Becoming an Effective Coach

     In a few short months the summer will be here and that means the start of a new football season. I am going into my seventh year coaching the sport and every year a new challenge or issue arises (especially when you coach the quarterback position) This year we will be anointing a new starting quarterback. Our two-year starter at the position graduated , as well as one of our backups, which leaves us with one returning quarterback. Some years we have 4-5 kids returning to play quarterback, other years 2-3, this year we only have 1 coming back. So is life when you coach at a small high school. This means some kids will be playing the position for the first time in their lives and their success is dependent on one thing: the coach (me).

     A coach is someone who facilitates and supports learning a task, skill, or concept by means of effective instruction. They are responsible for others obtaining goals and getting to places that they’ve never been on their own. You can be the smartest coach in the world but if you can’t get your players or clients to understand and execute those great ideas, then those ideas aren’t worth s***. If you want to see how effective a coach may be, all you need to do is look at the improvement, learning and success of their players or clients. If learning and improvement is not going on, then there is a disconnect somewhere in the chain between player and coach. I recently came across the "five minds" that every coach should have when coaching. The player trusts their coach and everything they are taught. With that being said, it should be every coaches goal to excel in their field. Understanding the "five minds" will get you there!


The Five Minds of Coaching

1. The disciplined mind refers to being a master of one’s discipline and portraying it to the student. Learning is classified into two categories. Acquisition is from teacher to student and participation occurs through active engagement. The successful coach needs to use a mixed approach when teaching their discipline.
2. The synthesizing mind is blending all the information learned to create their own methods and practices. The information is acquired over the years talking to others in the field, attending clinics/conferences, finding a mentor, and through experience. If you learn 1-2 things each season that will help you improve your trade, you will be in good shape moving forward!
3. The creative mind builds off of the disciplined and synthesizing mind. The goal of the creative mind is to ruffle a few feathers, challenge the contours of the profession and build your own set of guidelines and practices. The creative mind lies at the heart of coaching. As Bill Belichick said, “You’ve got to keep doing what you’re doing, but you’ve got to find ways of doing it and finding ways of making it fun”. This prevents any type of staleness and will keep the athlete engaged. At some point in the season every coach gets a feeling that their kids may not be totally engaged in what you are doing. When this occurs it is usually too late. Mix in new ideas, games, or challenges along the way to keep the kids engaged.
4. The respectful mind is your ability to understand and work with others. In my opinion, this is the most overlooked of the five. With experience, you learn how to deal with players on an individual level. In order to do that, you need to communicate with the kids and learn a little bit about each one. I am no psychologist but learning how some kids are "wired" will help give you a better understanding on how they respond to things. One of my big pet peeves is when a coach doesn’t even take the time to learn a kids name. How do you expect a kid to have respect for you if you don’t take the time, or care enough, to learn and address him by name. 
5. Lastly, it is the ethical mind. This is associated with making decisions that are in the best interest of society as a whole rather than your self-interest. Listening to Colin Cowherd’s radio show this week, a good example of the ethical mind came up. Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker received two concussions within a four week span. He passed the concussion protocol which allowed him to return to play, but when does the time come that the coach or organization sits that player down? This is the ethical mind at heart.

In the world of coaching, new challenges will always present itself. I will have my work cut out for me in terms of getting a new starter ready, finding a backup from one of the other positions, and getting one of our freshmen quarterbacks up to speed so they'll be able to handle a junior varsity schedule. This is going to be a fun summer!

Chris Fluck