High School Sports Research Paper

Developing Adults through Coaching

The best feeling in the world is in the last two minutes of a competitive high school game. High school sports have influenced the lives of young adults in beneficial ways through the leadership of coaches, and their teachings, in order to be successful throughout their lives.

When building a house, the most important thing a contractor has to think about is building its foundation. Without a solid foundation, a touch of wind will cause the building to fall into crumbles. Similar to building a team, the team needs a solid foundation of beliefs in order to keep working as one and not fall apart. When first becoming a coach, the solid foundation that the team forms is the philosophy. This philosophy should

contain things the coach believes in and general goals that the team expects to reach every season. Part of the philosophy may include that when working with young athletes winning should never be the number one priority. Although winning is very important throughout the season, attempt to develop players’ skills and desire to love the game through the loss (Dicicco and Hacker 1).
Now that the foundation is set in place, start building.

A search for leadership can be hard, but everything works much smoother with a great set of leaders. The best leaders on the team will be the ones who will support your philosophy. Players who question your philosophy will destroy it. Do not allow players to stray from the beliefs of the team, as this will cause tension. To help the team stay on a common path, set team and individual goals. Bring in other leaders who compliment the unique skills of the coach. These other leaders can be assistant coaches or players designated as captains. Having captains is a great way to empower players. By giving the players what Michael Useem calls, “leadership moments” encourages them to step up and potentially take a more important leadership role on the team (Dicicco and Hacker 2,3,16). Even the tiniest thing can aid in developing

leadership.
In some player’s lives, their coach is their most important influence. Coaches often give young adults their first guidance (Mazzola, Greg 52+). The coach needs to be a positive influential role model in their lives. Recognizing and understanding that the coaches are the ones present during players’ emotional peaks and disappointments of defeat, will help to maintain a healthy environment for the team. “It is in these instances young people are most pliable” (Wooten and Gilbert xiii). This means that these young adults are more than just players on a team, they are kids growing up. Some children will have people in their lives to assist them to do so, and others will lean on their athletic coaches, teachers at school, or strong figures for knowledge and wisdom. Coaches need to make sure they are giving players the right tools to become better, not just on the playing field, but in their lives.
The coach is the main leader of the team; he/she is the driver whom the players and the rest of the program follow. A coach needs to be able to make mistakes. Admitting to mistakes will show vulnerability and humility. The coach should never purposefully try to show off his power over the players, or make them feel beneath him. Legendary coaches John Wooden and Phil Jackson would say to sympathize with players and “lead them through humanity” (qtd. Dicicco and Hacker 5). By following that philosophy, the coach is demonstrating to the players that the team is growing as one.
The coaches cannot do everything by themselves. They need to learn to distribute power and layer leadership throughout the team. A coach can accomplish this by building a team full of leaders who can step up at any time and use their leadership in different ways. It gives players that feeling of empowerment by allowing them to have an active role and contribute to the team in some way (Dicicco and Hacker 20, 59). Whether it is through a leadership role or just being a skill factor to the team, make them each feel important.
The biggest adhesive to keeping a team stuck together is the relationship the coach forms with each player.

Since team performance is key, the coach needs prioritize the enhancement of the player/coach relationship. These relationships will aid in getting to a more personal level with individual players and help the coach see them as human beings not just players. Coaches are responsible for helping the team reach their goals, but also the players in reaching their individual goals. Having an open and honest relationship with players will allow them to feel comfortable expressing themselves in the way they communicate and play. Let players show their personalities on the game field. Create an environment where players want to grow and reach a new level. If the players are enjoying the physical activity, learning the game, teamwork and strategy, you will end up teaching them more than you could have imagined. They will learn discipline, team chemistry and confidence building skills that will translate into other aspects of their lives (Dicicco and Hacker 3,4,18). When players see a successful environment, not just athletically, but academically as well, they are attracted to it (Mazzola, Gregg 52+). Force young adults to want to be a part of a team. A successful team that is rich in life lessons and lasting

