"I'm not a coach so this week's message isn't for me", you're thinking, but before you tune out on this week's Flat Tire Thought, give me just a minute to convince everyone to read on, reflect, and then share this message. Some of us coach wrestling, some coach volleyball, basketball, football, soccer, track, and don't forget baseball, but beyond the coaching that happens on the playing fields of any particular sport, I am suggesting that we are all coaches in life. Parents should be coaching their children in their school work, their social interactions, and definitely in their walk of faith. I have said for decades that a teacher is one of the most primal examples of a coach that exists. Supervisors and managers at your workplace are definitely coaching their employees up, and when it comes down to it the more experienced student or employee is tasked with "coaching" their less informed comrades up to their level of expertise and knowledge. In life, it isn't as much about what you know as a coach, it's all about how do you share and extend what you know to those that you have an opportunity to grow and prepare. That's why I've titled today's FTM Thought, "Coach'em Up", if we aren't coaching those we have the opportunity to coach up then unfortunately, there's only one other direction we are coaching/teaching them and we surely do not want to be held accountable for that directional slip and slide.
I'd like to share my 5 C's of coaching in our brief time together today, which I do believe are transferable to pretty much every scenario and role you might encounter along your journey in life. Also keep in mind for those that sit back and say I'm not coaching anyone, by virtue of your inaction you are definitely coaching someone, and more than likely not in the right direction that you surely would want to direct another person's life. The 5 C's are as follows: Construct, Correct, Confirm, Celebrate, and Consequence. Each of these 5 make for a good Flat Tire Ministries Thought for the week, so I believe we will spend the next five weeks looking at one of the "Cs" rather than try to pack them all in one thought. Ready? Let's go!
The first "C" is the action of Constructing. Who builds a house without a plan? In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus used a parable about the foolish man that built his house on the sand, while the wise man built his house on the rock. Folks that wasn't by chance. The decision to build on rock rather than sand was one that involved some observation, some preparation, and a great deal of planning. Otherwise it probably did look like a good place to build a house on the shore of the ocean, right there in the sandy part of the beach. Basing decisions on just what looks like a good idea is a recipe for disaster. A favorite saying of mine is "failing to plan is like planning to fail". For a coach the practice plan, the season goals, and the constant monitoring and realigning of your plans and goals is paramount to success. Think about a teacher that walks into a classroom and has no plans of what they are going to teach or where he wants to take his students during the 180 days he is their teacher. Might I just say train wreck! So, for the coach, the employer, the parent, the colleague, or the friend that is mentoring a friend your plan of action is critically important.
So many of us are looking at short term goals as the main target in our coaching responsibilities. If, as a coach, you look at your goal sheet and the number one priority on your list is win the championship this season, then you are only thinking short term goals. Remember the man who built his house on the sand, short timer! Sounds like a good plan today, beautiful view today, but what about down the road when the foundation has sunk a foot or two and the walls are all cracking and falling down? As teachers, the short-term aspect of planning in my mind would be having your focus on state mandated test scores. Sad state of being if we have convinced ourselves that a test score on a 55-minute bubble in your answer test will reveal a child's likelihood of being successful in life. Be careful where you place your focus as a teacher/coach.
Construct a plan that will build a firm foundation on which the time you invest will create a solid base for the house, the student, the athlete, the child, your partner, your friend, or your colleague you are coaching each day. Your practice plan should include drills to build stamina so that those you coach can be mentally and physically prepared when it is their turn to perform. (I Corinthians 9:27) Any coach worth the whistle around her neck knows that in a strong practice plan there is a progressive aspect. Basically, one thing builds on another. A parent shouldn't expect their daughter to build a tree house, if they haven't first learned how to measure a plank. Coaches don't teach you to shoot a three, until you've learned to dribble the ball effectively, and an employer doesn't hire you to be the manager of the store when the employee hasn't ever run a sales register. Learn and grow, grow and share, share and love. Progression. Finally, in every plan that is constructed there needs to be a goal set and a way to reach that goal. Obviously, in sports winning is a goal otherwise we wouldn't have huge scoreboards at every sporting event regardless of the sport. Grades are on a grade card so we can have a tangible artifact that a child was successful, and at work we can get an idea of how effective our plan was by the red or black totals at the bottom of the spreadsheet. Main point, don't let those things be the main goal in your plan.
Investing in others, preparing those we coach for what's next in life, and understanding that the time you have with those you are coaching is not infinite, it is definitely finite is of paramount relevance and importance. What do you want those you are coaching to take away from the time you invested in their lives? A legacy of your impact will be placed on every athlete, student, child, or adult you "coach", will it be a positive impact or will it be a negative memory that drives that student to be a better person than you were in their life. Like I said at the beginning, you are a coach, you may not realize it, but don't be deceived, you are coaching each day that you live and breathe.
I'll leave you with this question in hand. When your students, your athletes, your children, co-workers, or friends remember you, what will they remember about your coaching? Will they remember all the games they won or will it be the accountability, character, and resilience you owned and taught? I've been coaching over 35 years and as far as I can recollect, I don't think I've ever had a former athlete come up to me and say man we won a ton of matches when I wrestled for you in middle school. But, I have had a plethora of athletes that have come up to me over the years and they undoubtedly always mention how the hard, tough practices they endured taught them things about never giving up in life! I promise you this, that is what matters.
This will conclude the first session of the series we will call the 5 C's of "Coach'em Up"! Tune in next week for our discussion about the second "C" of Correct.
Coach'em Up!
Coach Carter
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