Near the end of his historic run as the basketball coach of the UCLA Bruins, John Wooden wrote the book They Call Me Coach, one of the best-selling books by a coach in sports history. While extolling the virtues of hard work, commitment and teamwork, Wooden also discusses what it means to be a coach, concentrating on what he learned from his father about the roles of teacher and leader.
They also call me coach at Sequim High in Sequim, Washington, a small city on the Olympic Peninsula. I’m no Coach Wooden, but I am Coach Grant, a name I find appealing, especially when given with the respect my tennis players use it with. In fact, I can think of no other title I’d rather have.
What is a coach? Outside of a teacher and leader a coach is a mentor, a motivator, a role model, a mediator, a perspective giver, a communicator of values, a humorist, and even sometimes a babysitter. He or she is charged with the overall task of winning and the means to that end, even when that winning may have to be redefined in terms of reaching potential and trying their best.
If one were to think of coaches the way they are often portrayed in the media, you might envision a highly overpaid, overbearing micromanager who can sometimes morph into a sexual predator. Like any profession or role, there are good coaches and bad coaches, but the vast majority are giving, caring, individuals who are mostly overworked and underpaid (or a volunteer like myself—not paid at all).
Whether coaches toil in the boondocks or the boom towns, they are a seamless part of the fabric of their community. The need is massive: schools and leagues (youth, church, adult) in a large variety of sports all need coaches, coaches who know what they’re doing, coaches who care. Ask young adults from these towns who influenced their lives the most, and you will often hear stories about a coach.
This was certainly true of my experience. Coming like a whirlwind into my grammar school when I was in the 7th grade was the aptly named Vince Lombardo (not Lombardi, Lombardo), a social science teacher and coach who had an unmistakable imprint on my life. Beyond the fact I majored in history in college and have become a coach myself, my interests, my mannerisms, the way I deal with other men—all can be traced back to Mr. Lombardo at Corpus Christi Grammar School.
What effect am I having with my tennis guys at Sequim High? There are days when the 50 years of age difference weighs on both them and me, me of the “yes sir!” generation and them not exactly asking “how high?” when I say jump. But they know I’m concerned about their tennis and their lives, and I can see in their eyes something real is happening.
Recently when someone asked me what image best described my relationship with God, I spontaneously answered Coach, not sure exactly why I responded that way. As I thought about it, my Coach God is not only someone who loves me but also asks something of me, someone who cares but also wants me to do my best.
That’s a coach, and a coach is a high calling indeed. To help give direction, to be there during the highs and lows, to just…be there. And even though I may not be the “Wizard of Westwood” or even the “Sultan of Sequim,” I am Coach Grant, and hope to be able to live up to that lofty title.
They also call me coach at Sequim High in Sequim, Washington, a small city on the Olympic Peninsula. I’m no Coach Wooden, but I am Coach Grant, a name I find appealing, especially when given with the respect my tennis players use it with. In fact, I can think of no other title I’d rather have.
What is a coach? Outside of a teacher and leader a coach is a mentor, a motivator, a role model, a mediator, a perspective giver, a communicator of values, a humorist, and even sometimes a babysitter. He or she is charged with the overall task of winning and the means to that end, even when that winning may have to be redefined in terms of reaching potential and trying their best.
If one were to think of coaches the way they are often portrayed in the media, you might envision a highly overpaid, overbearing micromanager who can sometimes morph into a sexual predator. Like any profession or role, there are good coaches and bad coaches, but the vast majority are giving, caring, individuals who are mostly overworked and underpaid (or a volunteer like myself—not paid at all).
Whether coaches toil in the boondocks or the boom towns, they are a seamless part of the fabric of their community. The need is massive: schools and leagues (youth, church, adult) in a large variety of sports all need coaches, coaches who know what they’re doing, coaches who care. Ask young adults from these towns who influenced their lives the most, and you will often hear stories about a coach.
This was certainly true of my experience. Coming like a whirlwind into my grammar school when I was in the 7th grade was the aptly named Vince Lombardo (not Lombardi, Lombardo), a social science teacher and coach who had an unmistakable imprint on my life. Beyond the fact I majored in history in college and have become a coach myself, my interests, my mannerisms, the way I deal with other men—all can be traced back to Mr. Lombardo at Corpus Christi Grammar School.
What effect am I having with my tennis guys at Sequim High? There are days when the 50 years of age difference weighs on both them and me, me of the “yes sir!” generation and them not exactly asking “how high?” when I say jump. But they know I’m concerned about their tennis and their lives, and I can see in their eyes something real is happening.
Recently when someone asked me what image best described my relationship with God, I spontaneously answered Coach, not sure exactly why I responded that way. As I thought about it, my Coach God is not only someone who loves me but also asks something of me, someone who cares but also wants me to do my best.
That’s a coach, and a coach is a high calling indeed. To help give direction, to be there during the highs and lows, to just…be there. And even though I may not be the “Wizard of Westwood” or even the “Sultan of Sequim,” I am Coach Grant, and hope to be able to live up to that lofty title.
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