Be Prepared – this motto of scouting has application in many aspects of life. Athletics is no exception. I pride myself on being prepared and I consider it a personal quality in which I excel. I have worked very hard at instilling this value in my children as well. So, it should come as no surprise that as a coach I prepare practice plans. In fact, I usually have a Plan A and a Plan B. Plan B is typically an easier version of Plan A. In the event that things are not going well at a given practice, I can shift gears without having to give it too much thought.
What I have learned over the past 7+ weeks is that when you are a coach in your inaugural season of a sport that is also in its inaugural season at your high school, the real key is to prepare to have to prepare and plan numerous times because there are so many things with which you have no control. And because it has now gotten to point where it has become comical, here is a short list of things where I concede that some one else is in control:
1. The weather – in a 3 day period in MARCH we have had 8 inches of snow and freezing rain and flooding – go with the flow.
2. The listening abilities of 14-18 year olds – no matter how many school announcements, school call out meetings or parent meetings you have – you will have at least one athlete ask if they can try-out, the day after try-outs or four days after try-outs.
3. Non-emergency medical procedures – while I will admit that 2 weeks before the first competition is better than 1 week before the first competition, it is still problematic when attempting to meet the minimum 10 practices in 12 calendars days requirement.
4. And did I mention that the 10-minimum practice rule was a requirement, not a suggestion?!
Okay, perhaps that last one I could have had more control over. I guess I should not have scheduled a competition on calendar day 12. Now I know better for next year.
2 replies on “Prepare and Plan and then prepare to plan again!”
great blogs. amazing how siblings can be so different at some things. Like planning and being prepared compared to just winging it. keep up the blogs, I enjoy reading them.
Ang, I love your writing! Of course I won the competition of drying the least amount of dishes. Your incites into the coaching world are spot on and made me say, “yeah, she is right about that!” Especially loved the practice plan A and practice plan B. I struggled as a head coach early on knowing when to move away from plan A because it was not going well. Keep up the good work!