General

Some coaches are well-meaning but may not have the skills, temperament or personality to be good coaches.   They are easy to spot.  Less easy to identify are the coaches who appear to know what they are doing but are still bad coaches.  In particular, there are three kinds of coaches to watch out for: the drill sergeant, the entrepreneur, and the loose cannon.Te

He looks for signs of trouble with athletes or parents and comes up with ways to nip the problem in the bud. He genuinely listens to what players and parents say and tries to meet their needs if possible. By listening, a good coach can better relate to his players and understand the true reason for a player's behavior, whether it is slacking off during practice or not performing to her ability in games.

Patience and self-control are essential in teaching kids new skills, coaching games, and dealing with parents and officials.

Not all male athletes benefit from a certain (i.e. male) coaching style, nor do all female athletes respond better to a kinder, gentler, nicer coaching style. Different athletes respond in different ways, depending on who they are, what their goals are, and what motivates them. A sign of a good coach is that he knows how to tap into those differences and adjust accordingly while avoiding the reinforcement of culturally-based gender stereotypes.

All too often coaches do not clearly understand child development  or the role it plays in youths sports.

While youth sports coaches come in all shapes and sizes, the good ones share ten characteristics.

It is a myth that a good athlete automatically makes a good coach. "Unfortunately, there's still sort of this belief when it comes to sports that if you've played it, you can coach it, and if you've played it really well, you'll be a really good coach," observes Karen Partlow, National Director of American Sports Education Program, one of the country's best-known training programs for coaches and administrators.