THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025 - COACHING AND MENTORING

Last Monday was the final game for college football (for the 2024 season), with Ohio State beating Notre Dame.  This weekend is the championship for the American Conference and the National Conference of the National Football League - with the Super Bowl in two weeks.  

Some teams have fired the old coaches - hoping to get a better season and a better record.  Of course, coaches don’t throw or run the ball; they don’t block and tackle - their players do that.  So, why are they being fired?  

Sports are a zero-sum game.  The number of wins for all teams and the number of losses are equal.  In every game - there is a winning team and a losing team.  (Some sports do allow for ties -but even then the  number of wins in a season equal to the number of loses in a season - when all is considered.  

An adage - “An army of rabbits led by a lion will defeat an army of lions led by a rabbit.  If you have a strong, motivating coach with an average team, your team will probably beat a team with a weak coach and a strong team.  

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I wasn’t a great basketball and baseball high school coach.  I think it was mostly my mindset - I was a math teacher first and foremost - and a coach because it went with the job.  In my phone interview for my first position, the superintendent asked me if I could coach.  “Sure” I said (and thinking - maybe and maybe not).  

But, over the years I think I was an excellent coach and mentor.  

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Change of gears:

In recent years the concept of Life Coach has developed.  

A life coach is a professional who helps people set and achieve goals to improve their lives. They can help with personal and professional goals, such as relationships, careers, and finances. 

What do life coaches do? (from the internet:)

• Set goals: Help clients identify what they want and create plans to achieve it 

• Provide guidance: Offer questions, exercises, and accountability to help clients identify positive changes 

• Build self-awareness: Help clients reflect on their progress and identify their strengths and weaknesses 

• Improve decision-making: Help clients make informed decisions and build healthier decision-making abilities 

• Provide motivation: Help clients stay motivated and overcome bad habits 

• Help with transitions: Help clients navigate major life transitions, such as pivoting industries or finding fulfillment in a passion project 

A life coach isn’t all that different from a football (or other sport) coach - with the big exception being life coaches generally do this on a one-to-one basis. 

Example:  Derm was a good student, good social and interactive skills.  We talked frequently.  He had a great internship with a major insurance company.  When I was in the area, we had coffee and talked.  He was ready to move up.  Should he take a lateral move in the same company - at no change in pay - or wait for something else.  I suggested taking the lateral move within the company - but in a different state.  

He did, and within two years had been promoted within that company, and in four years was hired by another company at a higher pay.  (And, also married a girl in that area, and now is also a Dad to two great sons.)

Example 2: Lauren was a quiet introverted student, but a good student.  Not the head of her class, but solid in her knowledge.  Her people skills were not strong (yet).  Getting her internship was interesting.  Not many companies wanted her because of her weaknesses in social skills.  We found her an unpaid internship - and she flourished.  After that internship, she stayed with the non-profit organization, and eventually moved up the ranks to being a manager.  

I visited as many interns as I could (for summer interns).  I thought it was important to the student to have his or her coach (professor) visit and have a presentation on what they were doing and let the employers give feedback.  

Getting the internship is frequently the first step in getting a job.  For the companies, it is a “try before you buy” relationship.  If it wasn’t a good arrangement, the employers could smile at the end of the summer, shake the interns hand and say “We wish the best”.  If it was a good situation, the employers had tried out a new employee without having to deal with the paperwork of officially hiring them.  Many of those internships went on to mid to upper management.

I (we) grew relationships.  If I called an employer and said, “Hey, John Doe is a good student.  I think he would be fantastic in your environment.” the employer generally trusted my judgement. Likewise, if I said, “Hey, John Doe is a good student, but I don’t think he is ideal for you.” they also listened to me. (I didn’t do that frequently.  

Going back to the traits of a life coach:

(Review): Set goals: Provide guidance: Build self-awareness: Improve decision-making: Provide motivation: Help with transitions 

Coaches do that - both sports and life coaches.  To me, helping another person become happy and successful was as important as it was for me to be happy and successful.

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Coaching is LOVE.  (And we know that LOVE wins)

Coaching can help and can help TRANSFORM the student (the client) to become “all they can be” (which was an old army slogan).

Karen Anne White, January 23, 2025