Track and Field: Managing Athletes and Personalities

 Track and Field

Managing Athletes and Personalities

    I first started track and field in 5th grade. Once I did that there was no looking back, really. All these years later, I am coaching more than I train and participate, although I still am able to throw some with my athletes, most of my track and field training is done alone, so I am more in teacher mode when I am with them. What I have learned as a head coach of a high school team is that you get a lot of kids with a lot of different personalities and motivations. Being a successful coach means you have to first figure out what defines your measure of success. That is a constant evolutionary process as you go from season to season. Even more so when you are building a program to reflect your point of view and methods within the world of track and field. 

    Do I have a formula for explaining how I manage such a large number of athletes, all with different personalities and tendencies? No, I do not have the formula for that, at least not yet. However I do have some advice based on things I have learned as a coach and teacher. The first thing that comes to mind is to have flexibility. High school athletes, or any athletes for that matter, do not fit into a rigid box or mold that you create. You have to have a vision in mind that holds true to its core values and then grows and evolves with those that you work with. 

    Everyone comes to the table with at least a slightly different vision or idea of what they want. What I view my job as, as a coach, is to learn what each athlete wants and help them find their spot in my vision for the team and the season. Often times this involves being flexible, other times it involves setting boundaries that the athletes must learn not to cross. Just like students, athletes are learning constantly about what they are doing and how their team works. The coach has a job to teach them about the sport and the dynamics of a team. 

    I often times find my athlete approach me more and more about problems in life off the field, as well as on the field. Track and field does not exist in a vacuum where that is the only thing that is operating. The athletes often need to learn to navigate life along with sports and school. We are creating more knowledgeable and disciplined people that need guidance in how to manage and multitask as they push through this endeavor we call sport. Sometimes I have athletes with grade problems. Sometimes I have athletes with social problems. Other times, I may have problems on the track and I have to advise them on how to take care of life while tackling a challenge on the track. It is complex, and it is a continuum. There are a range of skills and situations that we will encounter every day.

    The other thing I notice is that the athletes look to the coach for leadership. Leadership is necessary to make an effective team. There is not one style of leadership, you just have to do what reflects your style of teaching, sharing, and leading. Leadership is kind of an amorphous concept that does not follow one mold. There are many ways a person can be a good leader. Along with being flexible is also being aware. Awareness will bring knowledge and ideas of what is needed to be done. The other part is follow-through. Follow through means you are completing the tasks that need to be done to lead the team.

    If there was a grand explanation or equation that could be taught, or at least one that I have figured out, I would probably be writing a book on it and presenting workshops on it. I think it is a base set of principles that you consider and then you go from there. There is a lot to be considered when coaching track and field, but it is best to boil it down to some basic concepts to start with and then expand from there. Managing athletes and getting them to believe in the vision of the team you are creating, that requires discipline and simplicity. You build to foundation with simple concepts and then build up from there. it is what we do in martial arts as well. We begin with basics and build from there. There is something to be said for that.