“Before my last season as an athlete began, I sat outside his office conjuring a portrait of my fascinating, scowling, and unforthcoming coach, Mel Thompson. At the outset, I knew so little about him I found it bewildering. For three years, six months of the year, I saw him for three hours a day. He did not know either of my parents’ names after those three years nor anything about my personal life. He had no interest in getting to know the individual members of his team, and required of us only that we fear, respect, and obey him. The terror we felt for him was real. His powers of ridicule were considerable, and his bitterly cutting dismissals of his players could feel like acid thrown in your face.”

From My Losing Season by Pat Conroy

Pat Conroy was an award-winning author well known for his work particularly focused in the southeast United States. However, before becoming a household name for his literary abilities, he was a college basketball player. In a rare deviation from his normal topics, Conroy wrote a non-fiction book about his four years of college ball. It is one of my all-time favorite books.

There is so much to write about from Conroy’s work, but the overarching theme is that of a terrible coach. Conroy recounts so many OMG moments that it’s hard to believe that Thompson was ever allowed to coach in the first place let alone a major college team. Yet he was, and those of us in leadership roles such as head coaches, athletic directors, and so on, must be diligent to ensure that such behavior does not occur in our own situation.

Unfortunately, 50 years on from the period within this book, abuse, neglect, disinterest, and poor treatment of athletes is a continued theme in sports at all levels. There exists a general apathy for coach evaluation and observation as well as requiring coach education and development. Had an independent observer of Coach Thompson seen and heard some of the behaviors Conroy reported, interventions could have occurred, which could have benefited all. 

What’s my point? First, take time to know your players. And I mean really know them. Second, both the carrot and the stick are effective motivators. Conroy lived under the threat of the stick and his team worked through fear. But he admits that the team vastly underperformed, and the carrot would have elicited far better outcomes. Third, get independent, external feedback about your coaching. Everyone can improve, whether it be their use of language, body language, movement, organization, or some other aspect of their performance.

Check out this TED Talk from Dr. Atul Gawande on why having a coach, even when you’re already an expert, can be so beneficial.