Team Building as the Coaching Manager

The sport that so many predicted I would excel at due to my size was actually the sport where I floundered. When it came to the hardwood, the only skill I had was shooting free throws. My coaches could have just given up on me and focused their attention on the superstars on the team, but instead they invested time and energy into the one thing I could do well. In place of teaching me to drive down the line and into the key to take a shot, they focused on teaching me how to draw fouls. I spent whole practices just shooting free throws. As a result of this constant drilling, if there was an Olympic sport for free-throws in a minute, I would certainly be standing on that podium crying my eyes out while they played the US National Anthem with some gold around my neck. I might not have been the superstar of my team, but because of their coaching I did racked up some points.

On the other hand, there was a sport that I did excel at. My volleyball coaches were equally as brilliant in their coaching. I might have been one of the superstars but I never sat on a pedestal. Every time I had a great play or an outstanding series, my coaches quietly acknowledged my performance. During practice, my performance was critiqued and I was asked to tweak and twist to give just a little more in effort, technique and/or form. My coaches were always moving the bar just a little bit to keep me progressing. I quickly learned that perfection is not something to attain, but something to always be striving for.

A manager is a coach of a team of people. A team who is playing a game each day in which there are losses and gains. The role of a manager is to never stop coaching. When coaching, a manager needs to remember not every team member is going to be a superstar, but all are vital to the outcome of the game. As a coach, you need to discover the skill sets for each team member and coach them accordingly. For those team players that excel at a skill set, keep moving the bar. Coach on like every play counts. Coach like every second until the buzzer matters. Coach from the sidelines and leave everything on the field. At the end of the day, critique your performance and the performance of your team. Practice with your team often and offer quiet praise. A team has no organization without effective coaching and coaches are often judged by the abilities of their team and the number of wins they accumulate. Consequently, coaches and team members are a symbiotic relationship towards a common goal….winning!

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Comment by Stephanie Young on August 4, 2011 at 12:59pm: Thank, Carrie!!! I do love what I do. So glad that others around me do too!!! It is hard to coach a team that does not want to play the game.

Comment by Stephanie Young on August 2, 2011 at 10:21am: Julie, I may not be a parent but I do believe that coaching is a lot like parenting. There comes a point where you have to watch from the sidelines and believe they took the coaching and understand what to do with it.

Comment by Stephanie Young on August 2, 2011 at 10:20am: Great quote, Marsh. That is coaching from the sidelines.......if you do the work in practice, then you can live with the results on the court.

Comment by Julie Heilman on August 2, 2011 at 10:15am: Coaching is a bit like parenting. You teach them all you know and turn them loose with the belief that they have taken the instruction and will apply it.

Comment by Marsh Buice on July 28, 2011 at 12:54pm: I heard a quote from Coach Brown in the NBA Finals two years ago; I was walking out of the room and had to race to my quote book to write it...with 2 seconds left in the game a time-out was called, Coach Hubbie Brown said, "Give the ball to the best player and live with the results." Wow! If you've done your part as a coach you can live with the results-despite the outcome.

Comment by Stephanie Young on July 28, 2011 at 12:50pm: Absolutely, Tony!!! I find it easier to be one of the players than I do a coach, but it was the lessons learned on the field that help me with my own team. The empathy of having played the game becomes the source of strength as a coach.

Comment by Stephanie Young on July 28, 2011 at 12:49pm: Thank you, Jim!

Marsh, you so get it! Thank you!!! Coaching for the sideline I think is the hardest part of being a manager. It is like being a parent. You do the best you can and then you just have to watch them carry out the lessons. Coaching from the sideline is hard to do. It is hard to be silent when they miss the mark and then wait for them to come off the field to give them feedback. It truly is a labor of love.

Comment by Tony Provost on July 28, 2011 at 12:48pm: Stephanie- The coaches who win, are the one's who accumulate the most life lessons taught, to their players. Have fun coaching your team! Great job.

Comment by Marsh Buice on July 28, 2011 at 12:26pm: Great job Stephanie, I love what you said, "Coach from the sidelines and leave everything on the field. " Coaching involves preparation and practice building up to the game-only make the necessary adjustments during the game. When we prepare them properly and practice the necessary skills, it will boost their confidence, maximize their opportunities, and make you look like you are the smartest leader in the game. It takes a tremendous amt of work to get your team ready, but it pays massive dividends to the overall success of your team. Great job Stephanie.