Roughly a year ago, I relaunched my blog trying to post regularly about my coaching experiences, women's soccer ( and women's sport in general), and various related topics. The first post from last may was short and covered how I had gotten into coaching. You can find it via this link my-first-real-post-in-a-while.html
Since then, I have posted quite a few times about what coaching means to me, how is has impacted my life but today I wanted to post about how privileged I feel being able to work as a coach in the sport that is my passion. This period between mid-April to mid-August is always tough. While my coaching duties continue, there is limited contact with the athletes and most of the tasks involve administrative functions or preparing for the fall. I miss the regular interaction with the athletes, training sessions, games, team travel and watching the team work towards common goals. It is during this time each year that my feeling of being privileged to be involved as a coach is reinforced and that my desire to get back on the field strengthened. As an athlete, it's often really hard when you reach the point in your career when you're no longer an active competitive athlete and transition to playing your sport just for fun. Different athletes experience this at different ages and for me, it was probably a little earlier than I would have wanted. The end of my playing career really ties into when I started coaching but the reality is that injuries had affected my abilities and I was no longer enjoying playing because I simply could not compete in the manner I was accustomed to. I wanted more. I missed the game and wanted to give back what it has given to me--years of fun, friends, travel, and the interaction that only teammates can experience. Coaching arrived in my life really by accident and little did I know it'd become one of the most rewarding experiences I'd encounter in my life but more importantly the impact it would have on the person I was to become. It goes far beyond being on the field but has influenced me greatly in terms of the values I hold dear. When I started out, I never really imagined that 27 years later it would still be there. At each step in my coaching career, from club, to provincial team, to the National Training Center and for the last 217 years at Concordia, as each role seemed to come to a close, a new challenge presented itself which allowed me to grow as a coach and learn a new environment. For the past 17 years, I have had the privilege of working with university student-athletes and words could not properly describe the joy I get from it. So much of my life is wrapped up in my coaching role that while I know my time at Concordia and by extension coaching as a whole is coming near an end, I cannot imagine what life will be like without it. When I attended my first coaching course, it was the spring after my first full year as a head coach. The previous year, I had finished second in the league, won provincials and finished 1st at nationals. I knew I was still new to coaching but the thrill of early success had blinded me somewhat to everything that was involved in growing as a coach. I was told that I had to attain a certain level of certification in order to continue coaching at the level. My early success and playing experience earned me the chance to fast track my certification but I still had to attend all the courses. The very first thing the the instructor said from the very start ( remember that the course was level 1 , the very basic of coaching certifications) was " No matter what level you coach at, how long you coach for , or how successful you are , always remember that coaches exist for the benefit of the athletes because without them there would no need for coaches. It is your responsibility to be there for them, not the other way around. Never take that responsibility for granted" The second thing that quickly became evident was that no matter how much I knew about soccer, no matter how much I thought I knew about coaching, there was so much that I didn't know. These two truths have stuck with me throughout my coaching career. I have always tried to be there for my athletes, give them the best of experiences, do whatever was in my control to create the best possible positive environment so that each and every athlete had the best chances to develop as athletes but leave have with a rewarding experience. I have always tried to make sure that I never took my coaching role for granted and considered it a privilege to continue in sport. I have also always done my best to remain grounded during successful times in career and realistic during the tough ones. I have sought out opportunities to learn, improve and adapt to changing times and realities. To this day, I remind myself each day that in order to continue having the privilege of coaching, I must accept that I can always get better at it. Becoming a coach and developing my coaching style and accumulating experiences, has been simply amazing. You see the game you love from a different angle--while the feeling of being an active participant on the field with teammates is fantastic, it's equally as fantastic to share your passion with others and show them the way. As an athlete and lover of the game, bringing the joy of a sport to someone else is rewarding in ways that go beyond sport itself. You get to give someone the gift that you were given, and hopefully, foster the same kind of passion for the game that you held. The same way you watched your own skills grow and improve, you get to see in someone else. A younger individual, someone who hopefully has potential, who shows passion for the game and the desire to improve comes to you, and you get to be part of helping that individual grow as an athlete and if you're lucky as a human being. When you see an athlete reach new levels, learn new moves, good recognized for their accomplishments, they aren't the only ones who've accomplished something. You are, too, and there's something incredibly rewarding about teaching others. I am a soccer coach, I have a specific role with the student-athletes I work with but hopefully, I can influence them in much more than sport but by providing them with the tools they will apply long after they stop playing soccer. Some athletes will like me to varying degrees and of course some will simply not. Like with any leadership role, we will never be able to please everyone and some will see me as the cause of everything that goes wrong with their athletic careers. It is the burden one must accept when we become coaches. However, we must accept that fact and continue to do what we think is right as a coach. Being a coach is great because you get to stay in the game, no matter how old you are. You can be more than a player, you can be a mentor, a teacher, a role model. We all have that one coach we remember, the one who made us the player and person we are today--as a coach, you have the opportunity to be that person for someone. I also find that the athletes I work with have helped me develop as a person and have kept me wanting to improve, too. They teach me patience, understanding, and dedication in a whole new light. I am grateful for them. At the end of the day, there's nothing like playing the game yourself--but being a coach is pretty damn close. You get game day, practice, travel, all over again from the other side--and while you might not be the one in the uniform anymore, it's just as great when you grab the win or head off to team dinner and experience the interactions that only those involved in team sports can truly appreciate. For whatever time I have remaining as a coach, each day I have the chance to step onto the field and work with student-athletes, I will pinch myself in the morning and thank my fortune in the evening. I will remember that as much as I might be giving back to the sport, the sport is giving me so much and more in return. I will strive to be the best version of myself and never take my responsibility for granted.
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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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