Today’s blog is geared towards coaches, teachers, parents or anyone who consistently finds themselves in the role of a “teacher” on a regular basis. The inspiration comes from the recent completion of “The 7 Keys to Being a Great Coach”, by Alistair McCaw. I had started the book last fall after listening to a podcast and hearing it referenced by another coach. I started it and immediately found it to be a coaching masterpiece and something that I wanted my whole team to benefit from. So, I asked that everyone read it…After finding that not everyone was actually doing this I took the bull by the horns and turned it into the first ever XIP book club reading which we did together! Each month at our team meetings a different staff member was responsible to present on a chapter from the book to the rest of the team. We then had some really great conversation about wherever the focus of each chapter might take us, and how we thought we could improve our own performance as strength coaches and trainers here at XIP. It was a lot of fun and it also created conversations that lead to immediate changes in what we do here on a day to day basis. It made us better! Thanks Alistair for writing a great book and for making a difference among coaches!
The link to the book is here!
For any coach out there who truly cares about improving their skills as a coach and as a human being do yourself a favor and pick up a copy and read it immediately! I promise you will not be disappointed. I also feel that if every coach read this book and held themselves accountable to their own performance just like we ask of our athletes that we would see more athletes doing really awesome things! Being a great coach is not “something you do, it’s something you are.” It’s not something just anyone can do and also do well, as some have it and some don’t. Below is a page from the book that helps explain just what it is that coaching isn’t, which may help gain a new perspective on the art of coaching.
In order to be great at anything you must dedicate yourself every single day to doing this. As I always tell my athletes;
“Nothing great happens to those who don’t regularly do great things.”
Coaches who truly want to be great must be willing to do more than is asked of them. They must be willing to do what others won’t do to help their athletes get better. This should always be our mission as a coach, we cannot let egos get in the way of this.
Below are two pages from McCaw’s book that I feel every coach must adhere to if they are interested in being great. Any coach can have a winning season, or turn out a few great athletes, but not every coach can consistently do this without committing themselves to excellence every single day…This means your own fitness and health, your standards, being a lifelong learner, being a nice person who others respect, your work ethic, doing what average coaches won’t do, and being so passionate about the quest that nothing can pull you from the path.
Lastly I want to just recommend a podcast that myself and members of our team turn to regularly for our own professional development, Lewis Howes School of Greatness. Lewis has a cool story and I think some of you may find it a really great catalyst for your own success. One in particular that stood out to me over the last few months was his episode “8 Keys Powerful Leaders Use to Achieve Greatness.”
The link to the podcast is here!
All the best,
Coach Guyer