Dear Athlete,

You may feel tempted to close your ears. Depending on your experience, you know a coach who has overstayed their welcome in your life, or who has not used, or worse yet, abused their opportunity to guide you. On the other hand, you may not think you need a coach. Hang in there, because whatever your idea of coaching may be, I want to encourage you.

Will you consider me your coach for this moment in time?

Yes, I’m a coach, one who is imperfect and wrestling with her own list of improvements. I’m a coach who wants to help you do better today than you did yesterday. I’m a coach who expresses herself more clearly in writing than she does in the heat of a game.

I was once in your shoes, the athlete trying to make the most of every opportunity, full of more questions than answers. I now see more from the coaching end of things than I ever did as an athlete. Sure, I knew good coaching was important, but now I understand the work that goes into coaching well. It isn’t easy, and it is far too easy to cut corners. While I sometimes become tired and frustrated, I feel compelled to do the work in a way that blesses my players. As a result, I have greater respect now for my coaches than I ever had.

Ideally, this little series will serve as an outline of the gut feelings and hopes I and many coaches have when we interact with athletes. To begin, you need a strong foundation for your view of yourself. With a healthy view of yourself, you can interact with teammates, coaches, and others in a healthier way. An important aspect of healthy relationships is acknowledging our flaws and mistakes toward each other, and that includes how you handle your coaches’ mistakes. The grace you practice toward your coaches will help us have grace toward you as well. Keeping perspective, knowing who you are and how to treat people, and assuming the best of others will get you a long way.

Why write all this? For my part, I articulate better through writing than speaking. In games, I focus on the task at hand with the available personnel; I struggle to see the people around me as much as I see the goal. My scope has widened with practice, but I have a long way to go. You may recognize similar struggles in your coaches who want the best for you but don’t always know how to relay that. A look through my eyes may help you understand other perspectives, too.

Competition and training present opportunities to learn a lot about ourselves and about life, if we keep our eyes open. God willing, these posts can enlighten you in an arena that often causes us to see red.

So, Athlete, this month is for you. Let me know your thoughts, and if what I’ve shared is helpful. Sharing the link and subscribing to email notifications will help others and give you notice of upcoming posts. I want to give you a boost of encouragement, and I’d like to hear if this work is doing that!

So long for now. Thanks for reading; I look forward to sharing more time with you.

In Hope,

Coach Bekah