COACHES CORNER
Are you willing to be ‘infected’ by USAW Coaches Education?
Clinic provides passion to be better coaches and passion to share with others what they had learned
By Mike Clayton, National Coaches Education Manager Is education the sexiest part of our sport? Probably not. Is it one of the most vital parts of our sport? Absolutely. Many coaches ask why they need a copper or bronze certifi- cation to coach their athlete or child. Others wonder why they need to take a class on “coaching” when they were considered a standout “athlete.”
While it might be easy to fall into discussions on the virtues of coaches education - how it helps a coach understand different coaching styles for various age groups, solid Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) and the other skills that great coaches share outside of athletic ability - I will refrain and share an amazing story of how coach education is designed to work. We expect our young athletes to work on constant improve-
ment.
Focus on getting better each day. Learn new skills. Improve on your strengths. Fix your weaker areas. Why shouldn’t coach- es expect the same from themselves?
Coaches lead by example. Whether you are aware of this or not, our athletes look at what coaches do and take those exam- ples to heart. Do you swear or yell in your room? If so, expect that from your athletes. Do you take care of your physical health? Do you treat others with respect? Do you set goals? Do you follow the rules? Do you abide by officials’ calls or protest calls in a professional manner? Do you develop your own men- tal toughness on a daily basis? Trust me, wrestling programs reflect the values and attitudes of the head coach. At the Southern Plains Regional in Dodge City, Kan., on May 29-31, Kansas Coach Education Manager, Randy Hinderliter and I shared many stories. Randy is one of only 66 Gold Certified coaches in the USA. He has certified over 3,100 coaches at the bronze level through over 140 bronze classes. His ability to reach coaches and help them understand the value of their actions in the development of our kids is amazing. One coach that questioned the value of the bronze course is three-time NCAA All-American Shane Valdez (Oklahoma University). Shane, who works with Oklahoma Elite Wrestling Club and now runs private lessons, dreaded the idea of spend- ing several hours in a classroom and said, “Great…the biggest waste of three hours of my life. I’ve been involved in wrestling and coaching for over 24 years and now I gotta take an entire day away from my wife and kids to drive to Kansas and listen to someone talk to me about how to coach wrestling.” When Shane sat down in the class and Randy (the instructor)
started things off, he asked the group, “Why are you here?” Shane said he thought, “Because we have to be here!” After a long silence in the room, Randy spoke, “Because you have to be here. Without this certificate, you’re not able to
34 USA Wrestler
coach at the regional tournament. Therefore, you’re sitting in this classroom.” Shane thought, “Awesome! He understands and maybe we can be out of here in a half an hour.” Randy stated to the group that he intended to “infect you with a desire to be a better coach and share with others what you learn in here today. You can choose to lis- ten and participate, and I believe you will find this clinic well worth your time. Or you can choose to tune me out and not participate, and it will be a long six hours.” Shane had used similar statements to motivate his kids in practice when they were not in the right mindset, so he said he would give Randy a shot. He was interested to find out how this guy was going to “infect” him with such a passion. Shane mentions that his big takeaways from the clinic includ- ed the information on coaching principles and values. He enjoyed the stories Randy shared from his experiences as a coach that exemplified those principles and values in action. Randy spoke of stories of amazing wrestlers that nobody has heard of because they quit the sport before they reached their potential.
Clayton
There were success stories of wrestlers that didn’t win cham- pionships on the mat, but became champions in life through positive coaching. The class shared stories on how lives have been changed through kids learning dedication, perseverance, responsibility and self-confidence. They learned how often a wrestling team provides a place of refuge for kids that need an escape - a family for kids who come from rough home lives. The environment coaches create for the kids may be the only positive environment they have to look forward to each day. Shane continues to say that Randy reminded them of the true greatness of our sport, the great aspects that coaches often for- get about. Shane said, “He instilled in us the idea that we, as coaches, are the ones that can create the environment for kids to learn life skills, to grow into effective young adults and to feel responsibility toward their community.”
Shane mentions, “The value in the class was in the fact that our clinician had ‘infected’ each of us with a passion to be a bet- ter coach and a passion to share with others what we had learned in his clinic.” The USA Wrestling National Coaches Education Program (NCEP) is designed to provide and refresh coaching skills, but the motivation to seek out continued education that will benefit our programs and our kids is the true goal of the program. If you’d like to learn more about the various opportunities for developing your coach skills, visit
www.TheMat.com and click on “Coaches” and “Certifications.” Get infected!
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