Choosing a coach for your child

A coach has a huge impact on an athlete’s life. If the athlete is a child, chances are that he listens more to his coach than to his own parents. Choosing the right coach with a right attitude for those early sporting days for your child is extremely important. The coach will have visible effects on not only to your child’s sporting skills, but his overall personality. He will teach your child on how to be a good human being. So, what are the qualities which we should watch out for in a coach, what are the must haves? Let me give a few pointers for parents to help them take that decision.

According to me, when starting a sport there are three qualities which a good coach must possess-

1) Walks the talk

Your child will look up to his coach for almost everything. The way he talks, behaves, plays, eats, drinks, everything. For the child, his coach is nothing less than a superhero. If I want my student to follow something, I do not always say it to him. I just do it myself and the child learns. A coach has to lead by example. Values like discipline, commitment, punctuality, modesty, compassion are all the qualities which a child will learn best if he sees his coach following them. These life lessons will stay with the child forever.

As a parent, whenever you see a coach, try to observe his body language. Observe how he trains his students. Is he energetic? If he has that aura around him where he tends to attract kids, then go for the coach. The vibes which you get from the coach are going to be very similar to the vibes you will soon get from your own child after he starts training. 

2) Simple and effective style of teaching

There is no formula in sports. Two plus two may not be four. Also, every coach has his own unique style of teaching which makes him stand out and special. But if the coach can break the lessons into easy tangible steps, child learns the basics very well thus paving the way for a brighter future in that sport. That’s a coach’s job- to make difficult lesson easy for the child. If at any point, child feels that the sport is too complicated or difficult, he will start loosing interest. This is not as simple as it sounds. But a good coach with all his experience knows how to do it. Having easy tangible lessons will make learning for your child even more fun filled. To keep the child engaged, learning has to be made interesting and fun filled.

A good coach should also encourage the students to ask questions and take feedback.

3) Gives personal attention

We all love attention. So do kids. For a child, a coach asking him a small question about his day means a world to him. I always get that priceless smile from my kids when I notice something special and ask them about it.

Giving personal attention also involves being observant. I recently had a brief chat with my 6 year old daughter’s gymnastics coach. The batch has about 40 kids of similar age group. As a matter of fact, the gymnastics sir is not even teaching the juniors, he is busy training the older students who go for competitions. His assistants train the toddlers. But despite this fact, the coach briefed me about the weak areas where we need to focus on, in my daughter’s physique. How did the coach notice all of that among so many students? This is what we call the ‘Coaches eye’. Usually coaches who teach beginners have many students enrolled in a batch. But at the same time they have that experience and sharp observation to know unique qualities of each and every child. If the coach observes his children keenly- he is the coach to opt for.

Coach should be an ex player?

I come up with this discussion among fellow coaches a lot.

Is the coach better at coaching if he has been an ex player himself? And does his ranking as a player have any effect on his coaching success?

All students (and even parents) are fascinated watching the coach play the sport himself. They idealize the coach for his success. For the student, coach is always the number one player who knows it all. He is usually awestruck when he sees his coach perform himself on the field and can be a great source of inspiration. Having competitive experience is a useful virtue a coach can have. Such a coach knows exactly about tactics, pressures etc. involved in a match and can guide his students on the basis of his own experiences. But is it a pre requisite for being a good coach? 

If a coach has played or continues to play at a competitive level does not necessarily make him a great coach. There are numerous examples in various sports where top ranked players were not so successful in their coaching careers. Also, players who were not higher ranked turned out to produce some amazing players. Coaching and playing are different ball games and require different set of skills. Hence co relating both aspects may always not work.

Some coaches continue to play competitive even while coaching (Professional or Masters Categories). Coaching being a full time profession, if the coach is involved in playing competitive- it may distract him from his coaching commitments.

An ideal coach

So who is the ideal coach for you? Searching for an ideal coach is like searching for an ideal life partner. There is no ‘One size fits all’ in this. A coach which is good for one child may not be the best for the other. Finally it all boils down to who your child finds comfort with and a coach who can inspire him to challenge his boundaries.

Amit Gajria

Certified Squash Coach

Mumbai, India.