Coaching Philosophy

As I grow up and become an inspiring physical educator, each day I realize more and more that athletics is a big part of my life and define who I am as a person. My ultimate goal is to coach young athletes and lead them towards success as individual in the sports they encounter and in life as general, also grow into a team player. Coaching is not an easy job especially reaching out to your athletes and guiding them to their full potential. I personally want to take on this challenge because nothing that is worth doing comes easily. Athletics and physical education is thought to be linked to each other but athletics is more competitive and this is something that I enjoy.  I believe that through athletics students will understand the concepts of: giving 100 % effort all the time, teamwork/chemistry and sportsmanship.

            “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going,” this is a quote that I believe represents giving 100% all the time. As an individual you must never give up even when things are not going in your favor. Athletics can be very competitive and there is always a better team or individual. If you work hard and focus on improving you will be successful in the end no matter whom you go up against. Players who train all year long will become their opponents’ worst fear. It takes countless hours of training to become a prodigy in a sport. Training when you must at practice is expected, training on your off time shows what your true character is. Dedication like this is a very admirable attribute. When you’re losing and they’re a few seconds left on the clock, or a few points to the game is over, how deep will you dig to pull through and be successful. As the coach I will influence my players to keep going and to never toss their towel in. I experience many situations that I thought I had lost due to the bad start I had, but giving it 100% all the time, I grew strong and won my matches.

            Athletic teams that are successful demonstrate great teamwork. Every player brings something to the plate to make the dish complete. Teamwork is about working together as one group to achieve one common goal. Teamwork goes beyond the individual accomplishments. All-star individuals are not necessarily team players and can lead to the downfall of their group. A coach must make sure their players work together and each person has an equal distribution on the team. A team player is the one who steps up when the other players are having a rough day. Team chemistry involves mutual feelings of loyalty and empathy for one another. Spending time together is a key factor in the development of team chemistry. Team travel, particularly overnight, has always been great for bonding. Kids have great fun sharing an adventure, eating together, learning more about one another and getting closer. There is nothing like camaraderie based on shared experiences and memories. I will take my athletes out to dinner to bond with them outside of their sport. This will bring us all together with a family mentality. We will be willing to do anything for one another of us. As a coach I am obligated to take advantage of anything that will promote common experiences and an understanding and appreciation for one’s teammates.

            The last factor that means a lot to me in athletics is sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is a main component regarding morality in sport, composed of three related and perhaps overlapping concepts: fair play, sportsmanship and character. Sportsmanship is a word that is hard to put a definition to. This is going beyond what is expected of an opponent. I will make sure my teammates always shake hands if they win or lose. This shows respect for the opposing team. Athletes always get very competitive and everyone wants to win. Losing can cause hard feelings and remorse between ones self but it does not and should not make you disrespect an opposing team. If you lose to them, you should have more respect for them for defeating you. My athletes will not be sore losers. This refers to one who does not take defeat well, whereas a good sport means being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser.”

            Overall, athletics play a big part of my career because I want to be a well recognized coach for winning and for my character and the character my teammates show. I will make sure of this by the concepts that I believe in which are giving 100 % all the time, teamwork/chemistry and sportsmanship.

Sportsmanship..Astonishing Moment

How many of you had a dream in a sport but an injury crushed it, or could have.  Well I myself had a dream to play in the county finals for my high school volleyball season but an injury stopped it. In my semi finals match I dove for a ball and fractured my growth plate in my shoulder. This is a day that I will never forget. I stood on the sidelines in such agony because of my shoulder. I was in a pitiful mood because I played every game of the season except the one I had dreamed about. What if you saw someone else get injured, but you were capable of helping him/her through it to achieve their goal and make a life time memory. Sarah Tucholsky was a college softball player who played for Western Oregon. She was short in stature and never hit for power. She was a line drive hitter and never hit a homerun in her whole career. It was not until April 26^th, 2008 when she finally hit her first homerun, a three-run shot that put her team up on top in a playoff game. As she was rounding first base, something terrible happened. She missed the bag so she had to go back to touch it. As she pivoted to go back to the back, she fell to the ground and tore her ACL. Her dream of hitting a home run wouldn't count if she did not finish a complete circuit around the base. The rule was that no one from her team was able to assist her in doing this. If anyone touched her from her team, the homerun would be overruled. Her team did not want to take this away from her. They all stood there in hope. She had to make it around the bases by herself. This was impossible because she was a long way from home in screeching pain. The opposing team Central Washington, Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace asked the umpire if they could carry her around the bases. The umpire said that this is actually allowed. Why would an opposing team do this for their competition during a game that if they lose, they would be eliminated. Holtman and Wallace, not only demonstrated such sportsmanship, the aspirations or ethics that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors, but made Tucholskys’ life long dream come true. The homerun counted and the Western Oregon team had defeated CWU.  Holtman was the homerun leader of her Central Washington team, while Tucholskys never hit one in her whole career. As their end of the year game of the sport they loved, they shared this opportunity of such athletic achievement. Tucholsky was a part time starter because her team had such depth. Previous to the homerun she sent out of the stadium, she only had 3 hits out of her 34 at-bats this season. This moment will never be forgotten in sports. Today, it seems like everyone is playing to win and the mentality is winning is everything. In this case, winning was not everything for Holtman and Wallace. These two players wanted to make a difference in Tucholskys life. She will never forget how an opposing team helped her achieve her goal and how it actually affected them because CWU lost their postseason appearance. This video is very touching to me. I watched it over and over because this is something I can relate to. I hate when there are no refs in a game and your opponent calls a ball that was an out just to get that point that gives them the advantage. This is not who I am, I live to play and win the game fair. Sportsmanship is rarely seen these days because everyone just wants the glory of achievement and winning. I would rather impact someone’s life forever and demonstrate a passion for the game rather than have the glory of winning a game and watching a players dream get washed away as easily as if it was written in the sand.  What would you do in this situation?  “Character is who you really are, reputation is just what other people think you are”