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In my previous post on Marva Collins, I mentioned that she will make an outstanding sports coach. The reason is because I believe the same education principles apply in coaching sports.

Barriers to sporting achievements are predominantly self-imposed. Who thinks that Mark Spitz’s haul of seven Olympic Gold medals will never be broken? Certainly not Michael Phelps.

Coaches play an integral part in the development of an athlete’s confidence and beliefs. In fact, other than the athlete’s own self belief, nothing is more important than the coach’s belief in his charges.

Empowering beliefs are like the wings to an athlete or team, giving them the confidence towards a pre-ordained breakthrough performance in the future. However, disempowering beliefs, spoken or unspoken, is akin to an invisible cage; it will limit the potential of an athlete.

Every one of us has a potential waiting to be tapped upon. In sports, it often requires the mentorship of a coach to unleash that potential.

As a sports coach, are you having difficulty coaching your team? Do you feel demoralized and have little motivation in coaching?

Granted, not everyone gets presented a platter. Some people do get it lucky and inherit a team of disciplined and talented players. They have their own challenge – how do I overcome complacency and motivate a team that to strive for greater heights every new season?

That is why I feel Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s quote hits the nail on the head.

No matter who we are coaching, we have to coach with the belief that no matter what their skill level is at now, as long as they work hard and train under your prescribed methods, they will become the champions eventually. If you do not believe that your charges could win a championship one day, why even coach them?

You may think it is okie to coach a team when you do not believe they can win championships. Let me tell you this - It will do more harm if you continue to coach; the team may progress thinking they will never ever win a championship.

Coaching a team to realize their fullest potential and win games, to win championships is what a coach lives for.

And to me the greatest satisfaction of coaching a team comes not from coaching a already good team to win, it comes from coaching the underdogs to win. Nothing beats the satisfaction of winning the overwhelming favorite, and I thrived on it.

Not all of us will inherit teams that are reigning champions. The question is then not who you are coaching but how you are coaching.

No matter who or which team you are coaching, there are always three different scenarios.

1) If you coach the team as they are, they will never achieve their fullest potential.
2) If you coach the team as they should be, but you do not believe that can happen, they still will not believe they can achieve it.
3) It is only when you coach the team as they should be, and you believe with every single fiber of your soul that they can be what they should be, they will become the team you envisioned.