Here’s why having played a sport or enjoying training doesn’t automatically qualify you to coach performance.
“Having used to play a sport, even at a high level, & knowing a cut rate videographer..
And understancing the intricacies associated with the physiological, biomechanical, & emotional components of athletic performance are 2 different things.
Select your coaches wisely.”
-Ray Zingler on X
There are some GREAT former athletes who have become GREAT coaches.
Having done something yourself, understanding the environment & arena, and being able to relate to athletes does play a role.
But only a role.
Here is why MOST former athletes don’t become great coaches.
It’s because being an athlete is about YOU and your team.
The spotlight is on you.
Your effort.
Your work.
Your craft.
Your game.
Your glory.
In the coaching realm, the spotlight isn’t on you anymore.
And not only is the spotlight not on you anymore, you must work extensively harder than you did as an athlete to take even less credit with the sheer goal of making it about somebody else. That’s the job.
For many who enjoyed basking in the limelight this becomes a trade most are unwilling and/or unable to make.
Another reason is because coaching, fundamentally speaking, is the art of teaching problem solving.
Many great athletes had a lot of concepts in sports and training come naturally to them, which is precisely what made them great.
But can you imagine teaching, what came natural to you, to dozens, even hundreds of people who it doesn’t come easy or natural to?
Again, it’s a very real challenge.
Just because somebody did something at a (relatively) high level does not automatically qualify them to coach.
Coaching and playing are astronomically different concepts.
It’s chess to checkers, once you figure in the psychology and emotional components of sport performance.
Many coaches in our field today rest on the laurels of what they used to do.
They believe they deserve instant credibility because “they did it”.
We’ve all used a microwave before, but only a select few can tell you the intricacies of how and why a microwave works.
Even fewer can build microwaves.
Pay attention to how much your coaches are studying and learning.
How much time, effort, and money are they investing into their craft?
Are they leveraging free resources on a field or facility they didn’t pay for with a duffel bag full of gadgets?
Or have they committed their life to the art of coaching, putting substantial, unending skin in the game?
This will tell you how committed they are to the selfless art of coaching.
