XCWildcard wrote:
Why does the coach matter? More importantly, does the success or failure of a program a reflection of the coach whom leads that program? I will submit that the success of a cross-country or any athletic program is a direct reflection of the coach who leads that program.
Look at any league in the nation to see a microcosm of this issue. Within every league there are consistently programs year-in and year-out at the top and at the bottom. Consistently these positions do not change. What is the common denominator? The Coach.
Take the singlet off, walk across the street and kids are kids. The difference is in ones willingness to work harder than the other. The same could be said for the coach, give him a whistle, give him a group of equal kids and within months the "fruits of their labors" will be self evident. Effort and hard work always wins over "talent" and luck.
I would petition that teams competing at Nike Cross Nationals have great coaching. The coaches desire to win, to be the best, to accept nothing but individual excellence is paramount to the dominance locally and nationally. Take these coaches and place them on any other cellar dweller and it won't be long until that team wins. Thus why NFL, MLB, NBA, even running athletes seek out coaches to turn the tide. Likewise, take a cellar dweller coach and put them on a great team and it won't be long until they become a reflection of that coach.
A coach is either the weakest man on the team or the strongest and all those associated with his passion are extensions of his philosophy.
The question remains, are you a weak coach or a strong coach, will you instill weakness and mediocrity in your young men and woman or strength and excellence? Are you a coach who is willing to strive to be excellent in ALL things...tenure does not equal coaching knowledge or prowess.
At the end of the day, kids want to win, in the right way. Teachers teach, coaches coach. The team in last looks at the team in first and wishes that were them. The team at home watching NXN wishes they were there. Sacrifice, determination, excellence are demanded of Coaches just as they are the athletes whom they inspire. It is my declaration that there is one common denominator between teams at the bottom and teams at the top...the coach. As Marc Bloom states, It's all about the coach!
I would like to congratulate all the Amazing coaches in America and those who are striving to be great coaches, who inspire young men and women through winning state titles and national championships. Let the chatter and banter begin. It's ALL about the coach.
"It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt, 1910 speech "Man In The Arena"