When I first read the prompt for this post, I thought that we had to describe what would make a good team coach. I originally thought that this would be a breeze. I have played for so many coaches, from pee-wee t-ball to college field hockey; I cannot even begin to count them all. I thought that it would be a piece of cake to describe which coaching traits I find most useful in helping a team become successful. After all, I have had my fair share of both good and bad coaches. However, I then sat down to actually write my response, I thought a little harder, and realized that I am also a coach at this internship and maybe that is what I should try to focus on for this blog. Needless to say, I snuck a peep at the blogs posted before mine, and confirmed my thought in the latter subject matter.
Before this opportunity at Northeastern University arose for me, the only Strength and Conditioning Staff I had ever been acquainted with was the great Athletic Training and Sports Medicine personnel that I worked with at Bridgewater State. The majority of our ATSM staff is also CSCS certified, so they tend to pull double-duty. During my sophomore season, I had sprained my right MCL in a game, two days before one of the biggest games of our regular season. With is being my first season as a consistent starter, I emotionally broke down when one of my Athletic Trainers informed be that I could not partake in team practice the day before our big game. I thought that he was downright the worst person in the world. “How could he do this to me?” “I can walk fine.” “I should have never told him about my injury.” But it only took a 10 minute conversation with a student trainer to make me realize that he was not being a bad guy. By keeping me out of practice, he was able to do basic rehab with me, trying to strengthen all of the muscles around my knee. He kept me out of practice so that I could get my range of motion back, and figure out an effective tape job to use in the game. He had my best interest in mind the whole time, which would have come in handy before I left the training room in tears.
Going through that scenario with him really allowed him to gain my trust. From that moment on, I never questioned anything that he made me do from that point forward because I knew that he would always have my best interests at hand-to become a stronger athlete, and be a better asset to my team. That is also why I went to him when I was looking to train for my trip to Australia. He not only got me into the best shape of my life, but also made me realize how effective weight lifting is when looking to become a better athlete.
So, I guess it was not very hard to realize how many similarities there are between being a Strength and Conditioning coach, and being a team’s coach. In order to be successful in either field, it is important to gain the trust and respect of the athletes that you work with because it will allow them to feel at ease when working with you. Also, you always have to have the athletes’ best interests at hand. All they want to do is play, which is why you should always stress the fact that strength training is so helpful in preventing injuries. You are not only trying to make them better athletes, but you need to keep them healthy as well. Not to mention, just as the coach of a team needs to keep up with the forever-changing rulebook, a strength and conditioning coach should always keep up with new and different training techniques for their athletes.