School Teachers as Coaches

School Teachers as coaches

I have been married to a teacher for the last 25 years. I witness firsthand the tremendous pressure they work under on a day to day basis. The ridiculous “Common Core” that assumes the mantra that teachers should be robots controlled by the State dictated pre programmed written curriculum. Students should be tested continually for what they learn to determine both the teachers and students aptitude. NO!

I have spent parts of the last decade in the classroom and 21 years as a head college coach and I am here to tell you that teachers do not have it easy by any stretch. They want to teach. They are creative. They want to help the less educated see “the light.” Many many teachers are frustrated by the environment in which administrators and parents think that they should control the way teachers teach. But I digress.

Many teachers who coach youth and high school sports change dramatically when they get to coach. I am not sure whether it is because of the frustration of their jobs. Could it be they watch all these DI and pro games and simply mimic the coaches’ behavior and strategies? Might it be partly because of the pay for play mentality that parents have put so much extrinsic financial pressure on their child’s athletic journey that they want a return on their investment?

Teacher after teacher I see mismanage kids who play sports for them to such an extent that if they ever tried that in their classrooms they would be fired. The very thing that works for them in the classroom is dismissed by them as soon as they start to coach.

Teachers spend more time in class with the students who need help, not the gifted ones. They don’t yell at the students who are talking tests. Do they yell at the parents who come and question what they are doing in the classroom?

I would like to see teachers band together and reinstitute the higher moral ground in coaching that exemplifies what they do in the classroom. Then, I would like the administrators back them up and tell the parents to stop all the nonsense that has contributed to the escalation of negative stress in youth and high school sports.

I am not saying it doesn’t happen with other adults in other professions when they get the “whistle.” It does. But I am wondering why the teachers, who know a different way, a better way for the children to develop and learn, choose to ignore their training and success in the classroom.

It all starts with EPUT. Equal play under 10.That stops the angst to a very high degree. There are some fantastic opportunities to coach life skills, accountability, fun and trust with equal play that many try to dismiss. There is no data to back that up. Play for fun!