Coaching Philosophy
Softball has always been a very large part of my life from playing tee-ball all the way through college and now making the transition into coaching high school girls. After all the different coaches I have had as a player there is not any one person that I would exclusively copy. I have found that if I take a little insight from each coach and insert my experience as a player it helps me come up with a philosophy that I will use as a coach myself.
My philosophy as a coach is putting the girls first and winning second. Being their coach, I am a big influence in their lives as I am with them every day. This means I play a large role in their development on and off the field. My priorities as a coach will be to develop the girls physically and socially, teaching them to win, and having fun.
To increase each athlete’s physical ability I do drills to help build strength, hand eye coordination, and stamina. Strength is built by lifting weights, hand eye coordination built by hitting and fielding drills, and stamina is built by running. My goal is to put these girls in the best physical condition that they could possibly ever be in. Being in great shape gives these girls confidence not only as athletes but also in their personal lives. Social confidence is only one of the values I hope to instill in these girls.
Teaching respect and integrity are other values I hope they take away from our time together. They should learn to respect their peers (teammates and opponents alike) and authority figures, not only umpires and coaches but also their teachers and parents. The last thing is integrity. It is not something you specifically teach but it is specifically learned. I cannot tell the girls you need to have integrity and instantly expect them to understand, however I can send them to do drills without my supervision and trust they will not goof around. I can then compliment them on their ability to work just as hard when I am not there as when I am. “Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do” (Don Galer).
Winning is an important aspect of sports, it is what drives us to play. While winning is the main objective as a coach I should not emphasize it so much that the girls confidence, respect, and integrity are lost. Winning a game is not nearly as important as teaching them to win at life. Winning in life is often referred to as success and a solid base for being successful is in life is a good education. My students must keep their grades up otherwise they will be sent to study hall and possibly forfeit the right to play. That is no fun for anyone.
I want my girls to have fun. I believe there is a way to be responsible and have fun, there is a way to work hard and be focused and yet still have fun. They should not be playing because they have to but because they enjoy the sport. They know that all their hard work and dedication will mean success and everyone has fun when they are successful. “A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals” (Larry Bird).
Softball has always been a very large part of my life from playing tee-ball all the way through college and now making the transition into coaching high school girls. After all the different coaches I have had as a player there is not any one person that I would exclusively copy. I have found that if I take a little insight from each coach and insert my experience as a player it helps me come up with a philosophy that I will use as a coach myself.
My philosophy as a coach is putting the girls first and winning second. Being their coach, I am a big influence in their lives as I am with them every day. This means I play a large role in their development on and off the field. My priorities as a coach will be to develop the girls physically and socially, teaching them to win, and having fun.
To increase each athlete’s physical ability I do drills to help build strength, hand eye coordination, and stamina. Strength is built by lifting weights, hand eye coordination built by hitting and fielding drills, and stamina is built by running. My goal is to put these girls in the best physical condition that they could possibly ever be in. Being in great shape gives these girls confidence not only as athletes but also in their personal lives. Social confidence is only one of the values I hope to instill in these girls.
Teaching respect and integrity are other values I hope they take away from our time together. They should learn to respect their peers (teammates and opponents alike) and authority figures, not only umpires and coaches but also their teachers and parents. The last thing is integrity. It is not something you specifically teach but it is specifically learned. I cannot tell the girls you need to have integrity and instantly expect them to understand, however I can send them to do drills without my supervision and trust they will not goof around. I can then compliment them on their ability to work just as hard when I am not there as when I am. “Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do” (Don Galer).
Winning is an important aspect of sports, it is what drives us to play. While winning is the main objective as a coach I should not emphasize it so much that the girls confidence, respect, and integrity are lost. Winning a game is not nearly as important as teaching them to win at life. Winning in life is often referred to as success and a solid base for being successful is in life is a good education. My students must keep their grades up otherwise they will be sent to study hall and possibly forfeit the right to play. That is no fun for anyone.
I want my girls to have fun. I believe there is a way to be responsible and have fun, there is a way to work hard and be focused and yet still have fun. They should not be playing because they have to but because they enjoy the sport. They know that all their hard work and dedication will mean success and everyone has fun when they are successful. “A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals” (Larry Bird).