Good Coaching Starts At Home

I spent a couple of days watching practice rounds at The Masters in Augusta. I like that because you see the players when they’re not in full “game” mode. The thing that always impresses me is how “cool” they are on the course, in their play and their attitude.

Tiger Woods is a shining example. He’s never in a hurry, facial expressions change little, and just plain in control of his emotions.

I’m a fairly easy going guy, but golf frustrates me more than any other sport. It’s a mental thing. That ball seems to lay there laughing at me. The more frustrated I get, the worse I play.

Do you remember how early in his career Tiger, as great as he was, grimaced, stalked after missed shots and grumbled on the course? It was his mother who called him on the carpet for his unsportsmanlike attitude. His mother, mind you. She told him that he was embarrassing the family with his actions, and that if he couldn’t behave himself, she wasn’t going to let him play. What we see now is a mature, determined athlete who has learned to discipline himself and the results are obvious.

Our first, and maybe most important coaches, live right there with us in our own home. But, as the line in the 80’s song says, “Guilty feet have got no rhythm”.

As parents or coaches, however, we can’t expect our athletes to learn something we can’t do ourselves.