This is a super interesting post! Kudos to you,
@Geoffrey Taucer for starting it. I'm going to love reading all the responses, and I'm hoping to be humbled, and to learn some things!
I have a pretty high career goal for myself, which is to eventually coach at the elite level. As such, there are times I can be pretty hard on myself, like on the days I feel I did not do the best thing for my athletes, or when I wasn't coaching to the best of my ability. However, I have come to realize it is this discipline in myself that has helped me better understand my actual potential as a coach, and that I
am good at what I do. It is also the force that drives me to continually improve myself, and become a better student of the gymnastics coaching profession. It is so essential to success in any area of life to use hindsight, failures, and other hard experiences as learning opportunities. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is undeniably true, and it's what drives me everyday in my coaching, and towards my ultimate goal. Geoffrey Taucer, I think you will get the reference that hindsight and reflection are the "Saiyan blood" that allows me to come back even stronger after each "near-death experience." It's what allows me to keep ascending to the next level, and I try to instill this virtue in the girls I coach. I tell them they cannot be perfect everyday, and I don't expect them to. I
do expect them to learn from their mistakes, and to always give their best effort, even on the crappy days when nothing seems to work. There's a wonderful quote I love: "Winning is simply giving the best you have to offer."
The second concept I believe strongly in is that to truly reach a level of mastery in something, you
must relentlessly pursue the task, consistently taking the necessary steps along the way, and not settle for anything below that goal. I recognize that this is a simple truth, and I apply it to not only my endeavors in life, but to my coaching. After working with a given group of athletes for a while, I start to recognize the ones that are beginning to develop this quality, and the ones who do not have it, or at least don't have the potential to develop it yet. It is very binary, very black and white, that the ones who have this quality are the ones that will go to the outer edges of the sport, and that the ones who don't, will not. This obviously relates specifically to achieving the highest levels of the sport; you
cannot reach the elite level without this mindset. As a coach, it is my job to take this law and apply it to the infinite amount of variables within every kid. If I applied this to every single child in a militaristic way, with no variance to the individual child, nobody would make it out the other side. Instead, my efforts are basically to attempt to gauge each kid's tolerance to this concept, and coach to those limits accordingly. There are kids who are in gymnastics just to have fun, or are in the sport because their parents want them to be, or because they really enjoy the sport but not the hard work, or are very talented but don't love the sport, or who are ultra dedicated to becoming better gymnasts, and countless other permutations. None of these types of kids are better than any other; they are all equal in my eyes and I coach them to the best of my ability and to what they can tolerate. However, I realize that the kids with the dedication towards mastery are the only ones who will reach the absolute highest levels. I also believe that the insane level of effort required to achieve this level of skill can only be applied to one field. For instance, I love solving puzzle cubes/rotational puzzles (think Rubik's Cubes) because I like the mental stimulation it gives me, but I would
never be able to become a top level speed solver because it would take hours upon hours of practice every day for multiple years. Naturally, this would take time away from my coaching, and I would not be able to pursue my coaching goals to the same level. This is
not to say that if you can't get super good at something, it's not even worth doing! That would be a very foolish statement. In fact, it is precisely this reason why some gymnasts will never reach the highest levels, because they simply may be putting those efforts and hours into some other pursuit. It's all relative to the individual and their goals and passions, not to mention that a vast majority of kids aren't even aware of this concept yet. Just look at all the little ones who are dead set on making it to the Olympics!
A final rule I live by, is that I don't worry about things that are outside of my control.
So much stress in life can be avoided with this mind set, and it really can save you a lot of time, too. I feel this is an
invaluable trait to have for anyone in a position of authority, especially a coach, because it helps the kids immensely when they see their coach is calm, collected, and not worried about things that can't be changed or controlled. It's also an incredibly valuable skill to teach to your athletes, too. It will help them to feel more invested in the things that really matter, like their overall progress in the sport and what they're getting out of it, rather than their scores, placements, or level. Conversely, things that
are within one's control should be worried about, and more importantly, acted upon. If there is something that I want to change, then I get up and do it! This can often times be said much more easily than done, and I'd be lying if I said I never procrastinate, but I have gotten better at being active in enacting change in things that are important to me. This philosophy has
really helped me in my task of improving the team program at the gym I recently started working at. It helps me not stress over things I can't control, and simultaneously helps me work towards the changes I
can make and want to see.
So, in summary, I guess the three concepts/beliefs I apply most to my coaching are:
- Using failures as learning experiences to better myself.
- Working relentlessly towards a goal, with maximum effort over a long time is the only way to achieve mastery.
- Don't worry about things outside of your control, and get up and do something about the things that are within your control.
These three things help me inch closer each day towards becoming the elite coach I want to eventually be. I also strive to teach these ideals to the athletes under my charge, because I feel they are essential to success in life. When I think about what I teach young girls on a daily basis, I feel so grateful to have the career I do. Coaching, in and of itself, has helped me become a better person in so many ways, too! That could be a whole other thread: How has coaching changed your thoughts and views on life?