. |
Is winning real important to you? Think about
this little saying: To win the game is great, To play the game is
greater, To love the game is greatest.
By Richard Stratton
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| Get
a Life Coach and Start Living a Life That You Love!
Having the assistance of a professional life coach can help get
you moving forward, get you past what has you stuck, and coach you
to greater success in almost any area of you life - your relationship,
your career, your physical fitness, your weight, and life. If you
want better results, then you've got to do something better than
you are right now. Coaches help you figure out what to do next,
and motivate you to make a plan, stick to it, and get RESULTS.
Reasons why you could use a Coach
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You've
tried doing it on your own, and it hasn't worked. |
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You
are overwhelmed by things that need to be done, and don't have
the energy. |
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You
need to stop wasting time on meaningless detail. |
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You want more
success at work, and in your relationships. |
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You want to
move up and perform better in your career. |
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You want to
lose weight, get fit, and feel better about your body. |
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You need to
get yourself, your stuff, and your life organized. |
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You want to
finish (or start) a big project. |
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You need a
plan, and you need help sticking to it. |
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You've tried
doing it on your own - AND IT HASN'T WORKED!
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Read the rest... |
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Jim Finks, New Orleans Saints G.M., when asked after a loss what
he thought of the refs: "I'm not allowed to comment on lousy
officiating." (1986)
Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann: "Nobody
in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like
Norman Einstein." ( 1996)
Senior basketball player at the University of Pittsburgh: "I'm
going to graduate on time, no matter how long it takes."
Shaquille O'Neal on whether he had visited the Parthenon during
his visit to Greece: "I can't really remember the names of
the clubs that we went to."
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The
Basketball Highway
Computer software programs, applications as they are sometimes
called, are the instructions given to the computer to perform
specific functions. They make the computer come to life and do
something. They are the computer's playbook. Go to any computer
store and you will see that there are programs written on about
every subject imaginable: Financial, gardening, publishing, art,
and the list goes on and on.
There are a limited number of software programs available designed
specifically for coaching sports. Major software companies have
not focused on specialized areas with smaller target audiences.
However, the number of software programs available to help coaches
carry out their duties and responsibilities in their particular
sport grows daily.
Software, as it relates to the coaching profession, can include
programs that manage statistics, diagram plays, plan practice,
or create scouting reports. It can also include software that
is not coaching specific but can be adapted such as a word processor,
database, or spreadsheet. The purpose of this article is to present
a general overview of coaching specific software so that you the
coach will have a better idea of what is out there for you.
Doing Your Homework:
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Identify
what your particular needs are within your program. If you
are not satisfied with how your statistics are being managed,
you may want to consider a computerized statistical program.
You may want to create a printed playbook for your players
to help in learning your system of play.
Also, these needs may change as you discover what is currently
available on the market that can replace the old way of
doing things and make you a better coach. This leads us
to our next point. |
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Find
out was is available in your particular sport. There are
some companies that create software for one particular sport,
and others that feature multi-sport programs. The Internet
is a great resource for finding out information on coaching
software. Search engines such as Yahoo have a fairly extensive
listing of software companies.
Popular coaching web sites also feature information on
new software products as well as software reviews. Catalogs
containing coaching instructional materials such as Sysko's
are also beginning to offer a variety of software programs.
Coaches clinics and conventions usually feature a number
of software exhibitors who are more than willing to demonstrate
their particular product and may even offer a free demonstration
copy for the coach to try out. |
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Set
aside a certain amount in your program budget to be able to
purchase what you need. Software prices range from $ 39.00
up to $ 400.00 for a particular program. Even if you do not
plan on purchasing software in a particular year, it is always
smart to set a side a few dollars anyway because you may find
a program in the future that will benefit your program. |
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Be sure
to shop around for the best price. Ask other coaches what
they are using. Do not be afraid to ask software companies
for names of coaches who are currently using a product you
are interested in purchasing. Be sure to ask companies if
they have free demo copies that will allow you to try the
product out without any commitment. Also, ask someone in your
school computer department to take a look at the program.
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Read the rest... |
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