The Revolution In American Education “Top Twenty Teachers” Chapter 15 Top 20 Coaches By: Ramiro Daniel, Leticia Chavez and Jacqueline Padilla

Success = Good Results + Good Ride Top 20 Coaches are always aware of the Ride and keeping a watchful eye on how a team operates. Awareness of how participants conduct themselves when they are not participating.

Basic Change Model Typical Bottom 80 responses are to change nothing, change what we do or blame. These are things that keep coaches awake in the middle of the night. Three Rights: R = R+ Some times, coaches might be right, but there is always more to the story. Read the Story of Tom and the basketball team. His judgment and lack of curiosity created an embarrassing experience for him and a disappointing experience for his team.

Paradigm Shifts: Seeing Things Differently The ability to ask others how they see it is a valuable tool. However, this tool is rarely used by coaches. Top 20 coaches ask for help. They know that no two people think alike and have the same perspective. Openness, humility and willingness allows one to see more and make a positive difference.

Life Looks Different: Top 20 coaches are aware of their thinking, especially in a battle. They are wary of their thinking and decision making when they go below the line. This is important when game officials and players’ parents are present in a game. Read the True Tales about Willow and Tom Decisions Become Messes Coaches get many invitations to go below the line. Tom cleaned up some of the mess after the officials gave him a technical foul, filed a compliant with the state league office. However, years later, some people still base their opinion of Tom on below the line.

Communicating “You Matter” A student’s name, voice and sense of belonging are vital in the classroom including in any co-curricular activity. Top 20 leaders need to be sensitive of how they treat each student. Some players will get preferential treatment when it comes to playing, awards, or media attention. Every student’s name and voice must be honored to ensure that they have an equal feeling of worth and belonging.

Messages from the Circumference: Many coaches are not aware of the impact of their messages toward students. What we intend to communicate may be very different from the impact of our message. Read the True tales about Willow’s team. For example: If a drama director rolls her eyes at a high school actor during a rehearsal, that message immediately becomes a Not-Good-Enough Belief. Throwing his hands into the air in disgust Gestures and facial expressions

The Bamboo Tree: Persistence Coaches need to persistently use encouraging words because so many negatives messages exist in a student’s world. Tops 20 coaches know that persistence will pay off Continued belief will eventually produce positive results

Help Others Succeed: This life skill is probably even more teachable outside the classroom than inside. One important lesson to teach students is how to help teammates succeed. After a game, coaches or team members will point out positive things about the game and individual achievements. Top 20 coaches will take it a step higher by asking students to provide him/her with an example of how one of the members helped another teammate succeed in the game.

Honor the Absent: Nothing is more harmful to the emotional safety of a group than the dishonoring of its absent members. Dishonoring Example: “Tim’s gone again…third time this month. Obviously he doesn’t care about this team.” Honoring Example: “Tim’s gone again…third time this month. I’ll give him a call and see if he’s okay.”

Coaches have a unique advantage over teachers when it comes to teaching young people about listening and focus levels. Example: Students might not want to be in a math class, but they probably attend basketball practice by choice. Once a young person has discovered the pitfalls of Life on My Mind, Judgmental, Distracted and Processing, this awareness can make a great difference on his concentration, focus, and ultimately his performance. Coaches should utilize the rainouts, late buses, and awkward gym times to teach Listen to Understand concept to young people.

Youngsters involved in co-curricular activities constantly fail or make mistakes. They miss shots in basketball, commit errors in baseball, etc. A coach’s response in these situations is powerful, especially because these are public events. A pat on the back or supportive comment will help deal with mistakes more productively.

Participating in debate, tennis or mock trial will most certainly challenge young people and provide confusing situations for them. We must learn to celebrate confusion as a learning process. We must encourage them, by saying, “It’s okay. You just don’t get it yet. The only way to get it is to keep going.”

Learning In the Moment and After the Fact Young people learn, make connections and get insights in different ways. Some participants need just one or two repetitions to learn; others may require numerous repetitions. What’s in it for me ? STAR Qualities! Star qualities are those powerful intangibles that help us deal effectively with life’s challenges. Persistence, teamwork, optimism, self motivation.

Top 20 leaders know when a tornado watch is in effect. o After a tough loss, especially if controversial officials’ calls were involved. o After a game where many players did not have the opportunity to participate. o After one player is acknowledged with media attention or an all conference award. o During a pre-season or post season meeting with parents. It is vital to take the necessary time to deal with these situations head on.

Above or Below the Line Resolution requires our best thinking, not our worst. Therefore, we will often be more effective if we deal with the conflict later when we are Above the Line rather than now when we are Below the Line. Number one key is effective communication with parents. When coaches monitor themselves and behave in a way that expresses positive values, they set up successful future next time experiences with officials.

Becoming Aware of our Power To Make Choices: As coaches, if we pause between the hit and the reaction, we are more likely to insert what we truly value into the situation and get better results.

Top 20 Coaches young and old need to seek continual improvement, both personally and professionally. Kaizen is what distinguishes great coaches from good coaches. Humility is the first step to kaizen. Being curious and wanting to grow personally and professionally. “Strive for Excellence”