Coaching Philosophy in Progress

II. Coaching Philosophy

A COACH is a leader for their team and is a strong individual that is able to face adversity with a positive attitude. A coach is one that the team looks up to when they need guidance on doing the right thing. Coaching includes dealing with problems head on and turning them into learning experiences for the entire team. Coaching also includes keeping your team united as a unit that are working together to achieve a common goal. Athletics shapes a person’s character and instills specific virtues in their life. My philosophy of coaching rests upon three main ideas that are winning isn’t everything, making time for their team and always looking at situations with a positive attitude, and developing and improving ability of all members of the team. Looking back on my athletic career, I believe that many of my coaches instilled these 3 beliefs in my mind. They did not focus all their attention on winning the game, but did focus on making us better players. My coach was always at every game and practice and gave in extra time to practice on the weekends, and cared about improving our skills to make us all better players.

First of all, I believe that a coach should not put all their emphasis on winning the game. If you focus all your attention on winning a game, then your players will be upset when they do not come out on top. The real emphasis should be on working together as a team and getting closer throughout this process. There are going to be times when you may not win a game but it is all about how much effort you put in during that game. If you did not care about the game, your players will feel the same way and will not give their full effort. I believe that a coach should emphasize giving the full effort during each practice and each game and it will pay off. There were plenty of seasons where I played on a team and we lost more games than we won. There were times where our coach would be disappointed with our playing during that game, but it was all about how we picked ourselves up from that loss and moved on to the next game. The attitude of the coach is infectious to the players as well and it is up to us as coaches to look at each game as a new one and to not get discouraged if things are not going to way that you planned.

My second philosophy is based on the belief that a coach should make time for their team and always look at situations with a positive attitude. Unless my coach had a family emergency, I cannot remember one time where they were not at a game or practice. My coach always made time for the team especially on the weekends when we needed a little more practice time. A coach should put the team first and realize that any decisions that are made can affect the team positively or negatively. I believe that a coach should also pick an assistant coach that will be able to fill in for them if they are unable to make a practice or game. A coach is one who is always on the sidelines cheering on their team in good and bad times. There have been plenty of times where I have been on a team and my coach has lost their cool. As a coach there are going to be situations that will make you mad, but it is all about not losing your patience and letting it go. You will give your team a positive reputation if you demonstrate good sportsmanship that your team can embody. (needs work)

My final belief about coaching is that a coach is one who develops and improves the ability of all members of the team. As a coach, there are going to be certain individuals on your team that will excel in all skills, while other players on your team will need some work. As a coach I believe that you should not single out your players that may not be at the same ability level as others on the team. Each player on your team should have a fair chance in playing and developing their skills during practices and games. None of your players are going to be perfect and the job as a coach is to improve certain skills of all their players. I was the starting catcher on my varsity softball team during my sophomore year of high school but that still does not mean my skills were perfect. My coach worked with me to improve my ability behind the plate, as well as when I got up to bat. Each one of my teammates improved their ability during the softball season and each one of my teammates had an opportunity to play no matter their skill level. As a coach, there should be a belief that the only way your players will improve their skills is if they are able to participate in game-like situations. By the end of the season, a coach should feel as though they have made a difference in their players lives in a positive way.

Physical Education Philosophy in Progress

           The main goal of PHYSICAL EDUCATION is to educate individuals on a lifetime of physical activity for their own health and benefit. Physical Education is used as a guide to lead individuals in the right direction on creating a healthy lifestyle and sticking to it. Our job as the physical educators of the future is to create a positive learning environment for our students and be role models that they can look up to and talk to whenever they need someone. My philosophy of physical education rests on three basic ideas. These three ideas include being an influential leader for our future students, educating individuals about our profession and our purpose to teach physical education to those who don’t know how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and to promote a lifetime of physical fitness. Physical Education has a reputation of just teaching students how to play sports, but it digs deeper into involving the domains of learning into our teaching. We are the leaders of the future that need to change the view of physical education to those who are unaware of our purpose to educate.

            I believe that we are influential leaders for our future students in a variety of ways. First of all, we are different from the teachers in the classroom because we see our students in a different environment. They come to physical education to enjoy themselves while learning at the same time. When the students are in the classroom they are focused on sitting quietly in their desks and not getting a chance to express them. When these students enter the gymnasium, they get a chance let out all their energy and express themselves through moving. I know that when I was in school I felt more comfortable talking to my physical education teacher than my classroom teacher. With your physical education teacher there is such a wide variety of things to talk about which could either be about a favorite sports team, a workout routine that the student is participating in, as well as what they did that past weekend. I think we need to leave that door open for students to come and talk to us when they are having a problem that they do not know how to resolve. We are there to influence our students to make the right decisions when they do not know what else to do. As a physical educator we need to let our students know that we are there for them and educate them on following the right path.

            Physical Education has gotten a reputation over the years that we just roll a ball out for our students while they play the basic sports such as basketball, football, soccer, and baseball. Our profession digs deeper by integrating the 3 domains of learning into our classroom. The students are not just playing sports and getting a grade on if they are prepared for class or not. We focus in on the ideas that students should be working together while in class and respecting the teacher and the rules of the classroom. The students are also being challenged cognitively with quizzes that reinforce their knowledge of the activity they are participating in. Their grade is not solely based on how well they can play a sport. We are also educators for those who are unaware about how to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We are there to help these individuals get on the right path to eating correctly and exercising daily. As physical educators we need to give our students numerous ways to keep their body healthy if they do not know how. We are there as an extra resource when our students are lost and want to resort to hurting their body to maintain a certain weight. The last thing I would want to see in my classroom is one of my students abusing their body to maintain a healthy lifestyle. There are ways around this and this is our goal as physical educators, which is to educate our students on what it means to keep and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

            My final philosophy about physical education is to promote a lifetime of physical fitness. Our students need to be educated about how to maintain a healthy level of physical fitness when they are out on their own and have limited resources. Especially when students go to college, most of the time they are engaging in activities that do not promote a healthy lifestyle such as drinking and eating the wrong things. We need to start out educating our students early about this and the effects it has on their body. When educating our students, we as educators need to be physically fit and set a good example for our students that may be struggling. The home life of many students can be a factor in not being physically fit. Their parents may not cook for them every night and they may always go out to eat. We need to get our point across to our students that it is important to eat the right things and exercise to keep them fit. A lifetime of physical fitness stretches throughout the entire life and to promote this philosophy, it starts in the physical education classroom. We are the resources for our students to keep an active and healthy lifestyle for the long run.