Coach to Coach: Coaching Staff Self-Improvement from the Inside-Out

Self-evaluation can be incredibly important for professional development, yet so often we make evaluation sterile, boring, and too driven by numbers. I will not focus on that type of evaluation for several reasons, not the least of which is that you probably already have a way to do that type of evaluation or have easy access to such an evaluation by performing a quick internet search.

I’m going to propose a different type of self-evaluation, one that I believe is superior to the typical self-evaluation. This type of self-assessment may seem scary because it is short on assessment and long on improvement, but hopefully that is viewed as a good thing.

The reason behind this form of assessment is that it places the burden for assessment and improvement where it belongs – on the individual. Yes, there is a time and place for assessment from the outside, but among adult coaches, I think by far the best professional development is driven from one’s own desire to get better, which is a common attribute among football coaches. Often the best we can do is to create an expectation that constant improvement is expected, and then get out of the way. It is honorable to let smart, individual professionals find their own source of motivation and path to improvement.

Setting the Stage

The best type of change, indeed I would argue the only type of change, comes from the inside-out. Therefore, coaches should understand that each staff member will be in charge of his own evaluation and improvement. Thus, all self-assessment of weaknesses will be self-driven. The only piece driven by the outside is that the head coach should set a tone of high, open expectations. A high, open expectation is a high expectation without a specific goal or ceiling. Setting high, open expectations is as simple as saying, “Look, if you are on this staff, I expect great things from you. I expect that you have a strong personal desire to improve constantly, and I expect you have high personal expectations. I don’t want to set a ceiling on how high you should aim, so please, expect greatness and get to work on it. What you do to be great is up to you.”

The final step of setting the stage is to communicate that each coach is expected to keep the rest of the staff up to date on his progress. What is he learning? How is he growing? How can the other coaches help him? How can the staff and team benefit from his improvement?

The Assessment

The assessment is simple. Each staff member should choose an aspect of coaching he wants to improve. There is no need to do any detailed analysis or measurement of weaknesses. Spare the time and frustration of going in depth to quantify weaknesses. It’s unnecessary for the task at hand, which is getting better, or perhaps more accurately worded, getting as good as one can be in one aspect of coaching.

How many areas of focus should one choose? Just one. One area of focus per year is enough because it creates the necessary laser-like focus on one key aspect of coaching. Also, when we get better in one area it has a systematic effect. The improvement in one area of coaching makes us better in other areas too.

The Project

After choosing an area to improve, each staff member should choose a project aimed at making him a better coach in his chosen area of improvement. It could be reading, doing interviews with players or veteran successful coaches, running player leadership training, creating a chart, creating a curriculum manual, attending clinics....whatever is motivating to the individual and makes sense for his area of improvement. Unlike the area of focus, which should be singular, the project can have multiple components if desired. In fact, coaches should feel free to create ambitious projects that may exceed what can be accomplished reasonably. Remember, the reason for the project is improvement, not goal achievement. The purpose of the project is to get better whether that involves one action or many. Figure out what needs to be done in order to get better and get after it.

Ongoing Improvement

Each coach should share his improvement with the rest of the staff, and hopefully with the team, or at least some team members, such as his position group. Other than the actions that create improvement, sharing is the most important part of the plan. It’s important because it is a display of the inner drive of the coach: I chose my own plan for improvement, and I am getting after it with enthusiasm. I see coaches do this all the time through face to face meetings, texts, emails, and phone calls. There is no right or wrong way to do it as long as it gets done.

Sharing with others is essential for three main reasons. First, part of the improvement process is to help others understand what we are doing so that they may buy into it themselves. We cannot force improvement on others, but by showing them our own improvement, we invite them to do the same. Second, when we show enthusiasm, others will share their own enthusiasm with us, and they may have great ideas that could be beneficial to our own self-improvement projects. Their feedback and ideas are often critical to making the next leap and going beyond current levels of knowledge or performance. Remember what we teach our players about the power of a team: Together Each Achieves More. This applies to the coaching staff as well. Third, knowledge gained within a staff should be shared so that the common knowledge of the staff grows. We can each have our areas of expertise, but being on the same page is beneficial too.

In looking at this type of self-assessment and improvement, notice that this is exactly the type of improvement coaches want out of players too. Sure, most coaches are willing to provide structure and discipline when needed, but don’t we all want our players to be self-motivated, creative, and organized? We need to model that same type of desire and action for our own plans of improvement. Players should look to us and see that greatness is a process that is driven from the inside-out. It cannot be forced, mandated, or legislated. True greatness only comes from within. s

About the Author: Dr. Jared Wood has been an educator for the past 19 years and a coach and sport psychology consultant for the past 14 years. He recently completed and published a sport psychology training manual for players and coaches called “It’s Only Cold On One Sideline.” Visit his website 1sideline.com to find free articles and training plans or to purchase the manual and other training materials. Dr. Wood can be contacted at jaredwood@mac.com or 248-535-5358. Follow him on Twitter: @1sideline & @woodjared.