A Coaches Impact: from a Youth Players Perspective

Written By Aubrey Mclin

I know from personal experience the impact a coach can make in a student-athlete’s life and athletic career. Being a multi sport athlete and playing in different leagues and levels of sports, my journey has been met with quite a few coaches. I personally believe this has provided me with an advantage that has greatly increased my understanding, comprehending, and mastering of the concepts and skills that I have been taught. It has also allowed me to be exposed to different coaching approaches, styles of play, communication, and core values. Not every coach has the same effect on every athlete. I definitely learned what style of coaching I connect with the most. I also have the beginning understanding of what tools and approaches I want to incorporate in my style of coaching as I get older and start my own career path. I’ve known for a while that I want to play professionally and recently have fallen in love coaching and being behind the scenes of the sport. 

The relationship that exists between a coach and an athlete plays such a critical role in a youth and student athlete’s development on and off the pitch. Beyond the highs and lows of trainings, games, and the season, coaches have an opportunity to play an influential role in the development of an athlete. I’ve learned so many valuable lessons from my coaches and trainers. Many of these lessons shaped who I am today as an athlete, individual, teammate, etc... Successful coaches are mentors, motivators, demonstrators, supporters, advisers, fact finders, and even sounding boards. They help athletes to develop a healthy mindset, raise self-esteem, and show their appreciation for hard work and effort. Successful coaching is about helping athletes see their strengths and standing up again in the face of defeat, they challenge you, and all this provides life-long benefits on and off the pitch. 

When you think about the statistic that, “A coach will impact more people in one year than the average person will in an entire lifetime,” you realize just how big the role of a coach plays in an athlete’s life and their athletic journey. Successful coaching can impact a very large pool of athletes but on the flip side, the negative effects a bad coach can have on the development of an athlete can also be great in numbers. I think many coaches do not realize the influence they have on the mental health of athletes, especially younger athletes. I think everyone knows at least one person who quit a sport or changed teams or clubs because of a bad coach. 

I’ve been fortunate to have had a few exceptional coaches. I've also had a few that while their intention, effort, and support were appreciated, they didn't provide the enthusiasm, the connection, or challenge I think some of us competitive athletes are looking for in a coach. I have had experience with negative, toxic coaching as well and it took someone else’s observation to help me realize the damage it was doing to me. To me, this was more concerning than having a coach who has favorites not based on performance but for other reasons or a coach who is weak on strategies and motivating. It’s worse, because you don’t see what’s happening at first so it breaks down self-esteem and makes you question your abilities. Even though I had written a couple of articles regarding the importance of providing more support for student-athletes and felt more self-aware, I didn't immediately recognize what was going on. It took another coach witnessing my coach’s poor behavior and him encouraging me to make a change that helped me realize how toxic the situation had been. When I walked away and made a change, everything improved - most importantly, my mental health. I think, especially in younger athletes, you want to impress your coach so badly and depending on the team, their rankings, and the exposure that team gets so you tend to dismiss or are more willing to overlook what is more important in the long run - your mental health and lasting in the sport you love. Looking back and watching footage of games when I had this coach, I can see hesitancy and lack of confidence in my performances. As much as this experience was unpleasant, it did demonstrate to me fully the effects a coach has on an athlete’s mentality and performance. And I have worked hard to focus on the positive outcome of that experience. It lead to me get to know the coach that came to my rescue better and I’ve been training with him ever since. He recently allowed me to use him as sounding board when I was trying to figure out the next step in my soccer career. 

While I'm still young and will come across many more coaches, I’m taking note of key coaching elements. Witnessing firsthand what successful coaching is and is not.  I'm learning and experiencing the benefits associated when a coach creates a strong coach-athlete relationship. Understanding the characteristics of a bad coach; coaching for all the wrong reasons, winning is everything, playing favorites, disrespecting players, etc…. These experiences are valuable in the development of what my coaching philosophies, goals, and program will look like when I’m older. For now, when I help coach younger players, my focus is on fostering a love and enthusiasm for the game so they keep coming back for more and develop a lifelong love and habit for physical activity.  A motto as an athlete on my WPSL team and that I carry with me is, joy not job. When a coach fosters this mentality and recognizes joy comes from using the athlete’s and team’s potential to learn, grow, and develop, it keeps you moving forward, not backward. I think this is one of the most important life lessons I learned while growing up on the pitch and it’s due to successful coaching.