Are You a “Positive” Coach?

August 24, 2009 by barryk
Filed under Coach's Corner, SDL Conversations

By Kathy Toon

Being involved with youth sports, I enjoy reading articles and insights from coaches and trainers. One of my favorites is Coach Kathy Toon. I strongly recommend you visit her site. Great articles and philosophies on all aspects of sports.

Since I work with the Positive Coaching Alliance , this article by Coach Toon struck a chord.

Are You A “Positive Coach”

A seemingly simple question. Yet when asked whether he was a “positive” or a “negative” coach, one of my coaching mentors replied, “neither, rather I am an honest one”. He went on to say “I feel that the connotations for “positive” are the whole hovering helicopter parent phenomenon and the give trophies to everyone movement. The always give positive feedback movement has not been a good one for our kids.”

Now, many of you know I worked for the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) for 8 years and remain a senior trainer for the organization. My mentor’s comments made me pause. I thought back to my first introduction to PCA – an article in the SF Chronicle featuring Phil Jackson. I still remember my eyes rolling when I first read the phrase “positive coaching” and thinking that’s for little kids. I’m a college coach. Still to this day, I describe myself as a “challenging” coach vs a positive one.

Next, my curiosity drove me to Webster’s. What does the word “positive” actually mean? I discovered 17 different entries! Number 3 dealt with mind set so I started there. It reads a) “having the mind set or settled; confident; assured [a positive person] b) overconfident or dogmatic”.

Here in lies the rub. As coaches we want our athletes to be confident and assured yet not overconfident. I guess what really matters is what a coach is, not what they are called.

What kind of coach are you?

For more great informaton visit Coach Toon