HoldenStanley

APEnglishLiteratureandComposition

Mrs.Wilson

2016May13

Coaching...TheRightWay
Thesis:Coachingfootballisastrenuoustaskandrequiresmuchtimeandeffortfromcoaches.
Coachesandcoachingalsoplayavitalroleinathleteslives,andplacingmajoremphasison
developingplayers,insteadofstats,willtendtothebettermentofallathletes.
I.
II.

Historyofcoaching
Howtogenerallycoachfootball
A. Acoach'sresponsibility
B. Managingpractices
C. Importantruleswhencoaching

III.

Adayasacoach

IV.

Howcoachingovertheyearshasbeengivenaderogativeterm

V.

Positivecoaching

VI.

Developingaprogramnotjusttowinbuttodevelopcharacter

VII.

Conclusion

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Coaching...TheRightWay
Theconceptofcoachinghasexistedsincemanwalkedtheearth.Itsemergingpointin
historywasinthepostmodernperiodofthelatetwentiethcenturythough,coachingreallybegan
tobecomepopularattheturnofthetwentyfirstcentury(Brock).Theconceptofcoachingcan
besomewhatambiguousduetoconnotationsplacedwithit.Coachinghasnotalwaysbeenused
asatermforsports,thefirsttimecoachingwasusedinreferencetosportswasin1861
(McGeddon).Coachingcanrelatewithanyoccupationthatconsistsofanelderormore
experiencedpersonassistingsomeonetoreachtheirgoal(McGeddon).Still,eventoday
coachingdoesnothavetobeparticularlyaimedatsports.Coachingfootball,specifically,didnot
comeaboutuntil1879,accordingtoMaryBellis.1879waswhenAmericanfootballactually
startedanditwasdevelopedfromtheEnglishformofrugby(Bellis).Coachingovertheyears
hasdevelopedataintedreputationbecauseoftheactionsfromsomecoaches.Somecoachesruin
thegamebytheirWin,Win,Winphilosophyandtheathletesreceivenothingpositivefrom
thatattitude.Coachingisastrenuoustaskandrequiresmuchtimeandeffortfromcoache
s.
Coachesandcoachingalsoplaysavitalroleinathleteslives,andplacingmajoremphasison
developingplayers,insteadofstats,willtendtothebettermentofallathletes.
Coachingfootballinvolvesnosetinstructions,buttherearespecificdetailstoknowwhen
coaching
.Headcoachesshouldalwayslooktohireassistantcoacheswhoarenotpersonal
friendsorfamilyrelatives,andtrytolimitthecoacheswhohavekidsontheteam(Reed).
Havingacloseandpersonalbackgroundwithcoacheswillsometimescauseanargumentto
escalatetopersonalconflictsthatareirrelevant.Assistantcoachesneedtobereliedonand
absolutelyhavetobetrusted,ifnottheymaygoagainsttheheadcoach'sdecision(Reed).
To

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haveasuccessfulfootballteamtherearesomethingsthatacoachhastodoonone'sownsuch
as:Videoingpractices,scoutingopponents,parentmeetings,andhelpingwithplayerrecovery.
Videoinggamesandpracticeswillallowproblemstobeidentifiedandfixed,andalsoscouting
theopponentswillassisttheplayersinknowingwhattoexpectingamesandallowingthemto
keyoncertainathletes(Reed).Parentmeetingsarejusttoreviewteampoliciesandkeep
everyoneuptodateonwhatisgoingon.Themostimportantaspectforacoachtopayattention
toistherecoveryofhisorherplayers.CoachMinorintroducedicebathstotheRockingham
CountyHighSchoolFootballTeamlastseasonandtheresultswereamazing.Thenextdayafter
atoughworkoutthesorenesswouldbeverylimitedontheplayers.Duringafootballseason
limitingsorenessisexactlywhatcoacheswantbecauseplayersarealreadyconstantlygetting
hurtduringpractice.
Practicesdirectlycorrelatewiththeoutcomeofgamesandthusareveryimportant.
Duringactualpracticesitismostbeneficialtomakethemostofthetimeavailable.Insteadof
conditioningplayerswithsprintsorgassers,runninganohuddleoffenseduringacollective
teamperiodismoreeffective(Reed).Runninganohuddleoffenseallowsmoreworktobedone
andalsoallowsplayerstogettheirconditioningcompletedduringpractice.DerrickMinor,
RockinghamCountyHighSchoolsFootballCoach,isexcellentatimplementingthiskindof
practice.Eachpracticetheplayersstartoffwithindividualpositiontimeoneitheroffenseor
defense,followedbyateamperiodwithcontinuousplaysbeingexecuted.Inresultofthe
nohuddlestylepracticementionedabove,coachesarealwaysonscheduleandmakegooduseof
thetimeallowed.

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Duringpractices,itisimportantforeffectivecoachestoalsoallowtimeforcenters,long
snappers,quarterbacks,andholderstogetenoughpractice(Reed).AccordingtoJohnReed,an
authorandanexperiencedfootballcoach,Eachofthethreestringsofcenters,longsnappers,
andquarterbacksmustgetaminimumofonethousandandtwohundredrepsofthesnapbefore
thefirstgame.Thepurposeofrepetitionsistohelpthechemistrybetweeneachpairofplayers
andtoallowthatcertainmovementtobecomeahabit.JohnReedmaintainsthatscrimmagesand
fullspeedpractices,withoutfullcontact,areveryusefulduringamidweekpractice.
Scrimmagesandfullspeedpracticesallowforthedefenseandoffensetogetfamiliarwithgame
speed.Theyalsogivethequarterbackexperienceofreadingcoveragesandseeingapassrush.
Duringaweekofpracticeatleastoneofthosepractices,usuallythelast,shouldbeawalk
through(Reed).Walkthroughpracticesareusedtofinetunewhathasbeenpracticedallweek
longandtoclearupanyconfusion.
PlatooningasJohnReedcallsit,ornotallowingplayerstoplaybothoffenseand
defense,isamistakeespeciallyinyouthandhighschoolfootball.Platooningisseeninmore
collegeandNFLtypeatmospheresanyway,becauseyouthandhighschoolfootballteams
typicallydonothaveenoughathletestoplayeachposition.Anothermistakesometimesmadeby
coachesisnotstressingtheimportanceofspecialteams(Reed).CoachReedscommentsare
importantbecausewhencoachingfootballthereneedstobeamajoremphasisplacedonspecial
teams,becausesomegamesarewonandlostinresultofspecialteamsplays.Alongwithspecial
teams,clockmanagementisacrucialconcernbecausemanygamescomedowntothelast
minute.Dependingonhowtheclockismanaged,itcanaffecttheendresults.CoachReedalso
explainsthatduringthebeginningofafootballseasonformtacklingshouldbeamajorpriority

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topreventinjuriesandallowthedefensetobesuccessful.Afterthefirstfewweeksthereshould
benomorefullspeedhittingortacklingtotheground(Reed).Thisissoateamdoesnotface
pivotalinjuriesduringapractice.
Whattypeofdrillstorunisaquestionamongvariouscoachesaswell.AccordingtoJohn
Reed,Themoredrillsyoudo,thefewergamesyouwin.Somedrillswasteprecioustimeand
inresultmakestheteamlesssuccessful.Abetterstrategytouseischalktalk,whichisa
classroomstyleteachingstrategy.Thisstrategyconsistsofverbalandvisuallearningwhichis
followedbytheactivityofdiscussion(Reed).Frompastexperiencethisteachingtechniqueis
ver
ysuccessfulbecauseforsomeathletesitiseasiertoseewhatisbeingtaughtvisuallyand
drawnout.Theopportunitytoaskquestionsrightthenalsoallowsformoreclarityand
understanding.Coachingcanbecomplicated,asperceived,andimplementingthesestrategies
willhelpacoachbecomesuccessfulandefficient.
Acoachmaynotappearasifheorshehasalottodo,butbehindthescenesacoach's
normaldayisverytimeconsuminganddemanding.HereisaninsighttoCoachDerrickMinors
normaldayroutinesasacoach.Tostartoff,thenightbeforeconsistsofplanningforthenext
day.Onceatschoolorofficepreparingthelaundryandtheworkoutsforhisweightliftingclassis
thefirsttask.LaundryandmowingaredailytasksthroughoutCoachMinorsdayandduringthe
seasonmowingisemphasizedmuchmore.DuringthedayCoachMinorteacheshisweightlifting
classesandinbetweenclassesheformulatesthegameplanandmakesthepracticeplansforthe
followingweek.Sometimesduringthedaytheremaybeparentoradministratorconferences.
DuringCoachMinorsplanningperiodhefinetuneseverything,makingthefinalizedpractice
plansandwatchingtheopponent'sfilm.

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BeforepracticeCoachMinormakessurethatallofthecoachesareonthesamepage,
concerningpracticeandthegameplan.Atthreeoclock,afterschool,alltheplayersaretoreport
downtotheweightroomandcoachminoremphasizesifyourenotearly,you'relate(Minor).
Oncealltheplayersarepresent,thegameplanforthefollowingweekwillbeannounced.Staying
onscheduleisamajoremphasisofCoachMinorandwhenpracticebeginshemakessurethat
everythingisontimesothatthepracticewillendatsixoclock.Afterpractice,theplayerswho
donothaveweightliftingclasshavetoworkoutandcleanuptheequipmentoncedone(Minor).
CouchMinorholdsplayersaccountableandthatteachesthemresponsibilityandcommitment.
Afterpracticeiscompletethecoachesdownloadthepracticefilmtowatchsothattheyknow
whattofixthenextday.Theprocessstartsbackoverthenextday,butthemajorgoalisalways
toWINonFridays(Minor)!Manypeopleunderestimateallthetasksthatarerequiredby
coachesandoftenthinkofacoachingcareerasbeingveryminimal,whenactuallycoachingisa
complexprofession.
Overtheyearscoachinghasbeenmainlyfocusedonwinningandasaresultcoaches
havebeengivenabadreputation.Infact,onearticlestates,Todaysyouthcoachesoften
struggletoprovidesound,evidencebased,andageappropriateguidancetoplayers(Bornstein).
Theproblemthough,isthatoutof2.5millionadultswhovolunteercoach,lessthantenpercent
haveanyformaltraining(Bornstein).Thislackofexperiencecausesadults,whoshouldnotbe
coaches,toruinthegameformanykidsandusuallyitsbecausetheadultstakethegametoo
seriously.Tosolvethisproblemthereshouldbemoreofficialcoachingclassesorstricter
policiesonwhocanandcan'tcoach.DavidBornstein,aneducatedresearcher,explainsthatthe
largerproblemisthatyouthsportsaretryingtoimitatecollegiateandelitesports,whenyouth

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sportsintendedaimisregardingeducationandhumandevelopment.Theoverresemblanceof
youthsportstoeliteorcollegiatesportshascausedsportstobecomenotfunforsomepeople
though,Formany,sportsbecometoocompetitiveandselective(Bornstein).Coachescanalso
pushanathletetothepointofwhereahostileenvironmentiscreatedanditruinsasportforan
athlete(Hanna).Bornsteinsresearchprovesthistobetrue:alargeamountofyouths,seventyto
eightypercent,dropoutofsportsaftermiddleschool.Aftermiddleschoolthekidsprobablydo
notevertrysportsagainthatisdetrimentaltothekidsbecausesportsareveryhelpfulinschool,
asinkeepingkidsontrack.
Someactionsperformedbycoachescanhurtanathlete'smentalhealthbydegradingtheir
selfconfidenceorplacingtoomuchpressureonthem.KathiHanna,authorof
TrueSport:What
WeStandtoLoseinOurObsessiontoWin
,illustratesthatanxietyplacedonathletescanmake
sportsanegativeexperience:
astudybyBakeretal.identifiedtherelationshipbetweenathletesportanxiety
andvariousoutcomes(e.g.performanceanddropout).Athleteswereaskedto
relatesevencoachingbehaviorsphysicaltraining,mentalpreparation,goal
setting,technicalskills,competitionstrategies,personalrapport,andnegative
personalrapporttovariousformsofsportanxiety(totalanxiety,somatic
anxiety,concentrationdisruption,andworry).Theinvestigatorsfoundthat
negativepersonalrapportwasasignificantpredictorofallmeasuredformsof
sportanxiety.(Hanna)
ThestudyreferredtobyKathiHannaismostprominentlyseeninhighschoolbecauseofallthe
anxietyalreadyfromstressandtheworkloadplacedonthestudentathletesthere.Acoach's

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negativepersonalrelationshipcanplacemuchanxietyonastudentathlete,especiallyonewho
hasdifficultclasses.KathiHannaalsoprovidessupportiveresearchinvolvingcoaches:
theSportinAmericasurveyfoundthatseventyeightpercentofcoachessurveyed
notedtheinappropriatebehaviorofcoachesasbeingthemostseriousproblem
facingsportstoday.Moreover,somestudieshaveshownthatstudentathletes
generallywantabettercoachthantheyhaveorhad.(Hanna)
ThereisaDistinctprobleminthecoachingsocietyifcoachesthemselvesthinkthatimproper
behaviorandactionsfromcoachesareamajorprobleminsportstoday!Furthermore,the
inappropriateactionsfromcoachesandthenegativeaspectsthattheybringtothegamedestroy
athletesloveforthegame.Thecoachingenvironmenthastochangeortherewillbeaconstant
decreaseinathletesdroppingoutofsports.
Todevelopasuccessfulprogramandchangethecoachingenvironment,withmuch
emphasisontheathletes,theinitialthingneededisapositivecoach.APositiveCoachisa
DoubleGoalCoach(
Characterandsports)
,meaningthatheorshehelpsathletesdevelop
positivecharactertraitsthatwillultimatelyleadtobeingsuccessfulinlife(
Characterand
Sports)
.Whencoaching,helpingathleteslearnlifelessonsismoreimportantthanwinningand
oftenaPositiveCoachputsplayersfirst(
CharacterandSports)
.Therearethreetechniquesto
beingaPositiveCoach:redefiningwinning,fillingplayersemotionaltanks,andhonoringthe
game(
CharacterandSports)
.AccordingtothePositiveCoachingAlliance,anorganization
basedatStanfordUniversity,acoachredefineswinningbyexplainingtoathletesthatinthe
pursuitofexcellence,victorieswillfollow.Allathleteshaveemotionaltanks,somejustmightbe
smallerorlargerthanothers,andcoacheshavetonoticethat.Byfillingaplayer'semotional

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tank,PositiveCoachesbecomeapositivemotivatorwhorefusestomotivatethroughfear,
intimidation,orshame(
CharacterandSports)
.Coachesgivepraiseswhenwarrantedandgive
criticismaswell,whilenotdiminishingtheathlete'ssenseofselfworth.Finally,aPositive
Coachhonorsthegamebydemonstratingintegrityandshowingthathewouldratherlosethan
winbydishonoringthegame(
CharacterandSports)
.Positivecoachingwillhelpsolvethe
problemthatispresentintoday'ssociety,whichispoorcoachingmeasures.Thesetypesof
coacheswillreviveathletesloveforthegameandallowplayerstoplaythegamebecausethey
WANTto,notbecausetheyhaveto.
Toacquireknowledgeonwhatittakestodevelopaprogramfocusedonplayers,Coach
DerrickMinorofferedinsightonthefoundationsofhisfootballprogram.BeforeCoachMinor
becameaheadcoachheusedtoworkforaheadcoachwhocussedanddiscouragedkids.Coach
Minorknewtherehadtobeabetterwaytocoach:Igotanurgetocoachtherightwayandtold
theLordifIwasgiventheopportunity,Iwouldshowhowtocoachtherightway(Minor).To
beginaprogram,therehastobeafirmfoundationuponthecoach'sphilosophy.CoachMinors
foundationofhisfootballprogramrestsuponhiskeyphilosophy,faith.Hedoesnottryandbeat
itintoplayers,buthedoessharethegospel,praywithplayers,andletsthekidsknowthatboth
theplayersandhimarenotperfect.CoachMinorsetsanexcellentexampleforthekids,hedoes
notcussakidouttogetthepointacross,nordoeshecussatall.
ThroughoutaseasonCoachMinorexplainshoweasyitistofocusonxsandos,butit
isalsoextremelyimportanttorealizethetaskathand.Asheexplained,Understandthatyou
onlyhaveguysforfouryearsandafterthosefouryearstheywillmakebigdecisions,andyou
hopewhatyouteachthemwillhelpthembecomebettermenandhusbands(Minor).Duringthe

