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chapter 5 Bad Coach, Good Coach Coach. In the world of athletics that’s an impressive title, one to be taken seriously. To athletes the coach is the single most powerful authority figure from preschool sports to the professional level. Representing a wide range of personalities, philosophies, training, experience, and knowledge, coaches are members of the circle of influence that—if they are good—provides instruction, motivation, affirmation, nurturing, and the bolstering of self-esteem to athletes of all ages. But not all coaches are created equal. A youth coach may be a teacher from the local school, a college student who plays the sport or is interested in working with youth, or another parent whose interest has been piqued by their child’s participation. In addition , there are career coaches from the youth to professional levels with full-time salaries. Accountability and supervision of a coach lie with the board of volunteer parents, parks and recreation supervisor, a school principal or superintendent, an athletic director, or an owner. Coaches carry great responsibility for a child’s development, and parents often entrust the coach with their child’s physical, emotional, and even spiritual growth. “When you consider the impact both positive and negative that a youth coach can have on a child’s young life,” sports performance expert Loren Seagrave cautions, “it’s amazing to me that all you need to coach is a clipboard , a stopwatch, and a whistle. Coaches can do permanent harm to athletes , particularly young ones, if they don’t understand the mental, emotional , and physical developmental needs of children.” President and founder of Sports Management Resources, Dr. Donna Lopiano says that there should be standardized requirements for coaching in terms of technique, skills, knowledge of the game, safety, and ethics . “We seem to care little about how we coach but rather about setting records , appearing on television, and achieving championships.” Dr. Lopiano Bad Coach, Good Coach 30 advocates for the certification of coaches at all levels from youth sports to college. As an athlete, athletic director, and international business leader, she offers a perspective that is grounded in history and vision. “As long as we have big money in the system, and as long as there is reinforcement for winning and not a concomitant reinforcement for just being a good teacher/ coach, the focus can be skewed,” she says. “I think the answers lie in coaching certification. If you have certified coaches, chances are, even if you are out for the golden ring, you are going to be better at doing it than someone who is not certified. You are not going to kill kids along the way. This is serious . Coaches are operating in high stress and high heat conditions and can kill a kid with a word.” The privatization of sports has resulted in jobs for coaches at every level, and the more elite the program, the more lucrative the coaching opportunities may be. Josh Gray, a youth soccer coach in Knoxville, Tennessee, estimates that annual salaries for youth sports coaches start at approximately $15,000 and can go as high as $100,000 for soccer club directors or highprofile coaches. Unfortunately, an elite program does not necessarily mean that the coaches meet the highest standards. Regrettably, mandates and certifications for coaches in all sports and on all levels are unlikely. With tighter budgets, public education program cuts, and the continuing push for privatized sports offerings, it is improbable that there will be the financial resources or the will to provide consistent training or to establish a governance body to enforce compliance. To date, track and field, weight lifting, swimming, gymnastics, and soccer are the only sports that require some level of certification. This makes a parent’s responsibility to take an active role in placing their child with the best coach possible that much more critical. A skilled and sensitive coach can make a big difference in an athlete’s life. My friend Jamie Bloom is a prime example. I have had many discussions with her about her experiences coaching swimming on the youth, high school, and collegiate levels. Currently a Y (formally known as YMCA) swim coach, Jamie told me one of her favorite stories about Nicole, a high school junior who had been with the Y team for four years. Nicole was a sweet, somewhat passive athlete who was often conflicted because she was extremely anxious about racing competitively. When she told Coach Bloom she was thinking about quitting, they...

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