One of the ways in which today’s athletic coaches are influencing the world is by creating leaders. As a coach, it is critical to understand the impact you have on those who you coach. It goes without saying that every coach sees his or her role in a different light, but it becomes very important to consider the effect you are having on your athletes not only during school, but in the years beyond. If you teach nothing but the game, your athletes could be missing out in the long term.

Coaching leaders means coaching through education. There are many different philosophies and strategies for developing yourself as an effective coach. One of the most important factors that play a role in this is the ability of a coach to positively influence kids has to do with respect. You are not your athletes friend. You are the athlete’s mentor. You are not the athlete’s parent, but you do have the job of teaching the individual skills that are more than just how to throw a ball.

By helping to encourage kids to lead within the game, you create leaders off the field as well. If you make the decision to focus just on the game itself, the student loses the ability to recognize that it is just a game.

Leaders come from coaches who encouraged, pushed and lead themselves. These are people who are able to see the skills of a player and pulls and pushes that player until those skills come forward. In other words, it is more than just about the game. It is about the power and prestige of developing leaders who will influence the world around them in big and small ways. An effective coach is looking for ways to push the team’s individual players to accomplish things he or she knows the team members can accomplish. Your goal is to coach leaders that play well on and off the field.