Coaching and Teaching: Lessons from Athletics (#1)

As I reflect on my experiences as an adolescent, I've realized that some of my most formative moments have come from the sports I played. Some of the most important and inspirational lessons I have learned and shape who I am today come from coaches and the experience of participating on a team. As I watch sports and competition today, I love seeing those athletes and coaches whose passion for the process of winning and greatness is palpable. The great ones who sustain their greatness love the process of training, learning, and competing.

Recently, the last 23 members of the US Men's National Team have been announced. On ESPN, there has been a documentary of their process to select the final team. When athletes make it to this level, they want to represent their country, so the competition is fierce. Here are some of the lessons that stood out:

• Sacrificing your individuality for something greater than yourself. 
• When the players needed to push themselves during conditioning, they thought of their family, their teammates, their nation. These things pushed them to another level.
• The importance of competition.
• Coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, has infused a high degree of competition in the camp, whereby nobody can feel comfortable with their spot on the final roster. Everyone needs to feel pushed to compete at the highest level. In this competitive environment, the team has the best chance for success.
• This is an interesting type of competition because all of these athletes at the camp are pulling for each other, but at the same time, they need the competitive instinct to try to be better than their peer. 
• "It's not about yesterday and what you did. It's about today and how you deliver tomorrow." - Jurgen Klinsmann
• "You go through rough times, but those rough times are what set you up for something greater." - Jozy Altidore

These values and ethics that can be learned from the process of competing in athletics are invaluable life lessons, and there are direct connections to teaching and learning. We want students to learn to collaborate towards a shared goal. We want students to strive to be great. We want students to find their strengths and maximize them, and identify their weaknesses and improve them. We want students to have healthy and fair experiences with competition where they learn to win or lose with honor and respect. We want students to be able to pick themselves up after a defeat, learn from their mistakes, and push on to continued growth. I cannot list all of the valuable lessons embedded in athletics, but for athletes, having this competitive space with a passionate coach can be priceless.

Here is a link that gives more information about the Inside US Soccer Series. And, here is a video introducing the series: