Below are portions of a repost of a blog I posted a little over a year ago I wrote on the topic, Transformational coaches, asking where are they. I am always amazed when I hear stories from my pitching students’ parents about coach’s behavior.  I want share some of the specific examples, but what I will remind parents, coaching is an extension of the classroom learning process for your child.  If you wouldn’t allow it in the classroom from a teacher, don’t accept if on the field or court from a coach.  

Where are the Transformational Coaches?

All coaches of youth sports this is for you…

Last week I wrote about how in 1981 I was coached by a wildly, positive, crazy coach who really taught me about setting a goal and PUSHING thru to make it happen.

I have said it many times and I will reiterate it here again.  Parents should interview their child’s youth coach like you would your pet sitter.  Why parents don’t ask these 4 questions that a true “Transformational” coach would be excited to answer is beyond me.  1. Why do you coach?  2. Why do you coach the way you coach? 3. What does it feel like to be coached by you? 4. How does the coach define success?  The only way to coach young people is to seek to transform their sense of their own worth.

Transformational coaches are other-centered.  They use their power and platform to nurture and transform players.  Therefore, a youth player should never have to worry about the “mood” of the coach.  Parents when your child comes home from a practice or game and say, “my coach was in a bad mood”, where was the other-centered behavior?

Parents should be very leery of Transactional coaches who operate on a quid pro quo basis to incentivize their players to perform better.  That is not what Transformational coaching is about.

As I have said many times, outside of parenting there might not be a better platform than coaching to transform boys and girls into healthy thriving men and women.

Transformational coaches believe student athletes can grow and flourish in sports in a way that is more liberating and instructive than can be achieved through almost any other activity.  Therefore, good coaches, Transformational coaches are not just out to win a game or to be able to say my coaching is the reason why “she” is as good as she is.  Coaching student athletes are always bigger than the game or our coaches.