Random Thoughts on Coaching

Jim Kielbaso

I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do what I do.  I get to work with a lot of great athletes, a lot of no-so-great athletes who are great people, a lot of great trainers and a lot of great coaches.  I get to speak to a lot of coaches about speed development, strength training and that kind of thing, and what always thrills me is knowing that those coaches are going to go back and influence hundreds of kids.  If I speak to a room of 100 coaches, and they take just one thing I taught back to just 20 kids, that’s 2000 kids who end up benefitting (hopefully).  That’s what this is all about – having an impact on young athletes. 

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the job that youth and high school coaches do because they have the opportunity to influence more people than just about anyone else in the world.  Sure, there are people like Tony Robbins who speak to hundreds of thousands of people, but there aren’t too many of those guys around.  There are, however, coaches in every community who are looked up to by a lot of kids and who have the opportunity to make a positive impact on a lot of lives. 

I think back to some of the coaches I had growing up.  Some were fantastic and helped shape me as a person.  Some were awful and made me want to quit certain sports.  Some were able to say something important to me at the perfect time.  Others missed opportunities to say something important when it would have really mattered.  I remember all of that.  The bottom line, though, is that these people have the opportunity to really influence young people, and the importance of that responsibility cannot be understated.

This week, I had the honor of working with the Detroit Lions a little.  As bad as the Lion’s record has been over the past few seasons, these guys really are doing some good things.  They have a terrific staff, great athletes, and their strength & conditioning coaches, Jason Arapoff and Malcolm Blacken, do a fantastic job.  They are incredibly well organized, they have the respect of the athletes, and they get every guy on the team to work hard.  Like all strength coaches, they are only a small part of the puzzle, but they take their jobs very seriously and are very impressive. 

I was only responsible for teaching and implementing a speed development station as part of their overall workout, but it was an experience that made me think a lot about how those athletes got to that level.  Every one of them have had numerous coaches, but their little league and high school coaches were probably among the most influential for many of them.  The first person to take a kid under their wing is often one of the most influential in a person’s life. 

That’s a big responsibility, and I think a lot of coaches don’t understand it or take it seriously enough.  Many coaches don’t want that responsibility and shy away from it.  But, keep in mind that the kids need it and they kind of expect it.  Shying away is basically turning your back on a kid, and it can be damaging. 

Unfortunately, a lot of talented athletes are treated differently than other kids.  They are allowed to get away with things, allowed to not work 100%, allowed to act a little differently, allowed to say things they probably shouldn’t say, and overall allowed to coast.  Once that happens, a potentially great athlete (or great person) is marginalized because they are not taught basic lessons about hard work and humility.  This is a tragedy that happens all the time.

Working with the Lions, I could easily pick out guys who probably had someone push them at some point in their lives versus guys who were probably talented at a very young age and always got by on God-given ability.  I spoke with one of the coaches about this, and he commented that he sees the same things, and that the guys with the most talent often don’t make it as far as they should because they don’t have the desire or work ethic to maximize their potential.  He mentioned that the guys who are a little less talented seem to pass the others by because they’ve learned how to work harder throughout their lives.

You often see talented athletes with poor work ethic.  You also see a lot of less-talented athletes with great work ethic.  I hear coaches all the time saying “I wish we could put the work ethic of Johnny in the body of Joe” or something like that.  When you put the two together, you often have a very special athlete. 

I am in no way saying that a lot of the Lions had poor work ethic.  On the contrary, just about every one of them were there to work and they wanted the coaching tips because they want to be better.  They were working very hard.  It just got me thinking about how lucky they are to be there and how many guys never get there, often times because of attitude or work-ethic issues rather than ability.  It also got me thinking how youth, high school and college coaches can have such a great impact on guys like this and can help them reach their potential.

When you’re working with younger athletes, you never really know which one is going to rise to the top, so it’s important to reach as many of them as possible.  When you see a kid with talent who is already displaying signs of a poor attitude, remember that we can make a difference.  Maybe you’ll be that coach who said something that made a difference.  Maybe you’ll be the coach who didn’t take the time to say something and missed a perfect opportunity to change a kid’s life. 

We can’t take little things for granted.  We can’t let poor behavior go un-checked.  We have a responsibility to speak up, to confront a kid, and to make a difference.  We, as coaches, really have the opportunity to change the world one kid at a time, and that’s a responsibility we all need to embrace.