This are article was provided by Coaches Network

Dr. David Hoch, CMAA, CIC

In the local newspaper, a coach was quoted as saying, “We didn’t bring our A game today. It wasn’t a very good effort.” That may be a very honest statement, but it might not be how you want to present yourself to the public.

A coach is responsible for preparing a team to play. This comment, therefore, simply points out that the coach did not do his or her part.

Another common quote from a coach is, “The kids have to learn how to win tough games.” Again, this is the coach’s responsibility–learning to win is part of the equation.

It’s okay to be disappointed after a game. But it’s not okay to say things to the media that put the blame for a loss on the athletes instead of yourself as coach.

The following suggestions should help you to avoid miscues when dealing with the media.

1. Take five minutes to compose yourself after a game. You may be frustrated and angry, or just exhausted. Be aware that these emotions may exist and resist the impulse to vent to the media. As the spokesperson for not only the team, but also the athletic department and school, you need to measure your post-game comments.

2. Never degrade or say anything negative about your opponent. Even if your team made mistakes that contributed to the loss, always give credit for the win to the other team. You can be a little more direct and dissect the team’s performance during the next practice session, but not in the media where everyone can see or hear it.

3. Complaining about or blaming officials is never acceptable. No missed or poor call, even late in a game, ever causes a team to win or lose. Any negative statements concerning the referees will always come across as sour grapes and demonstrate a lack of class.

4. Think about how your remarks will be viewed. Most individuals react better to positive comments as opposed to criticism. Being critical and throwing your players under the bus is not a good method for motivating your team.

5. Remember that negative and controversial comments sell. Don’t fall prey to questions from reporters that could inflame an issue or create a problem. You can always refuse comment on any subject. One last hint is to refrain from referring to your group of athletes as “my” team. A team is a collection of many individuals. Therefore, it should always be “our” team. In education-based athletics, the focus has to be on the growth and development of young people. Therefore, the proper designation of “our” team and serving as a positive spokesperson for the team, department, and school is important.

David Hoch retired in 2010 after a 41-year career as a high school athletic director and coach. In 2009, Dr. Hoch was honored as the Eastern District Athletic Director of the Year by the Nastional Association for Sport and Physical Education. He was also presented with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Distinguished Service Award, and in 2000 he was named the Maryland State Athletic Director Association’s Athletic Director of the Year. Dr. Hoch has authored over 460 professional articles and made more than 70 presentations around the country.

This article provided by Coaches Network

By Wayne Goldsmith, also known as the “Sports Coaching Brain,” has 25 years of experience coaching and providing advice to others. With a nod toward Stephen Covey, he offers “The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Coaches.”

Train beyond the target: Goldsmith urges coaches to train athletes for challenges greater than the competition they face. Strengths and weaknesses need be assessed, and the next step is to raise the bar “physically, mentally, technically and emotionally” so players enter competition with an invaluable edge over opponents.

Evolve faster than your players: Age may rob an older coach of a few steps on the field, but experience (coupled with resources on the Internet), give him savvy and wisdom. Life-long learning is a good idea for anyone. For coaches it is vital. In addition, Goldsmith advises coaches to be rigorously honest about their abilities and if necessary request professional evaluation of their own skills from a trusted adviser.

Know your opponents better than they know you: Coaches who can get inside the heads of an opponent’s leader have a distinct advantage come game time. Here again, the Internet can be a coach’s best friend.

Get out of your sport and think creatively: Great coaches understand that they can only know so much and do so much in their programs before stagnation and copycatting threaten. Creative thinking is the ability to approach any situation from a number of angles. The off-season should be a time to boost creative thinking capacity. Some coaches enroll in classes that have little to do with sport but everything to do with thinking outside their field, such as music or art or philosophy. Great coaches are innovators and you can’t innovate without thinking creatively.

Coach the individual: “There are no true team sports left,” writes Goldsmith. The science of performance analysis offers highly detailed information on every athlete’s strengths and weaknesses. No matter the sport, all competition comes down to a series of one-on-one moments. Every player on a team needs direct engagement to inspire them to excel beyond any pregame analysis of their limits.

Make every individual workout a rehearsal for game day: Winning coaches create an environment where a culture of excellence underpins everything and everybody,” writes Goldsmith. It’s not just brains and muscle–it’s heart and soul. A great coach trains the one to teach the others and in doing so catalyzes a group of individuals into a cohesive unit that is both mentally tough and flexible. Add hardcore training to that mix and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

No two training sessions should be exactly the same: “Adapt your training plans to optimize their impact on each individual athlete at every training session,” Goldsmith writes. The best laid plans of the smartest coaches can go astray at the training level. Each training session must be about preparing an individual athlete for every performance possibility at the moment of contact with the opponent.

It’s not practice that makes perfect–its performance practice that does so: Goldsmith puts a new twist on the old adage of “practice makes perfect.” He says the great coaches take it further. Skills can be mastered by practice. “(But) to master a skill so that it can be executed the right way at the right time in competition? … Follow the performance practice philosophy.”

Follow an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to developing talent and performance enhancement: Most athletes at the high school level will spend about one or two hours a day at their athletic tasks; that number moves up in college. So most of their time is not spent training. Great coaches encourage their players to use some of that “free time” to concentrate on the performance ahead.

Great coaches are great leaders. “They dare to be different; they do things others are not ready for; they (are) drivers of change,” writes Goldsmith. They are risk-takers within reason and thrive in conflict without losing their heads. They are not shy about pushing for the win; nor do they complain when they lose. Accepting responsibility is part of their credo.