What Does Your Bulletin Board Say?

I had one of those "ah-ha" moments the other day when I went to a sports facility I have never visited before. When we walked in there was a whole wall of pictures, newspaper articles, awards, posters, and all sorts of other memorabilia. I should point out the owner of this facility was a high level athlete who has won her share of awards, set records, and achieved all sorts of things as an athlete and a coach in her given sport. I knew of her background before I walked in and what I found so fascinating is not one of her personal awards or her personal athletic achievements were posted on her wall. The only pictures of her were with her athletes and there was not one single photo of her "in action" playing her sport. I thought about this for quite a while and really tried to figure out what this said to me as a parent, as a former coach, and what it might say to the athlete who walks through those doors.

From a parent's perspective, I love her wall/bulletin board. It shows the coach is coaching for all the right reasons. She is in it for the athletes and not for her own glory or recognition. It shows she genuinely cares about her athletes and they care about her in return. It gave me the impression she works to build relationships with her athletes and values those relationships. Sure, the newspaper articles highlight her coaching abilities (and they should be pointed out) because she deserves accolades for those too. It told me a lot about her as a person and a coach just by looking at the things posted on the wall.

Now, let's take the opposite scenario. You walk into a facility and all you see on their bulletin board/wall are things about the owner. Their personal achievements are on display, photos of themselves, awards they have received, and very little, if anything, about the athletes. I look at that and think, "Wow! What a great athlete!" It would not tell me if he/she is a good coach because we all know being a great athlete does not mean you are a great coach. It wouldn't tell me if he/she cares about the kids and if it is reciprocated. It might actually give off the impression the kids are simply used as a tool to feed their own ego. It would not scream, "I am in this for the athletes."

I suppose your perspective as a coach would be influenced by your own personality. I don't know about anyone else, but I have a few plastic tubs filled with my old awards, pictures, score cards, banners, and newspaper articles. If I want to visit yesteryear I can go through the tubs anytime I want to. I definitely have more coaching memorabilia than athlete memorabilia. This makes sense because my coaching career was a lot more recent than my athletic career. I have tubs of letters, cards, photos, drawings, awards, and articles from my coaching days. In my home office, I have pictures from coaching and none from when I was an athlete. I don't really have a reason why except my athlete days are so long ago I have moved on.

I cannot and will not judge another coach for putting their personal accomplishments on display for all to see. They worked hard for them. It is a matter of taking pride in your accomplishments. Some coaches may just love reliving those experiences. Others may think those accomplishments will bring all sorts of talent to the program they coach. There are those who need the ego boost that comes from seeing their achievements front and center and still there are coaches out there who simply have not been able to move on to their "post-athlete" phase in life. Every athlete reaches that point in their own time. I have a lot of respect for any athlete who stayed with their sport and became a top tier player. The only issue I ever have with a coach who was a former elite athlete is if they do not want their own athlete to beat a record they have or go farther in the sport than they did. How amazing is it when your own athlete is the one who breaks a record you hold or makes it to the next level? Proof you are outstanding in both roles!

I have found it is very difficult for current athletes to picture their coach as something other than a coach. They have trouble envisioning the adult figure as a child playing sports. My kids like looking at pictures of their coaches playing, but they still see them as "coach" and not "athlete." I know my athletes could not picture me doing gymnastics and I don't blame them. I can barely do a cartwheel anymore. I tried to stay away from the phrase, "when I was doing gym..." because it really isn't relevant to them. Kids, for the most part, think in terms of their own world. What you did ten to twenty years ago is a lovely "remember when" story, but that is all it is to them... a story.

I encourage you to take a moment and look at your bulletin board. Stand back and take a look around your office. What do you see? What does it say about you as a coach? What would it say to a parent or athlete who walks through your door? Be honest, does it say what you want it to?