Throughout your entire sports career, you’re going to have coaches that you connect with really well with, and coaches that get on your nerves. The coaches you have can impact you for the good and bad. If you happen to have a coach that gets under your skin, this blog is for you.

All coaches have different methods of coaching: some are harder on their players than others, some coach just because they miss their sport and the glory that came with it. The point of a coach is to teach and guide athletes along their sports career. Coaches should be helping the players, not making them want to quit their sport.

A good coach increases the self-esteem of the athletes, they want their team to succeed, and they let their team know that they’re proud of them. A good coach doesn’t sit someone out for not playing well. Under a good coach, if you see someone sitting out on the bench, they may have missed a practice or had a bad attitude. A good coach never sits out a player that works hard and puts forth effort. Just because a coach is tough, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are not good. Effective tough coaches motivate their team. For example, some coaches motivate by making their team run if they don’t meet a certain goal.

A bad coach doesn’t acknowledge the losses, they don’t show their team any praise, some even tear you down with criticism that’s not constructive. A bad coach doesn’t know how to lead; they have poor leadership. These coaches just coach for the glory of winning.

Now, dealing with these type of bad coaches can be difficult. You just have to adapt to their coaching style and put in some extra work. You also can’t take anything to heart and don’t let what they say or do make you want to quit your sport and give up on what you’ve worked so hard for. If it gets really bad with that coach, then things could possibly change in years to come and you could get a new coach.

Coaches can be a big impact on athlete’s lives, good or bad. Appreciate your good coaches and learn from the bad ones. In the long run, they will make you stronger.