Characteristics of a Good Coach

Characteristics of a Good Coach

By Derek Parola

I've had dozens and dozens of coaches in my sports career and each one has touched my life in more ways than one. As a child growing up, I looked up to my coaches and they were almost felt like second parents to me. The power of a coach can be similar to that of your parents. They can teach valuable life lessons like hard work, determination, teamwork, and leadership. From previous experience, a coach's impact can forever stay with a player until the day he dies. The more dedicated the player, the more likely the player can trust a coach. From what I've noticed, all good coaches have certain traits that they all contain. I'll share with you the three characteristics that I believe all good coaches have.

The first and most important characteristic is being committed. A coach must show that he or she is willing to do just about anything for their players. As a player, nothing wants to make you want to win more than a coach that is passionate and loving towards his or her team. A coach that is committed gets players to be more committed to working hard and being better people on or off the field.

The next characteristic is trust. A coach must trust his players on and off the field or court. If a coach cannot trust their players, then how is a player supposed to trust their coach. Trust can help players feel more comfortable in high pressure situations. I say this because if the most powerful person in the building trusts you with the ball or the bat in your hand, then you should be able to trust yourself to handle that situation.

The last characteristic is patience. The famous saying "patience is a virtue" is true in almost aspects of life, especially in coaching. Patience allows players to believe in themselves even after rough practices or tough games. There's nothing worse than playing for a coach that loses his mind after one turnover, an error, or an interception. A coach that tells you to keep going and to keep your head up after a physical mistake are the coaches that players love to play for. Now obviously, everyone won't agree with me that these are the three most important characteristics, but I believe that everyone can agree that all good coaches possess these characteristics. These three traits are a must in all good coaches.

Article Source: Characteristics of a Good Coach