Kiara Maldonado

Coaching Philosophy

My coaching philosophy is to provide guidance to athletes through sacrifice, respect, and

love in order for individuals to achieve their full potential, and success.

I want to coach because I have a passion for people. I seek to make a difference in the

lives of individuals. I take this passion, and add it to one of the things I treasure most, athletics.

Coaching is a bridge for me to make a difference, while guiding others to achieve their full

potential. Coaching gives me the opportunity to mentor, teach, and model what an exemplary

citizen looks like, while sharing a love for the sport. Coaching also allows me to instill critical

values such as teamwork, dedication, commitment, respect, sacrifice, and a hard work ethic into

the athletes I am responsible for. To be a coach is to be highly rewarded. The love that I pour

onto my athletes, that is shown through appreciation and support, drives their sacrifice of time,

energy and effort. Likewise, my athlete’s love for the sport, and their willingness to learn, drives

my sacrifice, respect, and love for what I do. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing an

athlete flourish, and grow under your guidance. My main goal as a coach is to guide athletes to

reach their full potential and success. Being able to be a part of this process is priceless.

I would describe my coaching style to be mostly democratic, but also autocratic when the

circumstance demands it. I believe that a democratic coaching style best integrates with the NYS

Athletic Framework of civility, character, and citizenship, while an autocratic coaching style best

accommodates the competence aspect. With a democratic coaching style, I am able to guide my

athletes into making correct decisions for themselves. This allows them to partake in leadership

roles which are important for building character, civility, and citizenship amongst their team

members and later in life. With an autocratic coaching style, I am able to instruct students on
how specifically to perform an action. This relates to competence when focusing on skill

development, and fitness/ conditioning. This style is also beneficial to civility because it teaches

respect and how to respond to authority.

Ultimately, I believe that my passion for athletes and sport is unmatched. I know that my

respect for the sport, athletes, officials, and opposing coaches, along with my love, through

caring and kindness, has made me/ will make me successfull coach.