More than just a whistle: Coaches

Coaching is one of the hardest professions in the world and one that people undervalue every day. As fans we turn on the TV or attend a game, that's about all we can do as fans. Sure we can try and coach from the stands and tell everyone around us what the coaches are doing wrong, that's the easiest part of any game. Another easy spot on the team is the armchair quarterback; sure it's easy to see where the quarterback should have went with the ball on the 2nd or 3rd replay. But it's not that easy in full speed with guys flying all around.

A good coach puts everything they have into improving their team.  However, when it comes down to the outcome of a single game itself, it's really not up to the coach whenever the team wins or loses. Sure a coach can make a few bad decisions during a game or at the end of a game, which many view as the calls that lost the game. However, that is not always the case. As Bob Conwell, one of my football coaches would say there are five plays that change a game. After hearing this for the first time I did not believe it, but it really does hold true.  Take any football game, there are five plays with-in that game that either won or lost your team the game. Sometimes the play seems like the littlest thing at the time, but it can have a major impact on the game in the end. The game comes down to the players not the coach.  The reason for this is that good players can overcome bad coaching, but good coaching can't overcome bad players.

When it comes to sports everyone wants to win, just like many other facets of life. But no one wants to win more than a coach. No one puts more work into the team or upcoming game as a coach.


Coaching can really take its toll on someone when their team isn't winning or playing well.  As a society we have been taught that winning on the field is the only thing that matters.  Society does not care what a coach does off the field, for their players or anyone else. The only thing people care about is what the team does on the field. But to be a good coach, they can not concern themselves with just the results on the field they also have to be concerned about the development  of the players on their team.  A coach plays a major role in shaping a player for the rest of their lives. Coaching is like teaching, but in a different classroom.  The subject a coach teaches depends on the sport in which they coach. However, all coaches teach players life lessons that will be instilled in the players the rest of their lives.