#49: 10 Lessons for Young Coaches & Leaders

David tells us his 10 main lessons for young coaches and leaders on this weeks episode. All this advice has come from David’s personal experience in his career as a young coach.

The 10 most important coaching and leadership lessons I have learned as a young coach. For every single one of these, I have learned “the hard way”:

1. You must create separation between yourself and your players. If you do not create boundaries they will view you as a friend and you won’t be able to command the respect necessary to lead.

2. While every player must be treated fairly, each player needs something completely different. Its the job of a coach to figure out how to get the most out of each player.

3. You cannot implement new rules/standards mid-season. Do everything you can to set the guidelines upfront. Be extremely detailed and do not hesitate to enforce.

4. Never underestimate the power of sending a kid home or kicking him off the team. I know its harsh, but sometimes it sends a necessary message.

5. When making gametime decisions, go with your gut. Theres a reason you’re coaching/leading at a high level. Go with your gut and trust you made the best decision with the info you had. You’ll never have regrets…

6. People will perceive you by the way your team behaves in the dugout and off the field. DO NOT lose control of the team and ensure they carry themselves with class.

7. Almost every player will go pro in something other than sports. If you fail to teach life lessons/skills which can be applied to other areas of life, you are failing as a coach.

8. Character is SOOO much more important than talent. Its FAR more enjoyable and fulfilling when coaching kids of high character who appreciate the work you put in. Recruit and look for hard working, high character kids and stay away from the talent trap.

9. Delegate everything you can possibly delegate & try to surround yourself with coaches smarter than you.

10. Be relentlessly positive! Its super challenging, but as a leader you must be an absolute rock. Bring positive energy everyday and your kids will love you.

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