Depending on the individual, coaching will fall into one of 3 categories, jobs, hobby or passion. If you are involved in coaching and you are really lucky, it will be a combination of at least two of the three. In my case, it was sort of all three, soccer is my passion, coaching was a hobby that turned into a part time job especially for the last 16 years.
People who know me, will confirm that it is one of the few topics I can talk about without ever growing uninterested (sorry to those of you who have drifted off during one of these rants). Apparently my eyes light up, my voice changes and I seem to to take on another persona with excitement as I talk about my love of coaching. Hell, I found a way to create a website and blog so I could write about my love of soccer and coaching. Personality wise, I pretty even keeled, at least I think I am. I don't get to demonstrative or excited about many things, at least not outwardly, however that doesn't mean that I am any less passionate than those coaches you might see running up and down the sideline, constantly barking out directions and showing a body language and movements that mirror their athlete's. All those years I got to coach, when I arrived at practices or games, no matter how my day might have done, I was all smiles. OK, some call demeanor aside, there were times when I might yell, ok, raise my voice a bit, question an officials care, or even get react physically to something positive or negative. I get into the game to keep my players motivated and on point. I loved what I did, and I’ve been told many times that the passion I had for the game and coaching could be seen as soon as I was around the team or talked about the most recent game. I often got the comment from people that my coaching persona was so different from the personality I would give off at work. Work was work, but coaching was the passion ! Anytime a person asks me about my favorite thing to do, coaching is always the first thing that comes to my mind. To me, it was a job or an experience, but a way of life that balanced out all the other aspects of my day to day life and my work career. Coaching has had nothing but a positive impact on my life. It helped me develop my managerial style, helped me find my voice to share certain beliefs I hold dear, and for me people around me came to define who I was. It was the starting point of many discussions. I would introduced to people as "Jorge Sanchez, did you know he coaches soccer". I was in the minority of coaches who got compensation for coaching soccer but it was never about a paycheck or “glorified babysitting.” It’s was also more than just being the coach of a sport or leader to the players. Coaching became about being that a person who might have the ability to make a positive difference in a person's life or at least I tried to be since as well all know even with the best of intentions, we can never please or help everyone. I felt strongly that coaches do not, and should not, coach for themselves, but rather, for others; they should strive to show their players how to love the game. Last fall, in what would ultimately turn out to be my final season of coaching, one of the student newspapers ran an article about my time at Concordia. If you are interested, you can access the article via this link theconcordian.com/2017/10/jorge-sanchez-has-put-his-players-first-since-2002/ I think it sums up the philosophy than came to define how I viewed my role in coaching. Like teaching, you have to get to know your players for who they are as people – their likes and dislikes, their goals and passions and their love for the game. Taking the time to get to know the players was my attempt to be able to better plan how to provide them with the best possible experience during their time as player under my responsibility. I am sure some didn't find me that great, or might feel that I didn't give them a good experience, and it is possible. As with a manager who isn't universally liked by his or her employees, coaching and any type of leadership comes with the reality that your appear will never be unanimous or enduring. The higher the level of competition, that tougher the decisions you have to make, the more the risk of upsetting athletes. The best part of coaching is not actually the act of coaching, but witnessing a team’s or player's growth, both in their play and in personality. The reward in coaching came from seeing athletes that I had worked with develop into adults that went on to contribute to society and give back. In many cases the best positive feedback was having former athletes reach out years after their playing days were done and sharing about how something I had told them or something I have done, had helped them years later in ways that had nothing to do with the sport. Of course the flip side is that you also learn years later that some athletes have frustrations, complaints etc about my coaching. It shouldn't affect the passion you might have for coaching but rather serve as a motivator to always strive to learn and do better. Coaching is so much more than blowing a whistle (there’s no need for one) or telling your players to get on the line because it’s time to run. Coaching is understanding the people you work with and encouraging them to be the best they can be, both on and off the court. It’s about transferring the love of the game to your players while giving them support and knowledge they can carry them throughout their life beyond the game. Anyone can coach, but it takes a special person to be a coach. For anyone who might be reading this and who is coaching, if the thoughts I have shared don't resonate, don't reflect how you might feel about coaching, then perhaps you shouldn't be coaching. I don't hold the single truth about how to coach, of what kind of coaching anyone should be, but if coaching isn't a passion, if you are not excited to be on the field , court, gym, or whatever playing surface your sport of choice uses, each and every time you get to be there, then coaching might not be for you. As a coach, if you are just going through the motions or doing a half-assed job in the role, you can do harm. By harm, I don't mean lose games, I mean have athletes lose interest in a sport and at the younger levels, form individuals who may develop negative type behaviors. Coaches have significant influence over their athletes. They are role models, they are leaders and they can became an important part of someone's growth as a person. As a coach, you need to realize the impact you can have on lives, embrace it and approach your athletes with commitment and dedication. Trust me, when you give of yourself, it is rewarding in ways that you might only appreciate once you are no longer coaching.
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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