Book Review - Successful Coaching - Part II of the Story

Today I'll take a quick look at the first section of the book Successful Coaching; America's Best Selling Coaching Book. I think this book is a good introduction to coaching even though many of the discussions are more focused on coaching younger athletes.

Section I of the book is called "Developing a Coaching Philosophy", and this section is split into two chapters. The intention is to think a little bit about yourself and how and why your coaching.

Pictured Above: One of my favourite team photos from a Halloween tournament - Goosebowl, and our team - BEAT (Bacon Eggs and Toast).

Chapter 1 takes a look at the coaches objectives. A significant part of the chapter is dedicated to a coaches perspective on winning, but with more of a discussion of winning with respect to young athletes. The question is still valid for Ultimate at both the College and Club level. How important is winning to you and to the team? Is striving to win just as important as actually coming out on top?

Chapter 2 talks about your coaching style. Three common types of coaching styles are introduced - the commander, the laid back, and the cooperative. These are pretty simple explanations of a type of coach, and I didn't get any real benefit from these styles. The idea is that coaches should be cooperative coaches meaning you run things, but also allow the athletes to contribute. Along with the and three types, additional qualities are listed that the author believes makes for a successful coach.

The first section is pretty simple. The main take home idea is that a coach needs to think a little bit about themselves and their motivation - both altruistic and selfish. Like the team plan, it's much better to get your coaching philosophy written down to get something precise and even remind you why you're doing this later.

PJ