The one thing about the kids from Ellis Tech that I coached during my time there that I was most proud of was the fact that – during the season – they hardly ever gave me one ounce of trouble. As I’ve reflected upon my time there, I believe one of the main reasons was that we had built a mutual respect for each other. They knew from day one that I viewed them as equals, was basically trying to make them both better runners as well as human beings and that I always tried to speak with them instead of at them which was often unlike many of the other adults in their lives. As one of my runners from that time told me years later: “we didn’t want to let you down.” While hearing that made me feel proud, it didn’t take away from the fact that …show more content…
Unfortunately, after that last State Championship, and because of the loss of so many veteran performers, a new team leader never emerged and with it, arose a team of individuals that, despite my urging in various ways, accepted a work ethic that was nowhere near what it had been over the past few years. Even though it took me awhile to recognize it, it appeared to me that this new team’s view and mindset was something like: “I’m working harder than I ever have in my life now, what more do you want?”, and I really couldn’t disagree with their assessment. Though they all did what I asked of them most days in practice and gone were the days that I had to pull one of them aside in the hallway because of some type of classroom issue, the one thing that was clear was the losing didn’t bother them very much at all. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back occurred at the end of what would turn out to be my final cross country season at Ellis Tech. Each year, I always geared the team’s training towards the last race of the season, which usually was the State Class Championship. If we didn’t do well during September, but I saw progress being made, I was satisfied. As I’ve told every team I’ve ever coached: “People don’t really care how many teams you’ve beaten during the year. They want to know how you did in the State
In the early 20th century, the dominant theme in American sport was the spread and influence of “organized team sport” in American culture. Organized team sport gained attention and importance as early as the late 1800’s with the influence of Luther Halsey Guick. Guick viewed sports as a social tool that sped up an individual’s ability to self-govern and thus he pushed for public funded playgrounds in big cities. Guick also focused on integrating team competition into the school system as much as possible; he was incredibly successful in this endeavour and team competition became an integral part of the education system. One obstacle faced in physical education was the need for an indoor sport that could be played during the winter; this posed multiple obstacles in itself. Developing a game that could be played in a small enclosed area and was not rough, proved to be a challenging feat that was eventually overcome by James Naismith. The development of basketball furthered the integration of organized team sports into American culture.
It is my job as a coach to help develop athletes physically, psychologically, and socially while helping them have fun by playing a sport. I will do this by being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude in practice, games, and while not coaching. This cooperative approach to coaching will create a sense of community within the team I coach, and the athletes will feel more welcome to discuss their thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns with me. Creating this setting and relationships with athletes will only benefit the team by creating a team culture necessary for the well-being and success of high school sports’ teams. Success in sports means accomplishing goals set by the team, not winning. Winning is important, but just striving to win is even more vital toward the success of teams. As a coach, I will also be a motivator for athletes. Athletes will see me come to practice with a positive attitude, displaying my passion. This is the beginning of how I will motivate athletes. Motivation starts with my attitude, and athletes pick up on this. In order to motivate and want to be motivated, there must be a reason, a why? I will use the teams’ goals they will set, in order to motivate them to give their best effort in order to achieve success by reaching their
It was November 3rd, 2013, the day of the Division 3 Midget Championship and my team was playing in our biggest game of the year. As the head coach, my dad had led us to the Big Game. After a terrible first half my team ran off the field with our heads down and took a knee, waiting anxiously for all the terrible things the coaches were going to say. My dad spoke first, “You guys have two options. You can pout and watch Christian Brothers take your season, or you guys can fire up and believe in each other and win a banner!”. Instantly, the team fired up, inspired by our head coach’s speech. The ability that my dad has to motivate and inspire people makes him the person that he is. One day, I hope to take after my number one role-model and be known for the following traits: maintaining a positive attitude, having a strong work ethic, and being charismatic.
My freshman year we entered playoffs with a hopeful optimism that in our first year in 3A, the largest division, we could make a statement that we were here to stay. In the end, the game didn’t go our way. There were some questionable calls made but in the end, it is what it is: we weren’t good enough to win. A tough reality but often times you learn more from a loss than from a win. Sophomore
All of the publicity that is attained by success, and the possibility of this success, places a great deal of pressure and stress on these young single-sport athletes. This stress and pressure takes the fun out of some sports. Youth sports are becoming serious and based more on winning than on having a great time and learning good sportsmanship. Adu points out the winning mindset of athletes in this day and age when he says, “Teams will do anything to win the game. My coach told me to expect that going in and that is exactly how it was. . .I felt like everybody was out to get me” (Goodall, 2003). This
In third grade I began my first official Sheridan sports team. I was now officially making my way to becoming a general; before that I didn’t have any idea of what being a “general” meant. At the time I was attending Thornville elementary and the majority of my friends at my school were just as pumped as I, for our first practice on the field beside the infamous Sheridan Middle school. The first few weeks of practice taught me nothing I wanted was going to be easily attainable, these coaches expected more out of me than I had ever been accustomed to. The bar they set for us each day pushed us to new heights we had only dreamed of.
