Coaching Philosophy

There is more to being a coach than just showing up to practices and going through the

motions. To many of your athletes, you will have a lasting impact on their life in one way or

another so how you conduct yourself and treat your team will have a great impact on how your

team will respond to you. As a coach, you can only expect as much effort out of them as you

put into the team. This means if as a coach you put in the time and effort to give your team the

opportunity to be successful than in return, it is the teams obligation to put in the effort on and

off the field.

Coaching at the middle/high school level means that you team is composed of student

athletes. Due to this, education always takes first priority and if needed, students should come

to the coach if in need of academic help or resources. I feel very strongly that if a student is

unable to give 100% in the classroom than there is no reason to think that they will give 100%

for the team.

It is my belief that one of the things that holds a team together is the presence of

leadership among players. Leadership is extremely important on a team because it will bring a

team together as one unit and create a similar mindset amongst the players in order to achieve

a common goal. Leaders are not necessarily your best players on the team, they are the ones

who others respect and look up to. They also have great morals and will always do what is best

for the team. It is important for a coach to seek out this player on the team and to explain to

them the importance of having a leader within the team who Is not the coach.
 Even though playing time is completely based on the coached decision for the modified,

JV and varsity levels of sports, I believe that each level should require a different set of rules

when it comes to playing time for athletes. For the modified level I believe it is still a level for

developing the fundamental skills of the game. Due to this, I believe all members of the team

should receive equal playing time no matter their skill/ability level. It is my opinion that if they

have proven to the coach that they have dedication to the team and have put forth the effort in

practices than they should receive playing time. The JV level of sports should be a transitioning

period where all players who are deserving will receive playing time, but it is not necessarily

equal. Players that are higher skilled should begin to be played more as this will be the case as

the athletes move to the varsity level. At the varsity level, winning is now the goal of the sport

season. Due to this playing time is based on skill/ability level of the players. However, lower

skilled players have a role on the team and should receive playing time if the result of the game

is out of question.