Types of Coaches Classification

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky once said, “I wasn’t naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that’s the way I’ll be as a coach.” He had his own ideas of what a coach should be. Different coaches have different styles, and they must be able to work with the different types of athletes or whomever they coach. The “Aloof”

The aloof coach thinks hangs back and doesn’t interact much with his team. This type of coach has no interest in being anyone’s friend. One of my own coaches was aloof. She stayed back to the side and coached from a distance, most of the time anyway. She was reserved but incredibly effective. We won many competitions with this coaching style. An aloof coach can remain distant to maintain authority or to be superior over everyone. One such coach with an overly-developed superiority complex is Bobby Petrino, a college football coach. He was called “a man who clearly thought of himself before anyone else” which caused him to be fired after a three year stint as head coach at University of Arkansas. This aloof, arrogant form of coaching obviously didn’t work out too well for Mr. Petrino. The “Lets Everyone Walk All Over Her”

Some coaches do not have any control over their athletes. The coach simply allows the athletes to do as they please without any repercussions. Some are even afraid of their athletes and don’t stand up to them. I had a coach who would never stand up to me, and she never raised her voice at me. I have no respect for people who do not know how to control those of whom they are in charge. She never told me what to do. No one improved at all that year because she was the same way with all of the athletes. The “Pretends to Know What She Is Talking About”

The worst type of coach ever: the coach that doesn’t know what she is talking about but still tries to tell people what to do even when the athletes know more than she does. I had practices where I would stand there and stare at the coach thinking, “Do you even know what you are saying right now because you’re not fooling anyone.” I could have choreographed a dance better than she did because I actually understand what the judges are looking for. She tried to pass herself off as someone who actually has the authority to be coaching a dance team, but I didn’t see past any of it. Coaches should understand the sport they coach, and she definitely didn’t. This type of coach immediately gets angrily defensive when her methods are questioned by anyone. She knows that she is far from being an expert and tries to scare anyone out of calling her out on it. The “Friend”

The friend coach is a friend to all of his or her athletes. He is caring and fun to be around. However, this is where the friend divides into two different categories. Some friend type coaches want to be the athlete’s “bff” and maintain no authority over their athletes. This type cares too much whether or not the athletes like them and not enough about if he is actually doing his job. One of my friends experienced this in a cheer coach. The coach herself had graduated from the same school for which she was coaching only a few years prior. She still worried too much about what the cheerleaders thought about her instead of keeping the necessary professional distance between herself and the girls. Other friend type coaches are mature enough to maintain a healthy coach-athlete relationship while still having authority. This coach is trustworthy and has an interest in the lives of the athletes outside of the sport. Two of my absolute favorite coaches had this relationship with my teammates and me.

A dance coach who I had for years was wonderful. She laughed and joked, but still made sure that everyone got done what needed to be done. In the middle of the season when the routines didn’t look so hot, she was strict and ruthless. She wasn’t trying to be a best friend. A dive coach I had stayed back during practice and did exactly what was in his job description- he coached. However, if anyone had a problem outside of practice that had nothing to do with diving, he was there without fail every single time. This man was and is someone I still trust completely. He made me a good diver and a good person. Olympic gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel were both coached by their own fathers, Valeri and Andy respectively. This trusting relationship worked well for both of them. Chellsie was the world all-around champion in 2005, beating Liukin by .001 points, and Nastia was the Olympic all-around champion in 2008. Chellsie’s youngest sister Skyler is also coached by her dad. Andy is a coach who is a friend. Chellsie left her old coach after being an alternate on the 2004 Olympic team, so her dad could train her in the gym he owns.

The relationship between coach and athlete is vital to success. This is why a coach must also be caring and trustworthy. Coaches need to be someone who an athlete has a positive relationship with because an unhealthy relationship can be detrimental to the athlete’s career. The type of coach athletes have can make or break them. It is important that the athlete has the best type of coach for how the athlete learns. Some people need to be yelled at to be motivated. Others will shut down if they receive harsh criticism such as this. Some athletes need to be allowed to “do their own thing” so to speak. Others need an overinvolved coach who is with them every single step of the way. Vital is the relationship between coach and athlete. Arguing and not being able to see from the other person’s point of view does not work. It causes the athlete to get worse and worse. Success is every athlete’s goal, and this can only be accomplished with the right coach.