Re: Coaching #1
On the Track and Field Connections Podcast by Gill Athletics, host and Gill Athletics equipment specialist Mike Cunningham recently interviewed Boo Schexnayder, Track and Field Strength and Conditioning Coach at LSU. Boo’s title is a little deceiving, his career is a prime example of making your way, finding and creating opportunities. What he really is, is a jack of all trades, do everything for everyone coach. I had the pleasure of listening to Boo speak for a few hours about Pole Vault at the 2020 MITCA (Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association) clinic. Boo is renowned for answering any question, any email that a coach asks, which I can vouch for. This podcast episode told Boo’s story as a coach. I could honestly listen to this guy speak for days. Clearly, he has a wealth of knowledge on all things athletics. But, his career arc was the focus here, and I think that you can learn a lot about coaching (or any profession) simply by listening to life stories.
If you are interested in listening, the link to the podcast is HERE
There are a few major points that I believe without a doubt about coaching.
1) Coaches can coach, regardless of sport or discipline. Coaches are fundamentally teachers.
2) Anybody can learn training science. Training application doesn’t matter if you can’t do relationships.
3) The #1 rule for coaching talented athletes is - Don’t screw them up. Don’t overthink it.
4) Continuing education is necessary. Refusal to learn new things and grow is a giant red flag.
5) The best coaches share knowledge and help others learn, especially other coaches.
#2 is where I think most people get bogged down. I love training science, love learning it, love talking about it, love applying it. But it’s not everything. I think one of the best things that has happened to me as a coach, was coaching under somebody who taught me that there’s a time and a place for Xs and Os, but the time is usually much shorter than you think it is. Clearly, training matters, how we do it matters. But there are a few things that influence that. The best training methodology doesn’t matter if that methodology is 50 years old, we’ve learned a lot about anatomy and physiology in that time. I don’t make my sprinters run repeat 200s or 400s because we know that’s not a worthwhile use of time.
Sidebar, here’s a dirty little secret. If a team has a clear athletic advantage, that team is going to win a lot. Many coaches look like geniuses because they have the best athletes. If you have the best athletes, don’t overthink it. Take care of them, make your team the best place to be, and let them win.
Culture is also important. If your team is marginally better than your opponent but your culture sucks, I'm not placing bets on you. Team culture is one of my favorite things, I’ll write more on that later.
Back to Boo. Listening to this podcast made me think back on my coaching career so far. There are pivotal moments, and people. I can remember…
All of my football coaches, and the things I liked and disliked about them
A paper I wrote in English 101 at GRCC about wanting to coach, citing my own coaches
The exact moment that Tom Manning asked me if I was interested in coaching youth football with him (I was 18 at the time)
A time before my first game as a high school Defensive Coordinator when I was freakin’ out and Norm Zylstra said “What’s your deal? It’s just a game. We just have to go have fun"
Too many arguments with Mark Van Dyke about things I didn’t think had any relation to coaching (I was wrong most of the time)
Being given a chance to coach Track and Field at Byron Center HS, which is truly a life changing event
Pole Vault pointers from in-conference coach Walt Kooyer
Constant strength and conditioning lessons from Byron Center’s own Joe Chiaramonte
And now, many intricacies about the events I don’t deal with as closely from my own assistants
Beyond the results, the great thing about coaching is the effect it has on you, as a person. I am who I am based on the people who influenced me. Boo had a line in there about how many lives you can touch as a coach, and I’d add, in a good way or a bad way. Coaches influence their athletes, and their assistant coaches. Some of those assistant coaches become head coaches who influence more athletes and coaches. Some of those athletes become coaches, and the cycle repeats.
This is particularly important to me at the moment because my current senior class were freshmen when I started at BC. Coach long enough and you get used to people moving on, but there are still special groups. This is one of them.
To be continued…
