Rules of being the Coach

I was going through a documentary yesterday on Netflix “The Playbook”. After having the strange week at the office, I think I needed it badly and maybe while searching for songs and some tweaks on my hand I accidentally hit on the Netflix. It seems like it was waiting for me to tell me and guide me with the Rules of being the Coach. As a coach, you do not win but you help others see in them what you see in them and pure talent.  I know my TV time has increased but my detoxing is needed and time to reflect is also required. One of the important lessons I learnt did not have victim mentality because half of the battle will be won once you learn to keep moving forward irrespective of the situation. Each coach came and told their journey and will share their rules which helped them go through a rough journey. Some of them have done what was not right but required for a team. Some had gone through tough times some had a personal attack while somebody had to go from rebuilding the team from being top and seeing their lowest. As a coach, the toughest job is to build a team that stands together in thick and thin much larger than who star player is for the bigger good of the team. Some tried ubuntu, some used hold fast stays true. But the important lesson is you cannot stay in coaching if you are being asked what you bring to the table or if the people you are coaching doesn’t value you. This was reiterated in a couple of the coaches this was one of the eminent features. As a coach you should pick the players, you want to build together to play to win the championships. It’s like making everybody wanting to be a better team player rather than an individual player. Risks are opportunities to coach your team and grow. And as I watched all the episodes, everybody had some personal issues they overcame and tough situations they faced to overcame to where they are. But realized people bet on any of these teams because people correlate in what these teams stand for. Having said that you can’t dwell at the mountain. If you have to sustain excellence its not about being the best and reinventing yourself to be the best. Mountaintops are small, and the air is thin. There is a reason why we can’t sit on our past laurels and keep on learning new things each day. As a coach, you don’t teach the best player what game they are playing but you are teaching them how to play as a team. As a coach, you may have to take harsh decisions and let go of star player for the team’s larger good. As a coach when these teams or players win you feel as if you have won.  The toughest part of the job as a coach is to build a team that has strong brotherhood and who is family but as a coach to prove yourself, you keep moving forward. When you are building the team it is like you can dive into the pool and come out, if you are not wet, you have not understood enough. As a coach, you realize you are passionate about the game but more than that you want your team or player to win. There is a strange satisfaction of being able to handle your own emotions amidst frustration and building confidence in the player or team again.  There will be moments when you as a coach you realize that you can make your biggest weakness as your biggest strength and understanding the human nature and reading body language should be your second nature. There will be many moments when you are not given due, be ready to risk. . In the coaching business, it means you are ready to risk your job if you are the best and then you deliver your best.  If you can’t create the same environment for your team then leave but it doesn’t mean that you don’t hold them responsible for their mistakes, mistakes are being shown in the mirror but you take ownership. Some of the best-talented personalities can also tank, at this time if a coach can understand them, they will play at their best. So, as a coach always be ready to help the team.