Before I started coaching full-time, to make ends meet I was teaching at a residential hospital. The students in my classroom would generally only be with me for about two weeks, so it was important to build relationships immediately. They'd receive treatment and return to their permanent living situation fairly quickly in most situations, but every so often I'd have a student for a month or more. Many of them came from tough situations, so it was natural for them to be hesitant about trusting others. However, if I failed to establish those relationships, I was never getting anything done in the classroom. Would you listen to someone you didn't connect with or respect? I wouldn't, so I couldn't expect my students to either. Therefore, I had to find ways to get my classroom running smoothly, and as quickly as possible.
Establishing a Routine
Every time I came onto "the unit", as it was called, I was the same person. No matter what my morning had been like, or whether or not my high school basketball team had gotten crushed the night before (I worked a lot of jobs back then), I'd walk in, greet the kids, chat a little bit, attend a meeting, and start prepping. Every day would be the same thing. Slight variations happen of course (we're not robots), but the overall structure remained intact. Each lesson started with expectations, a brief warmup assignment, and a few jokes. Sometimes they landed, sometimes they didn't, although one way or another everyone ended up laughing (with or at me is irrelevant). The lessons would vary, but the routine was always the same. We'd take a break about halfway through, and we'd end the lesson by sharing something we'd learned or accomplished. After a few days, everyone knew what to expect from me.
Building Trust
Once you have a routine set, building trust is easy. The kids already know what you're all about, so all you have to do from there is be authentic. Easy, right? It is, but it's also easy to fall into traps. All it takes is a quick departure from your natural disposition, and that trust is broken. Here's what I did to make sure that never happened:
No Lies: If I said something was happening, it was happening. Whether it was a reward, consequence, or just something mundane with the schedule, it happened. Kids remember everything, and nothing shatters trust quite like lying.
Connect to Expectations: Any issues in the classroom were always brought back to the list of expectations posted in the classroom. If the action violated expectations, there was a consequence.
No Looking Back: Compassion goes a long way. Once a situation was handled, it was done. We didn't revisit it. We learned the lesson and moved forward.
Growing Your Presence
With the routine in place and a general sense of trust established, it's time to grow your presence in the room. This is when you start to put your spin on things. For me, it was constant humor. I was always making jokes and poking fun at myself. I also started to add in elements that were unique to me, such as turning Fridays into game days, creating unique lessons (sometimes they were disasters), and incorporating sports into my instruction. As the teacher, you're the star of the show. Your focus is on the kids, but everyone is watching you. You are the leader. If you have a strong, positive presence, it'll go a long way.
Coaching is Teaching
So what does any of this have to do with coaching? Well, coaching is teaching. You might be working on pitch design instead of world history, but if you're providing instruction, you're teaching. My experience teaching at the hospital, though, did teach me one unique thing that I don't think is discussed enough in coaching.
We often equate coaching a team to teaching a class over the course of a year. Sports are different than the classroom though. In the classroom, there are constant chances to improve grades, and the whole thing resets every few months. Sports don't have that same luxury. If you start 0-10, nobody is offering extra credit to stack some wins. You don't get to start fresh next semester.
Coaching a team is like teaching in a hospital. You have a short amount of time to create buy-in, and the magnitude of every mistake is amplified. This is especially true if you have a short preseason. Instead of winging it and easing into the season, take the time before the preseason begins to map out what you want to accomplish, and how you plan to accomplish it. That includes how you plan to execute on the field and how you plan to build relationships. Having a plan is crucial. Without it, you will end up wasting time that you don't have. We've all been on teams that tune out the coach. That doesn't happen after 3-4 months. In most cases, it happens in a short period of time. Be the coach with a plan. Come in ready to build relationships and ready to be a leader. If you can do that, you will greatly increase your chances of success.
Comments