Last week we talked about the differences between coaching and competing. We also went through my history with being on both sides of the relationship. This week we will discuss how important the first week is to both sides.
Competing:
As a competitor, having a new coach come in can be a little off-settling. You may not know their philosophy, what kind of coach they are, or how they will interact with the team. As the athlete it your job to respond to what the coach expects from you. You also have to adapt to the new coaching.
I have had some coaches that have come in and been some great coaches, and some I did not get along with. The coaches that came in that were great, were willing to build a relationship with me, and we bonded over the sport. The coaches that were not so great did the opposite and were only interested in their own self-interests. When I decided to get into coaching, I wanted to be the coach that made the transition easy on the athletes.
Coaching:
I have been the new coach many times before. As I previously mentioned, I wanted to make the transition easy on the athletes. I would get to know the athletes I would be coaching the most, then move on to the rest of the team. This week was no different for me and the athletes.
It was spring break, so there were more kids than usual. I was thrown into the fire, but I was confident in my ability to do my job. The first day was more of see what the routine is, but there was a coach that came in later in the day. When she walked in, the kids got all excited and ran to her to say hi. That coach has been there for years so they know her really well, while she knows them very well.
I realized that the kids had high expectations, along with my boss’ so I had to be make a huge impact on the first day. I had the next day off, but when I walked in the second day, the kids shouted, “Coach Brock is back! Yay!” When I heard that, I felt a sigh of relief, but the hardest part of the week was yet to come.
Highlights:
There was a kid that was all over the place, and not doing what she asked. I sat her down and asked her to respect me, the program, and the others. I told her in return, I will respect you and your goals. She said it was a deal, and later that day, we had some down time. She came up to me crying and gave me a hug and told me what was going on, and I was a little shocked on what she said, because it was my first day knowing her. We had a conversation and resolved the issue and she went back to what she was doing.
We were playing a game, and I was in the middle. Another athlete came up to me and asked if she could be in the middle with me. I proceeded to ask the rest of the team if we could have two sharks, and they said yes. This athlete got all excited, and told me that if I was not in the middle, she wouldn’t have wanted to be a shark. What I am trying to say is that the relationships, I am building with the athletes have been successful this week, and has had a positive reaction.
Reflection:
My boss’ even acknowledged how well the week went. They told me that they are excited for the summer (biggest part of the job), with me there. I am very excited as well, and I am looking forward to impacting other lives as I continue down this journey.
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