There's a new sheriff in town! well not really, but there is a new coach, me!
So I wanted to let you know about my thoughts on coaching and give you a bit of background to me as a coach. I would like to share my philosophies and style and give you and understanding of where I’ll be coming from.
8 things you should know about me and coaching.
#1 I'm competitive: This one is obvious if you know me at all, I am very competitive. I can’t stand losing at tic tac toe let alone anything else, I absolutely hate losing. Now the question is what defines losing in dragon boating? Dragon boating can be interpreted many different ways and I don’t define losing as not getting 1st place. I want a good run where the boat feels good, and you know everyone’s giving their best. Sometimes we don’t finish first and as long as the boat felt good and everyone gave it their best, then you just have to accept you’re not the fastest this time and improve next time. (Sometimes easier said than done, but I’ll come around fairly quickly if peeved by a race)
#2 RTR: An old coach of mine used to say this and it’s kind of stuck with me over the years. It stands for Reciprocate Trust and Respect (RTR). Trust that we as coaches can effectively lead you and are taking the necessary steps to take us in the right direction. And respect us as a leadership role. We in turn will trust and respect you as essential team members to our combined success; we certainly need each other and can’t go at it alone.
#3 I’m loud: During practices occasionally I will yell encouragements and try and get the intensity up in the boat. This doesn’t mean I am yelling at any one individual. I will also give positive reinforcement for those who feel yelling doesn’t motivate them. So when I yell it’s for 1/2 of the boat and the positive speech is for the last 1/2. So keep up the good work and I will try and figure out what your individual coaching preferences are and try to oblige.
#4 I’m honest: Sometimes too honest, I will try extremely hard to regulate this. I also ask you to be honest with me as well and if I’m doing or saying something you don’t like let me know.#5 I want to have fun: Above all else dragon boating is about fun; if it weren’t would we really all get out of bed so early on weekends? We should definitely have balance and there is a time to be serious and a time to have fun, we’ve done a good job so far of balancing the two, so let’s keep it up.
#6 I’m here for you: This should be obvious as part of me being a coach, but seriously you need something or want to talk, give me a shout. We can hash it out over a nice pint of BK Brew.#7 I will do my best: I don’t know everything, but I have spent a decent amount of time in a dragon boat. I will try and give you the answers to any questions you have so fire away.
#8 THE YANKEES SUCK!: I did a little research into this and this is actually a fact, weird.
Thanks all and I look forward to coaching and helping out the rest of the coaching staff in taking us to the next level.
new one for you, ALWAYS KEEP IMPROVING (AKI) (i like acronyms!)
BK
