The Most Valuable Aspect of Coaching

Here's a question for you. When answering, go with your first instinct, the first response that pops into your mind. Then, we will discuss the topic a little further in this post.

Which is more important?

(A) Coaching Ball

(B) Coaching People

Some of you right now are saying, "But Chris, where is option C – 'BOTH'?" I intentionally did not include an option C. Of course, both are important. But I want you to think about which is MORE important. Because your answer to that question will teach you a lot about your coaching and particularly what motivates you and what drives you as a coach. Your answer is directly linked to your "why"... why do you coach?

If I were to ask this question to my 30 year-old self, I would have undeniably chosen "A." Coaching ball was the most important thing to me without a doubt. I was determined to make whatever team I coached the most fundamentally sound team around. We didn't waste a single minute on anything that didn't have to do with getting better offensively or defensively. Practice plans were filled every day with hitting, fielding, pitching, catching, base running, bunting... and I prided myself in knowing the game and in coaching the game the right way.

When I was coaching the game, the players mattered primarily in the sense that they helped accomplish the goals of the game. I insisted that every player respect the game, and I would constantly remind them that the game is much bigger than them, and that the game will be around for much longer after they are gone. For 30 year-old me, everything was about the game, and the game was everything.

Now, it's not that any of the above is bad. The statements I made in the previous paragraph still ring true. I just want to share with you how 45 year-old Coach Stewart has come to differ somewhat from 30 year-old Coach Stewart.

When I first began coaching (baseball) I was 22 years old. I had just finished playing the game and still had a lot of passion for, love for, and an intense thirst to be involved in the game, so I felt like coaching would be the perfect avenue for me to be able to quench that thirst. As a first time coach of a 15U team, I decided that I would put together a "Manual" for the players on the team and also for the parents to be able to know a little more about me, my coaching philosophy, and how our team was going to play the game.

Over the years I have continued to utilize a Team Manual, but like my coaching, that manual has evolved quite a bit over the years. In the early days it was primarily an X's and O's book... hitting mechanics, fielding fundamentals, pitching mechanics, offensive strategy, cut-off and relay procedures, etc.

Today's manual still includes all of that, but there are twice as many pages. The newer pages deal with mental strength, developing character, the power of positive energy versus energy vampires, how to approach difficult situations and adversity, how to develop trust among teammates, how to be the best teammate possible... and many, many more skills they will need, yes, on the ball diamond, but also in the classroom, in their careers, and in their marriages.

So, which is more important to me today? Without any shadow of doubt it's "B," coaching PEOPLE.

The graphic above illustrates why I feel so resolute about this. You'll notice that one word in the graphic is so much larger than the other word in the graphic. Obviously, LIFE is so much bigger than BALL. This is fundamentally true on so many levels. I've seen shirts recently with the slogan, "Ball is life!" No... it's not, really. Life is going to come at each one of our players pretty hard after there is no more ball. And when it does, they will need to lean on something more sturdy than how to field a ground ball, improve their spin rate, increase their exit velo and get the perfect launch angle.

When life comes at them hard, will they be able to lean on something you taught them or modeled for them while they were playing ball under your coaching? When we always have this in the front of our minds, it changes the way we coach. In my opinion, it makes us a better coach.

Recently I tweeted this thought: "Don't focus on winning a championship. Focus on becoming a champion. Only one team gets to win a championship at the end of the year. But, having a team full of champions year in and year out is what makes it all worth it, year in and year out."

What does this mean, and how is it accomplished? It means that for the greatest coaches in the world, the goal is PEOPLE, not PRODUCT. The goal is becoming, not arriving. The focus is the process, not the outcome. The reward is a life that has been impacted in such a positive way that he or she wants to carry on the example that he or she learned from you. That is a reward that doesn't collect dust behind a glass case. That is a reward that has life, and gives life to countless others for many years to come.

This, in my opinion, is the most valuable aspect of coaching.

Now, for those who refused to answer the question because you are still insisting on an option C, "Both"... let me speak to that briefly. I believe when a coach has "B" then it makes "A" a whole lot easier. When our priority is the PERSON, then that relationship-based focus will take the implementation of fundamentals to a whole new level. Your passion for wanting to instill greatness in your players will be significantly higher. Your focus and preparation will be more precise. And everyone's love for the game will increase noticeably.

The beauty of coaching is, you don't have to have one OR the other. However, which one you prioritize will indeed determine the kind of coach you are and, in large part, the kind of people your players are going to be after they are no longer under your tutelage.