Tim Leighton Edu 470

Coaching Philosophy
My main focus as a coach will be on my athletes. This focus will be on developing them

as both an athlete and as a person. I will run practices with the mindset to win the day, but today

is not the only day that matters; tomorrow will always allow for bad practices to be overcome, for

losses to be digested and used to make each and every person better, and for everyone to have

the opportunity to succeed at anything they put their mind to. I will instill the mindset that today

is a new day and that they should reflect on their mistakes from yesterday and fix them today. I

will provide positive reinforcement to keep my players mindset in the right place, praise to keep

the players motivated, and constructive criticism to keep players knowledgable of what it takes

to get better each and every day. Everyone will play in practice, but they will have to earn their

spot to play in the game (standard 1). Nothing worthwhile is ever given to you- “If it was easy,

everyone would do it” (League of Their Own).

Something that is very important to me in terms of coaching is preparation. How am I

suppose to expect my players to go out and try their best if I don’t give my best? That is why I

will come in with a strategic plan; I will create a schedule of what we will work on throughout the

practice through strategic planning. There will always be flexibility in the schedule because if we

need to work on a skill, play, or concept, then more time must be afforded for progress to take

place. If my team understands it 100%, then we will move on to the next thing in practice

(standard 3). I will abide by all state and local regulations, making sure my team is

eligible(standard 4). As important as the sport is, is, academics comes first. If a player is

ineligible, he or she must understand that there are consequences to his/her actions. We will

speak in advance about everyone’s obligation to their teammates and to their school-the first

obligation being to achieve academic success and represent your team and school with respect

and dignity. In addition, we will all treat each other with dignity and respect. Mistakes happen,

the road to success may have a couple of bumps in the road. When someone makes a mistake,

we all must work hard to not only make up for that mistake, but to life that person up. It is my
responsibility as the coach to build an atmosphere of trust, respect, and teamwork. It is my

responsibility to lead by example and always correct a mistake without tearing down my player.

I will expect all my players to follow my lead.

Another thing I will preach is that we are family. Spending 6 days a week, grinding

together to get better everyday, it makes sense that we all must provide a support system for

each other. Dropping blood sweat and tears, we are one (standard 9). The safety and wellbeing

of my players will come first, and that goes for the physical and mental aspect. I will build

relationships with all my players, so I am able to tell if something is wrong (standard 14). If a

player has lingering injury and tries to play, I will run it by the school trainer. If the school trainer

says the athlete can play, then that player will be allowed to play. If the trainer says no, then that

player will be reevaluated the following day. If there are complications with the weather and we

cannot practice outside, I will discuss with athletic director and school board to decide if practice

should be cancelled or not. Pending on what the athletic director and the school board say, I will

revise my practice plans and we will either have off for the day, inside practice if the facilities are

open, or be in the classroom and go over plays and film (standard 15). I also will hold parent

meetings every few weeks. They will not be mandatory, but I feel that by getting to know the

parents and keeping ahead of any issues, it will help build a working relationship because it

takes a village to raise a child. I will be there for any questions or concerns they have regarding

their children (standard 9).

During the offseason, I will hold workouts twice a week. It will be mandatory to show up

unless there is a conflict or the students have another sport to play (standard 24). When people

say “It’s more than just a game,” they are not wrong. My most upsetting moments in high

school were always connected to sports. The hardest I have ever been on myself was when I

felt I failed at a goal set forth by my coaches. I say this because not only did I let myself down,

but I let my team down. Sports have given me the world. Of course my family and friends helped

me to build a solid foundation, but sports took me to another level…a level of maturity, a level of
responsibility, a level of high morality, and a level of determination. The work ethic required to

succeed in sports teaches us to fight through any adversity. I will preach this as a coach and

relay it to my players (standard 28). I take the approach that I believe best works from my senior

year high school lacrosse coach, and that is to play fast. That being said, we will play a lot of 3

vs. 2 and 2 vs 1 games in practice. I feel this benefits the athletes because it makes it easier to

grasp the concept because there will be less people playing. As the athletes continue to get

more comfortable, we will move into games where it will be the regulated number of athletes

that play at a time (standard 31). Another thing I will do with athletes is at the beginning of the

season I will have a meeting with each player, asking how they are, what their goals for the

season are, if they have any concerns and also how they have been preparing in the offseason.

At the end of the season, there will also be exit meeting. I will then talk to each player again, talk

about the season and how I think they could improve and what they should work on. My high

school lacrosse coaches have done that since I was in 9th grade. I felt it definitely helped me as

it gave me feedback on what I should work on, it also showed that my coach has been watching

throughout the year and that he is taking an interest in my potential.

Bottom line, a coach is a parent, teacher, guidance counselor, and mentor all molded

into one person. The number one quality necessary to succeed is to be committed-committed to

your players, your team, your school and your community. Secondly, you have to be

accountable. It is so easy to blame a loss on your players, when in reality, the blame always

starts and ends with the coach. I find that when a coach takes responsibility, the problem gets

fixed rather than repeated. A coach must be honest, be a good communicator and most

important, a good listener. Finally, a coach must motivate and inspire each and every player,

and this may take different approaches for each player. There is no better way to inspire your

players than for them to know you have the knowledge of the sport you coach and can take

them to where they want to go. “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a

life” (John Wooden).