Coaching Karate Athletes

"Always remember the tremendous power you have as a coach to help anotherhuman being maximize their potential; pursue this awesome responsibility dailywith intensity and integrity."--  Henry Schiller

It is also important for young athletes to recognize that there are many styles of coaching and teaching. Some coaches ask that athletes just do what they are told to do. Some coaches never tell athletes what to do; they want athletes to be able to think about why they should make one choice over another. Some coaches yell and are psychologically abusive. Others are quiet and subdued. How a coach gets an athlete to perform to his or her potential varies considerably and varies as within gender as well as between genders. Often coaches will use different methods with different athletes because different personalities respond to different teaching methods. What is important for athletes to understand is that other than teaching methods demonstrating basic respect for the individual, there is no one right way to coach or teach.

 

What a coach should Be

A coach plays an extremely important role in the development of a young athlete. Everything that a coach says and does have the potential to leave deep and lasting impressions on an athlete. It is the sincere hope of every coach that the impressions that we leave be of a positive, meaningful nature. Therefore, it is important that we recognize that this is not always the case. As coaches, we must carefully weigh our words and actions so as not to negatively influence the athletes with whom we work.

A coach and an athlete spend a great deal of time together. The coach and the athlete share many emotional experiences that can lead to the formation of a strong bond between the two. This bond carries with it a great responsibility. The coach must carefully nurture this bond and establish a strong sense of trust and respect while tempering the bond with a high degree of professionalism.

The bond that forms between a male coach and a female athlete carries with it special considerations that cannot be irgnored. Coaching a female athlete is a much more emotional process than coaching a male athlete. These emotions can be both extremely challenging and extremely rewarding for the coach. I have heard it said that the coach sometimes becomes more like the mother, the father, the brother, the sister, the grandparents, the teacher, the counselor, the psychologist, the nutritionist, and the friend of the athlete than the coach. The bond that develops between a male coach and a female athlete can grow to be a very strong relationship of trust, respect, admiration, and sometimes deep affection.

Consequently, it is important that the coach never lose sight of the professional nature of this bond. A coach must be careful not to fall into the trap of misinterpreting his relationship with his athletes. Under absolutely no circumstances can a coach interpret this relationship as one of physical attraction or love. The coach must never cross the line that separates coaching from courtship. When a coach becomes romantically involved with an athlete, he violates not only the coach/athlete bond but also the law. When this bond is violated, the coach places his athletes in the face of great danger and severe, long-lasting emotional and physical harm. The coach exposes himself, as well, to a series of dire consequences that could very seriously damage his future and his livlihood. With a little cool, logical thinking, it is easy to see that the trust and respect that grow between a male coach and a female athlete cannot and must not be violated.

If the bond is carefully nurtured with professionalism and the welfare of the athlete kept in mind, the bond will grow into a lifelong bond of friendship. The coach will enjoy the strong bonds and relationships that he has established with his young athletes long after he has retired from the sport that he loves.

 

Old School vs. New School Coaching Styles
A debate is raging in the coaching profession concerning the treatment of athletes. Coaching styles are at the forefront of the argument as administrators, coaches, psychologists, parents, and the athletes themselves try to agree on which style is best to practice.

Expectations dictate that the athlete should be able to adjust to any coaching style and perform accordingly. Failure to do so is blamed on the athlete and is considered a form of weakness on the part of that individual. Often, the athlete will quit the activity to avoid confrontation with the coach, effectively defeating the purpose of coaching, which is to help the athlete grow as a player and as a person. This behavior is prevalent in all sports arenas and crosses all boundaries of age, ethnicity, and gender.