Coaching Tips by Jacquie Joseph, Head Softball Coach, Michigan State University

For all you aspiring or current coaches, I have some good news and some bad news. Let’s start with the bad and get it out of the way. The bad news is that after 16 years as a head coach at the collegiate level, I still struggle all the time. Adapting and evolving with the times is an important criterion to longevity in coaching any age group. That’s it. The rest is all good.

The good news is that if we can adhere to some primary principles we can still be successful.

I truly believe that all great coaches possess the following skills to a varying degree:

Primarily, great coaches are technically competent—they know the skills/fundamentals required for the age group they are coaching. You can only fake it so long. Your goal should be to get out and learn the proper fundamentals required to be successful at your age group. If you are not sure, go and watch a good team at an age group or two above where you are. Compare what your kids are doing and adjust accordingly.

Secondly, great coaches are authentic—they are who they are. They are comfortable in their own skin. Even coaches like Bob Knight (whose style I personally don’t agree with) can be and is very successful. Why? Because he is authentic. Another coach who tries to emulate Coach Knight fails because he/she is not being true to himself. Authenticity is something you can not fake.

In addition I have found that great coaches have several other traits. They have the ability to:

Make kids believe in themselves
Bring players together as a team to work toward a common goal
Possess high expectations and are demanding in performance
Encourage and be supportive
Maintain discipline and give constructive feedback
Persist, never give up, and believe in hard work while learning from mistakes
Enthusiastically motivate kids

Obviously, we won’t all be good in every category. My recommendation is to be humble to the process. If you stay in coaching long enough, you will have plenty of days as the “bug” and plenty of days as the “windshield”.

Lastly, remember that a motivated player is one who has a fairly healthy self-esteem, has freedom, and most importantly, has FUN. Coaching is an awesome gift; enjoy the process and your players.