Some of the most persuasive people in your life could very likely be your coaches. The coaches that I remember differed very much in there personalities. I played football and threw shot and discus in high school. My two coaches for track were very motivating. They never got frustrated with me. Their patience was very rare in that they had a lot of it, and they always went out of their way to give you that extra help. My discus coach helped me fine tune my throw so well that it took me to metro two years in a row. On the other hand, the football coaches were a completely different story. (They were a breed of their own, and were the epitome of the "jar head" football coaching staff). It's hard to keep a straight face when a coach with the I.Q. of a bowling ball is yelling at you and the best thing he can come up with to call you is "a box of rocks"(you had to have been there). .
Coaches can really impact the life of an athlete, positively and negatively. The positive coaches will be the focus on in this paper. Even having a coach in the corporate world to help keep you motivated and happy about your job is important nowadays (Young, 2000). With stronger, more positive coaching when the athlete is younger, some of today's issues like aggressive behavior after scoring a point, or leaving school early to start a pro career, would dwindle away. Athletic coaches have a special relationship with student-athletes, but often underestimate their influence on these young people. According to Schinke (2001), they are role models in the eyes of young athletes, and occupy this leadership role at a very significant and impressionable time in the athletes" lives. Coaches have the power to motivate, stimulate, and positively influence youth through sports. Everyday coaches play the role of teacher, leader, friend, and mentor to young people. This paper will present the personal roles and goals of a coach and also what makes a good one.