Our team went undefeated for our first 16 games, and then our 17th game we had our first tie. We were used to killed the team we tied to, but that proves if you don’t come ready not everything is going to go your way. Some of the kids kind of took it the wrong way. We won 14 more games after that and kept playing strong. Then we had our final playoff game to see who was going to state or not.
At New Milford High School, I will belong to the community of Green Wave football for the duration of my life. As a player, my footprint is not simply measured by the amount of wins our program had during my three years on varsity, but it is measured in the complete revolution of the program under Coach Badaracco’s direction. My freshman year, the football team was a bit of a joke, a meeting ground of players who lacked dedication and work ethic, who continuously were being suspended from school, doing drugs, and partaking in other nefarious activities. When Coach Badaracco was hired, he looked to me to lead. He continuously asked me to display what a proper athlete should look like, someone who excelled in the classroom and was active in the community.
It is the first round of the Basketball State playoffs, and with eight seconds left, the talented Northwest team is down by three. The star point guard speed dribbles up the court, the tension on and off the court is immense, the pressure is even greater. Everyone during and prior to this game, had witnessed a season full of promise, and the consensus conclusion for most recognized this team as the best team to have ever come out Northwest High School. This was our best and likely only chance for success. So as the point guard puts the ball up, time nearly stops, it has a chance, but in like in life, the game of basketball is unforgiving, he misses. As most made their pre-conceived predictions of the future, or lack thereof, a young sophomore and his Junior Varsity teammates, we were inspired by our elders walking off the court, and the doubters going home. Bonded together, and we believed we were destine for something historical, and mythological outside our small circle. Thus two years later the 2016 Northwest Varsity Basketball team, the discourse community, where I developed relationships with the people I still call my brothers. A community which has shaped my work ethic, and has given me the knowledge of the amount of effort and work it takes to be successful. All of which was in efforts for a goal not even pronounced among our teammates, to us the future was still a mystery, only realized to us a one
Each member on the team shared the same values, emotions, and knowledge of that particular sport. As a freshman and sophomore in high school, I knew that I needed to be on the same level as my other teammates. For me to be accepted in this community, I had to show them my ethos appeals to let them know that I was just like them. Sportsmanship, diligence and perseverance, were the skills needed to show the upperclassmen and my coach that I was serious and that I was ready to be part of the team. The upperclassmen knew that I had it in me; all I had to do was prove that I could do it. Proving to older long time members of the team is not the easiest thing to do. They are cynical about every action you do. In order for me to prove my worth, I had to show an emotional appeal toward the “veterans of the team” which were similar to that of the
Ottawa-Glandorf athletics taught me more than I ever thought I would have learned. Being apart of Titan sports comes with a stigma: a stigma to be great, to work hard, and to carry good sportsmanship. I participated in Ottawa-Glandorf sports so I could be apart of a team, enhance leadership skills, and build relationships with peers. My freshman year I decided to join the girls soccer team. I was a little hesitant as I was the only Glandorf girl on the team, but after the first week of practice, I met some of my best friends I have today. Although I didn’t get much playing time, I always tried my hardest, gave it my all, and was a leader on and off the field.
“‘You have no passion. You are not going to make it… I can say to you that the state championship is a month and a day away…”’ (Wojnarowski 227). This what Coach Bob Hurley said to his somewhat deflated St. Anthony Friars in The Miracle of St. Anthony. The Friars were undefeated at this point in the season but there seemed to be a lack of energy in the team with the New Jersey State Championship looming. Because of this, Hurley would give a speech that would bring the team back together for an undefeated championship season. I could relate to this because this summer my sailing team was in a similar situation with the Maine State Championship Regatta just a few weeks a away. My coach gave a very similar speech to Hurley’s which also brought our team together. As a result the team did very well in the state championship.
That day, I met a group of 13 boys, out of shape, lacking fundamentals, but willing to learn. I, along with a few other former teammates, understood that we needed to push these kids to their physical limits, and ran them until we felt tired. The other coaches I worked with were both around the same age as me, but all came from different schools, granting us a multitude of drills to guarantee sure the kids advanced as fast as possible. Although our viewpoints on how to manage the team may have differed at times, we had the same common goal, making these boys better at baseball. However, through drilling younger kids and teaching them the basic fundamentals, I also learned some valuable
That day, I met a group of 13 boys, out of shape, lacking fundamentals, but willing to learn. I, along with a few other former teammates, understood that we needed to push these kids to their physical limits, and ran them until we felt tired. The other coaches I worked with were both around the same age as me, but all came from different schools, granting us a multitude of drills to guarantee sure the kids advanced as fast as possible. Although our viewpoints on how to manage the team may have differed at times, we had the same common goal, making these boys better at baseball. However, through drilling younger kids and teaching them fundamentals, I also learned some valuable
After our teams 1st lost, I was expecting our girls to come ready to learn and be motivated to try harder.....this was not the case....