Coaching is an art, first and foremost. It is not a skill or trait learned over night. It is the daily efforts of the individual (and their athletes) that makes a coach who he or she is. A coach is a person who motivates, helps, and progresses athletes towards their goals on the field and off. The concept of a great coach is the result of each interaction with an athlete that the coach has on a daily, weekly, and monthy basis.
I have been inspired by many coaches in my short career as a strength and conditioning coach. Some philosophies have stuck with me throughout my career, while others have not. My first ever strength coach was a man by the name of Greg Gibbs who currently is the strength and conditioning coach from Wakefield, MA. He saw a great amount of potential in me and tried every day to get the best out of me and it is because of him that I am currently an intern at Northeastern today. I believed everything he said about strength and conditioning at the time, however, my ideas and philosophies about strength training have changed since then. It is not to say I disagree with what he currently believes in, it is simply that I am forging my own philosophy about strength and conditioning on a daily basis with each athlete I train.
Overall, a great coach is the result of daily experiences within the weight room and daily encounters with athletes. A coach cannot be great, in my opinion, if he or she cannot adapt and change on a daily basis to meet the needs of the athletes in order to get maximum athletic potential out of each individual athlete.