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What is a coach?
Teresa Wilson is in her ninth year as the first and only head coach of the University of Washington softball team. Over the past nine seasons, Wilson has led the Huskies to five straight College World Series appearances, including two runner-up finishes, and a 399-141(.739) overall record. Check out Wilson's diary every other week on CNNSI.com.
April 18, 2001
In case you missed it last time, our team has been exploring some different methods of enhancing our team dynamics. Because of our youth and inexperience, we are working hard to establish who we are and what type of team we will be. We are in the process of developing our team identity. I say we are in the "process", because it is definitely a "process". We must begin with who we are, and work toward who we want to become. How do we want people to see us? How would people describe us? How do we want to be remembered? It's amazing how many young ladies have never thought in this context. We tell our team that if you can't identify it, communicate it, describe it, dream it and believe it, then you cannot expect to become "it", or live "it". "It" has to be real in your mind -- an active thought process in your every day goals, before it begins to become reality. You must be able to visualize your goals before you can begin to accomplish your goals. Visualization is a powerful tool. Because many of us do not understand visualization -- the in-depth thought process required to utilize it effectively, or the power to be gained from it if we dedicate the time and energy -- we tend to rely on the closest and easiest resource to do it for us the movies! We have been dissecting "Remember the Titans" lately. And judging from our opponent this weekend (UCLA), we aren't the only ones. They have the rhythmic clapping demonstrated by the Titans down pat! I seem to recall last year's national champions, Oklahoma, discussing how the movie, "Gladiators" impacted their approach to the final weeks of the season. I am constantly amazed at conversations that take place among teams these days. Movie lines. They know them all! I used to think it was just a "guy thing", but no, it's everyone! Let me just say this and make parents everywhere very happy. If we could only get our kids to memorize information for exams, the way they memorize music and movies, weıd all have straight-A students for kids! How does the coach know which direction to take his/her team to develop team chemistry (all those apples and oranges), team identity, and developing their goals? Well, not to fall into the role of conformist, but allow me to throw out a movie line from "Remember the Titans". When Coach Boone was describing his role to the local community, he said that he was, "Not Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ, or the Easter Bunny." As I write this article, tomorrow is Easter, so Jesus Christ and the Easter Bunny are both in my thoughts. But, me being me, and my thought process being what it is, my thoughts about Coach Booneıs thoughts, plan, and actions run pretty deep. How did he know? How did he formulate not just "a" plan, but "the", plan? And if he was that successful back in the early 70s, where is that dang manual on "Coaching 101", anyhow? What is a coach? Who is a coach? Coach Boone was correct. We are not, "Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ, or the Easter Bunny" -- even though some people would like us to be. Describing the role of a coach is like describing the role of a "mom" -- all encompassing! There is no manual. There is nothing that suggests that if problem A arises, pull out the manual, turn to chapter 10, paragraph 3, line 6, and there will be the answer. It doesn't work like that. What do coaches do -- other than golf, talk about the game, and sign large endorsement contracts? Contrary to popular belief, we certainly donıt do this for the money! And I would probably break most of my clubs during the front 9, so that leaves "talking the game" and a whole bunch of other things! Again, to borrow from Coach Boone's vocabulary, the atmosphere around most teams is such that, it is not a democracy. It is a dictatorship. Our word is the law. It has to be. Kinda like good parents, there must be law to maintain order and direction. A student-athlete's four years in college is one of the most developmental periods in their young life. That four years is the time that bridges adolescence and adulthood. When a student enters college, their moral and ethical philosophy (way of life) tends to be a direct derivative of their parents' for many reasons. One, because that philosophy is the one they have been exposed to for 18 years. The other reason is that their parents' philosophy was the standard -- the law. As the student-athlete goes through college, they begin to develop their own standard, morally and ethically. Much of this development is based on their growth and experiences. Ideally, as they prepare to graduate and head off to challenge the real world, we hope that they have maintained most of what their parents taught them. But it is different now, because it belongs to them. They have ownership. It is their philosophy, bred of trial and error, personal experience, decisions, consequences and choices. They may maintain what they knew and lived all along, but it is now theirs. So who helped them along the way during those college years? More often than not, it is a coach -- the student-athlete's "law" while away from home and parents that provided direction when they needed it. They have their own minds, come to their own conclusions, but everyone wants some direction in their life. The coach is there to guide them back to the path when they stray too far. The coach tends to be the compass, provide the boundaries, and set the latest standard in their lifeand, of course, we hold them accountable. At the time, the student-athlete may think we are the meanest person in the world. A few years later, they may realize we did them the biggest favor of their lives. In an earlier diary entry, I talked about what athletics meant to our kids. In a nutshell, it provides that environment in which kids grow to bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood. I know of no better environment to provide the challenge, set the standard, implement the accountability, and foster the growth, than college athletics. When you get a good one, few people can have more impact on a young person's life during that developmental phase of bridging the gap, than a coach. I went back to my high school a few years ago to speak at their year-end athletic banquet. I was able to pay tribute to my high school basketball coach, who was a legend in the state of Missouri for the teams he had produced and the championships they had won over the years. I finished my tribute with the highest praise I could imagine. I stated that if I had a child, I would want my child to have the opportunity to play for the coach who had taught me so much. John Wooden states that a coach really doesn't know if they have been a good coach -- had a positive impact on a playerıs life -- until 10 years after that particular student-athlete graduates. At that time, as you look at how that person deals with his/her job, business associates, family, and friends, you will automatically know if you were a good coach -- if you taught them about the important things in life. The important things in life -- the role of a mom, dad or coach. Role model, confidant, nurse, chauffeur, travel agent, best friend (ok, sometimes worst nightmare), tutor, study hall monitor, video consultant, personal fitness consultant, grounds crew, cheerleader, equipment supplier, healer of bruised bodies, feelings, and egos; counselors for everything from money to men, and, above all, the rock you can always count on in the middle of the hurricane, storm or raging river. Push them to levels they never thought they could achieve, scold them, pat them on the back, hug them, laugh with them, and cry with them. Sound dramatic? Actually, the above descriptive terms are pretty silly sounding and mundane -- until you put them all together. Like parents, bottom line, we teach them. The "Coaching 101" manual would never read the same now as I envisioned it would read when I became a coach almost 17 years ago. What is a coach? Who is a coach? Like parenthood, there is no preparation for this job. I invited Don James, our former football coach of the national championship team here at the University of Washington, to address our team prior to our competing in the College World Series a few years ago. After a wonderful job on his part, I walked him back to his car. I couldnıt pass up the opportunity to try to learn a little something myself. I asked him if there was ANY way I could bypass some of lifeıs lessons, avoid many mistakes, and somehow hasten the process of gaining the experience and decision-making capabilities of someone 60-65 years old? Stupid question? Probably. But I had to ask!!! He just smiled and told me that he was afraid that there was no substitute for experience and all the mistakes involved along the way. Thatıs why itıs called experience, and mistakes are part of the process. What is a coach? Who is a coach? Maybe I'll know more in another 10 years. But I'm absolutely certain that it is someone I'd want my child to play for. Because there is a bridge to be built.
-- Coach Wilson
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