Editor’s note: A great piece by Hall of Fame pitcher Mark Smith, “Why Good Coaching Matters”. I had a chance to see Mark compete in his prime, circa 1981; never saw anyone throw the ball harder or intimidate batters more. When he was coacing the Canadian men’s team, I also saw that same fierce competitiveness at work. Just as he was as a player, he was dedicated, and willing to put in the time necessary to achieve success. There is much players, and other coaches can learn from him and his approach to coaching.
Excerpt below, read the entire piece here
Mark Smith – Softball
WHY GOOD COACHING MATTERS
As the expression goes, “if I had ten cents for every time I’ve heard someone questioning a coaching decision I’d be rich”. In truth however that is a question I am often asked about coaching decisions and it provides an opportunity not only to discuss that question, but also to talk about why good coaching is important. Coaching is an extremely challenging responsibility and the older and more competitive the age group the greater the challenge. Wins and losses tend to be the most common criteria used to assess coaching effectiveness and in high performance environments, success is the primary measuring stick, but have you ever wondered beyond that criteria what makes a good coach?
Imagine for a moment the responsibility of being a coach. Coaches take on a variety of roles such as administrator, mentor, friend, role model, technical expert, taxi, babysitter, psychologist, and the list goes on. But perhaps the most important role a coach takes on is to develop young people. Sport can be an incredibly powerful vehicle for teaching young people many life skills and it is the coach who creates that environment and facilitates those life lessons through a variety of sport experiences. As a young athlete playing my favourite summer sport I was one of the players who got to play a lot, but in the winter time when I played other sports that wasn’t always the case. I remember my father helping me to understand that on a team everyone has a role to play and that by understanding how roles on teams work I then had a better understanding of how those other kids who played on my summer sport team felt when they weren’t getting to play as much as they would have liked..
Thanks Mark for being the coach you are.
I had the privilege of playing against Mark in the 90s and always had the most respect for him as a person and a opposing pitcher , I pitched against him on a number of occasions , he was and always be a class act in my eyes .
thanks for the memories Mark