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weekCoachMinorchoosescharactertraitstotalkaboutandfindsdailystoriesonthenewsto
showreallifeexamplesofplayers.Thepointofthisistohelpplayersrealizetherealityofcause
andeffectandtoshowthemthateverychoicetheymakecomeswithaconsequence,eithergood
orbad.Thereallifeexamplesalsoallowplayerstosetgoalsandshowstandardsofwhattobe
likeasanathlete,student,andaman.Therearecertainplayersthatareaspiredformorethan
othersbecausenoteveryplayeronateamwillagreewiththecoach'sphilosophy.CoachMinor
explainsthatnotjusthim,buteverycoach,wantsplayerswhoaredependableonandoffthe
field,playerswhogiveasmuchefforttohimashegivesthem,andplayerswhocommittothe
programandtheweightroom.MostimportantlyCoachMinorwantsaplayerwhodesirestobe
apartofsomethingbiggerthanthemselves.Establishingaprogram,suchastheoneCoach
DerrickMinorhasimplemented,willnotonlydevelopgreatplayersbutalsobettermen.
Asstatedabovecoachingisnotallaboutstatsandtheoutcomeofthegame.Thegoalof
coachingismoreabouttherelationshipsthataremadefromsportswithcoachesandathletes
becausethoserelationshipswillcarryonfortherestoftheirlives,butascoreforagamewill
not.Sportsmemorieswillalwayshaveaspecialplaceinanathlete'sheart,especiallytheimpact
ofcoaches.Acoachcanbesucharemarkableinfluenceonaplayer,notonlyteachingplayers
aboutthegamebutteachinglifelessonsandhelpingthembesuccessfulinlife.

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WorksCited
Bellis,Mary."HistoryofFootball."
About.comInventors
.About.com,n.d.Web.29Apr.2016.
Bornstein,David."ThePowerofPositiveCoaching."
TheNewYorkTimes
.TheNewYork
TimesCompany,20Oct.2011.Web.04Apr.2016.
Brock,Vikki."ProfessionalChallengesFacingtheCoachingFieldfromanHistorical
Perspective."
LibraryofProfessionalCoachingRSS
.LibraryofProfessionalCoaching,
11Mar.2016.Web.7May2016.
CharacterandSports
.PositiveCoachingAlliance,n.d.Web.04Apr.2016.
Hanna,KathiE.
TrueSport:WhatWeStandtoLoseinOurObsessiontoWin
.Ed.Sara
DavidsonMaddoxandNancyTuvesson.N.p.:U.S.AntiDopingAgency,2012.
TrueSport
.U.S.AntiDopingAgency,2014.Web.07May2016.
McGeddon."Coaching."
Wikipedia
.Wikipedia,n.d.Web.29Apr.2016.
Minor,Derrick.Personalinterview.6Apr.2016.
Reed,JohnT."WhatAretheMostCommonMistakesYouthFootballCoachesMake?"
JohnT.
Reed
.JohnT.Reed,03Sept.2015.Web.4Apr.2016.
Reed,JohnT."WhatDrillsShouldaYouthFootballCoachUse?"
JohnT.Reed
.JohnT.
Reed,09Oct.2015.Web.04Apr.2016.

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