The stress for success in coaching

Coaching sports is harder than even the most “sports knowledgeable” people understand.

It is a great opportunity and responsibility to be entrusted to help develop athletes both on and off the court or field.

You hope to instill life lessons and create lifelong positive relationships. But coaching can also come with paying a price.

Coaching in today’s sports world brings unique and heavy challenges. Not only do coaches have to plan and run effective practices, scout and prepare for upcoming games and determine lineups and roster spots, they must also maintain relationships with other coaches, players, administrations and parents — each of which can bring added stress to an already stressful job.

How is the team doing compared to what was predicted in preseason? Will they compete in the post-season?

It is challenging to deal with your own idea of success, let alone the expectations of others. The administration wants you to win, parents want their kid to play and more. Coaches don’t go into coaching to lose or get into personal vendettas with parents about playing time.

You can go from being one of the most supported people in the community to the most criticized in a single season, and that is a risk all coaches take with each decision they make.

I think it is important to remember that we all want our local athletes to have individual and team success, and no one wants that for them more than their coaches.

Not all achievements show up in the win column or in an athlete’s stat lines.

I have firsthand experience with that as a coach, and as a coach’s spouse. I know the joy of winning and the agony of defeat.

There are many “woulda, coulda, shoulda” moments that a coach will second guess and lose sleep over.

Though you might not always see eye-to-eye with every choice they make or understand the reasonings behind what they do, coaches deserve respect and appreciation for the time, effort and dedication they put into their programs, as do their families.

Again, I believe everyone wants the same results, and when we support one another, especially through the stressful times, those chances increase when we rally together for the common goals.

If you want someone to blame or take out your frustrations on, just yell at the officials instead. Just kidding! Join the ride.