If I was between the age of 15 & 25 again, I would like to have a coach. No, not just any coach, not the one I had at that time who came down at certain hours, struggled to remember the names of some of us, did his hours, went home and forgot about the whole thing till the next day.( if he had too much to drink the previous night, maybe a day later…) I would like one who knows and can tell me in a... very simple, smart and rational way why I am not as good as someone else and I would listen more than I did when I was a “full of myself” youngster. I would like have a coach who falsely thinks I am His Her son, talks to me like a father or mother, calls me by a nice nickname and I feel that He She cares about me -and not just about my athletic performance. He She would not kick me out if I was slower than a standard set time, He She would encourage me to work harder, would tell me that I need to come more often and concentrate more, think of less of the “dangers”-girls and stuff- and more of my goals, which only come true if I train more, smarter and harder than the others. He She would be honest and not trying to wrap the truth into flowery words, I want to know what I am doing wrong- I need no bullshit… In that case, I would also be interested what He She does; Is He She waking up sometimes in the middle of the night to write down a note about what to introduce to the next week program, would He She look at me and remember what a little skinny, pimpled fellow I was the first time He She saw me and- what a handsome looking athlete I am starting to grow into every day. What does He She does when I am not around, is He She alone, lonely sometimes and just hiding His Her troubles for my benefit..? Would He She be happy when I am and -sad when I am not happy. Would He She cry with me for joy- and maybe for pain..? Is He She- when sitting at the steering wheel for days on end to take my boat to places- worrying that I do not miss my plane, find the hotel and by doing so, He She keeps forgetting about puffy legs, hurting back, junk food on the highway and noisy Motels with 3-4 hours sleep..? Will He She still “with me” even when I am making other coaches famous- and do I know that He She is hoping that He She will be on my mind when I remember who to thank as well..? Is He She a teacher of life and not just a coach of paddling -and am I listening now and not regretting later that I am not..? I like the motto; “As long as I know that my coach cares, I do not care what He She knows”- but obviously, when you are a coach, you already know a lot…and you go on finding every new thing what can make your athletes better…(great words thanks Peter Petho)
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 20:30:45 +0000