relationships.
Coaches will teach drill after drill, done repeatedly in the backyard, until achieving perfection. That is just the thing; most players do not have the mental toughness to push themselves to the next level. By teaching players to avoid depending on a coach for motivation, it creates an inner fire in players and a desire to work hard on their own. Tony Diciccos’ Olympic women’s soccer team is the perfect example of just how critical being mentally prepared for a game is. Dicicco believed in being mentally prepared so much that he brought in a sports psychologist for the team and ended up hiring her permanently. Dicicco says this about the results in the 1996 Olympics after hiring sports psychologist Colleen Hacker: “We couldn’t have played at that higher level a year earlier because we didn’t have the mental edge. And it wasn’t just the mental skills: It was the preparation, the confidence, the psychology of long range commitment and peak performance training - and a willingness to be successful.” At the end of the day, when both teams are physically equal, the most successful team will be the team that is the most mentally prepared (Dicicco and Hacker xvi, xvii, xviii).
Coaches would spend all day teaching things to players if they could, but sadly, they do not have all the time in the world. Since time is limited, focus on teaching them key things that they can later work on themselves. This also relates to practice time. Coaches should have a plan ready for each practice to keep things organized and to insure a purposeful practice. In order to keep movement going and energy up, use many breakdown drills instead of stopping and explaining every little detail. After executing the breakdown drills, start building up and make the drills a little tougher each time (Curry, Tom 8). Coaches should try to incorporate conditioning into healthy competitions. Everyone works harder when it becomes a competition because no one wants to lose. By encouraging players to get after it creates a more game like environment and teaches player if they lose, to work harder the next day (Dicicco and Hacker 15, 41).
John Wooden said it best when he said, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail” ("Preparing to succeed." PR Week [US]). This is true when it comes to athletics. It is not only the players who need to prepare, it is the coach as well. A good coach will watch as much of the sport as possible and always be ready to learn more about the game. They prepare themselves so that they can prepare their team. One of the more important aspects of coaching is scouting the opponent and retrieving game film to relay to the players. This teaches players how to study the game, learn tendencies of the opponent, and even pick out their own mistakes. When preparing the team in practice, highlight specific themes, these themes should be short phrases or words that are easy to remember and repeat throughout the practice (Dicicco and Hacker 8, 37). Have the team go through lots of repetitions of drills to create great habits. Teach the players that great results require great habits, which require many great repetitions (Curry, Tom 9).
Although the off-season can be a scary time for many coaches, it does not have to be. It is hard in a sense that coaches cannot work hard for players. Instead, coaches need to develop a hard working attitude and burning desire to improve their game in a player’s heart. Magic Johnson said he tried to add a new dimension to his game every summer. Help players create an off-season plan with goals to accomplish. Players sometimes need help deciphering between their strengths and weaknesses and finding areas that need improvement. Coaches should remind players that this takes time. They are not going to see results overnight. It is going to be a long and painful journey, but by reminding them all the hard work and commitment will be worth it in the end, in some way, whether it is to get them to the next level or just create good habits for the rest of their life, will keep them motivated to keep pushing forward. Teaching them to battle alone so they can battle against an opponent easier in the season is a great tool to have (Marumoto, Tom 52, 53).
Parents can be great assets to a team if dealt with correctly. First off, set guidelines for the parents in the same way done for the players. One of the biggest rules is not to yell at the referees. Coaches never want their players picking up bad habits and thinking it is more about the referees rather than how they play as a team. Empowering parents is a good way to get them involved, but be careful to protect players from parents who are just tearing the team down (Dicicco and Hacker 31, 32, 33).
Sports for young athletes are great because they open up plenty of opportunities later in life. A reporter asks Notre Dame Football coach Knute Rockne about one of his recently completed seasons and how he thought it went. He responds to the person with, check back in 10 to 15 years, meaning that would tell him what kind of citizens they are (Wooten and Gilbert xviii). Coaches have connections to many people in the job world, which players might not be thinking about at the time they are on the team, but they have that resource they can come back to when they get to that point in their lives (Mazzola, Gregg 52+). That is why coaching is so important. It is not just a seasonal job. Coaches are resources for young adults through the duration of their lives.