Coaching Styles

[Mitchell Smith]

I always have the discussion with people about different coaching styles. Some say that coaches who yell and cuss get them motivated and they "need" that type of coaching. Some have had coaches that have never raised their voice once at their kids and have managed to get results. My argument is this. I've seen and had both types of coaches. However, I believe that the ultimate determining factor of a good coach is respect. Does he/she respect their kids and believe in them 100%? Personally, I feel disrespected if I am cussed and yelled at. Therefore I do not respond positively to that. However, I'm sure there are some coaches that have managed to yell and cuss while still being respectful... in their own sort of way.

What are y'all's thoughts on this? Do you prefer a Hard A** coach who gets in your face to motivate you, or a coach who pushes you to be the best you can be without yelling and cussing? why?

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

There is nothing, I repeat, nothing respectful about swearing at children.

I am not Mary Poppins and will admit to being stern at times, but I will never use language with kids that I would not want used with my own kid.

 

[LabbyGirlMOM]

I am not saying cursing is ok, but honestly sometimes kids need yelled at and if a coach needs to yell at Princess Hotmess then let them yell.

 

[cheernerd5678]

My coaches are a mixture of both depending on the situation, but I tend to like more of a hard a** coach. My coaches have to be hard on me when I'm tumbling or I'd be doing it with a spot my whole life. It's the only way to get me to do it myself. I'm just the kind of person who needs someone stern and all business as a coach because that's kind of how I am. Sure they may be super nice on their own time but in the gym I need them to be tough on me and my team. But understanding at the same time.
I think it depends on the situation each person is in. For example, teams I've been on haven't responded to coaches being nice all the time, so I've only achieved success with tough coaches. If you have a very determined team then I don't think the coaches have to be as tough, but in my experience it's always been necessary to keep the slackers in line.

 

[Kate081]

I think it all depends on age but swearing, especially at a child, is out of line in a gym. In my opinion, raising your voice, as long as it's justified and not every time a stunt falls, is completely ok.


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[caitlyn_the_camille]

First of all, I think stern coaches who yell a little every now and then are good. I respond well to that coaching style, and it's how I coach now (I only yell if kids are goofing off a lot or being rude.) But personally, I think cussing at a child is very cowardly, for lack of a better word. I haven't ever really played "sports" because I'm uncoordinated and slow, and I've been very blessed to have amazing, patient (Christian) cheerleading coaches who are the reason I love the sport so much today. However, I did have a rough year with a coach who for some reason really didn't like me (seriously the only time I can think of having crossed her was when I corrected her grammar once but it was a reflex I swear... anyways), and she called us a bunch of b****es once for some dumb reason I don't even remember, and all I could think was, "How childish." I seriously can't understand how football/basketball/whatever players are able to let coaches stand in their face and scream and cuss (I assume that's a thing in places besides Louisiana), and just take it. It's so easy to put down and bully someone who you have authority over. You know they can't truly defend themselves. I will forever live my life by the quote, "Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you." (In this case, those beneath you) You can't force genuine respect, and cussing at someone is no way to earn it.


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[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I have learned from teaching and counseling that you can communicate disappointment and displeasure with a kid's performance without cursing simply by altering your tone.

For example, I have heard at comps:

"You're crying and you should be because your tunbling sucked a$$ today."

It really does not take all of that to let kids know that their tumbling was subpar and unacceptable that day. You're doing the absolute most.

I also think those who swear a ton and yell at their teams in public also are really trying to portray a "tough no nonsense" coach persona to other coaches/programs, thinking that it makes them look good.

 

[Mitchell Smith]

There have been occasions where I really think yelling has been effective. However, I think that there are other ways as well. And it sounds dumb, but it really matters what you're yelling about. I'm a UGA cheerleader and I remember cheering the bowl game this year and at half time we were sharing a wall with the football team so we could hear everything. The defensive coordinator was yelling his head off, but he was yelling at them because he knows they can do better and whoever gets a turnover in the second half will get lunch on him. He wasn't yelling AT them necessarily but yelling FOR them if that makes sense.

Cussing, is unnecessary.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

I'm a stern coach that truly yells maybe a handful of times over a season. I'm more likely to cut the music mid-routine and tell you to "try it again because that looked like doodoo." If I don't like the way something looks and kids are being lazy or forgetting corrections, we just do it over and over and over again.

I reserve yelling for safety hazards that require their attention NOW or flyers being dropped because kids are goofing off and not paying attention.

ETA: I think the one thing that makes a good coach great is someone who is always ACTIVELY coaching. I watched a 10 year old softball team today where one team was clearly better. It wasn't because the kids were better, but because the coach was making corrections all over the field anytime a kid needed to improve on something. Too many coaches shift into the "we did it at practice, you should know" and forget that every moment is a learning opportunity.

 

[BRET IRVINE]

A Great coach will have multiple ways of coaching. Some people respond to positive reinforcement while other people it will take yelling, threatening etc.
My daughter shuts down and does not do well with yelling. Some kids get yelled at and it is just the drive they need.

I don't believe the kids perform for coaches they fear as much as coaches they respect


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[Twinklestars]

A Great coach will have multiple ways of coaching. Some people respond to positive reinforcement while other people it will take yelling, threatening etc.
My daughter shuts down and does not do well with yelling. Some kids get yelled at and it is just the drive they need.

I don't believe the kids perform for coaches they fear as much as coaches they respect


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My cp is the same way. You get nowhere yelling.






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[CheerBank]

The coaches at cp's first gym were all psycho screamers. No one phases her anymore after that.

I've also found that the ones who yell the loudest at the kids are the ones who do not have kids of their own.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Also consider something else:

If you're screaming your head off every single practice, YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG.

Example: If you are constantly yelling about say, motions, and have been yelling about motions since week 2, you:

1. Never taught them well from jump street.
2. Failed to correct them. You just yelled but didn't point out the correct motion. So they keep doing it wrong.
3. Don't have the respect of your kids so they keep doing it wrong and don't care.

Little secret about excessive screaming: After awhile, it really doesn't phase them. Save your vocal cords for when it is necessary (i.e. blatant safety concerns where lives/limbs are at risk.)

 

[Official OWECheer]

We got new coaches in my 7th grade year, one of them yelled sometimes (at least I think, I hardly remember her yelling), and the other lady was CRAZY. I mean when she yelled, she YELLED. A lot. We hated her, and were terrified of her. In the winter season, she left. We did better (at least mentally/emotionally) under the new coach.

 

[JMW]

I coach rec, and we practice on an indoor soccer field. The acoustics are TERRIBLE. I have to 'yell', just to be heard. I also gesture a lot - that's just the way I talk. I have learned to explain up front to the parents (who are on the other side of the glass and can't hear my words) that even though I may LOOK like a crazy woman, screaming my head off and waving my hands all over the place with my hair on fire...I'm really not.