Coaching Can Be A Lonely Job

I begin this piece by thinking back to somewhere between 45- and 50-years of coaching — including four different sports in my earliest years. I loved (almost?) every minute, except when I think about this piece’s title. Ya, there were a lot of lonely times.

Interestingly, as I reflect on all those years, I realize that each coaching situation was different in the amount of support I received. Believe it or not, the early volunteer jobs were toughest when it came to support, but I can’t blame my assistants for feeling their work was done as soon as the game or practice ended. Working with a paid staff was a whole lot better in that regard, and I also worked under two terrific athletic directors who were always available to listen to my latest challenges (even if hockey wasn’t their sport, which limited them to mostly moral support).

In some ways playing experience helped buoy my confidence when it came to making decisions with little ones. Honestly, though, it wasn’t long before I began questioning the things I was doing, especially when it came to the sciences.

Now, I did a piece not long ago about “Challenging Hockey’s Status Quo“. In that post you’re going to discover how my confidence grew as I encountered (and eventually conquered) some very interesting challenges. As I felt long ago on that lonely ladder, “I second-guessed nearly everything I was doing, from skills to X’s and O’s.” But the times people told me I was right were the times when I grew so much — as a coach, and especially as a confident coach. (Man, wait until you read some of those stories.)

I’ll say again, though, that most times away from the rink were pretty lonely, as I grappled with so many decisions that would ultimately have a bearing on my players’ game-playing abilities, their advancement in the game, and often their enjoyment.

Closing in on the end of this piece, let me do so as I began the earlier post, relating a conversation I had with a fairly high level coach who explained why he’d just joined CoachChic.com… He said he had the need to “…back up a lot of my thoughts.”  Yes, a lot like me, I sensed he knew his stuff, but then he continued, “I think coaches just need some guidance and confidence to do what they believe…” Yup! And amen to that, brother.

Then, in closing, I know that not everyone is able to become a member here. Still, there are other ways coaches (and even parents and adult rec players) can gain some support — through my Ask The Coach offering or in a monthly online hockey MeetUp.