So you want to be a coach.
We have entered a much different time and place in the world of coaching. Once upon a time a coach said jump and the players asked, “How High?” Now, if a coach wants a player to jump, they ask politely, would you please jump, if it’s not too much trouble, sometime today would be nice and the player asks, “Why?”
Who gets the blame when a team plays poorly? Of course, it’s the coach.
Who gets the credit when a team plays great, the players do, obviously.
Now this phenomenon, in and of itself, doesn’t really bother me. I never wanted the credit when we played great and I was willing to fall on the sword when we played poorly. That is what good coaches do, in my humble opinion.
However…that doesn’t mean that it is OK to blame your coach for everything that goes wrong. The “credit” for a bad performance rests in many places but, unfortunately, we have taken the path of least resistance and found the easiest person to blame, the coach.
“You can’t be expected to hit well fifth in the lineup, you should be the clean up!”
“It’s not your fault you made six errors, your coach should never have put you at shortstop!”
“Your coach should never have expected you to bunt, you are a home run hitter!”
“Your coach should never call your change up!”
And on the list goes!
Now before you get offended, I am not saying that coaches are perfect.
Coaches make mistakes, just like everyone else. We don’t expect perfection from anyone else, but we expect it from the coach!
What is the lesson you are teaching your kid by always blaming the coach for their difficulties?
They have no responsibility for their performance.
It’s never their fault when they make a mistake or have to overcome a difficult situation. When you tell a player that their coach is the reason for their difficulties, they never learn how to work to overcome their weaknesses.
And let’s get real for a second: Do you really think their boss is going to be as willing a target for the blame game when you kid is out in the real world?
Blaming the coach makes your player weaker.
About the Author: Tory Acheson brings a wealth of knowledge to the Fastpitch Prep staff. He has coached at all levels of the game, including the last 25 years at the college level at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside, Tennessee Tech and Kennesaw State. He began his coaching career at the high school level spending 9 years Whitnall High School in Greenfield, Wis. and is now working as a professional softball instructor.
