"Many people think that if you have played or participated in a sport, you are qualified to coach it. WRONG! If this were true, all students would make good teachers and all actors would make good directors."* Good coaches are made - not born, whether they are at the elite or beginning level. It takes time, education, dedication, application and evaluation to become a successful coach.

What are the Essential Competencies for a Good Coach?

Surely you would want a high level of demonstrated competence - technical knowledge and experience, learning and teaching styles, communication and relationship skill, the ability to motivate and encourage, the ability to organize, stays abreast of changes in the sport, the ability to manage and solve problems and the ability to teach the fundamentals of bowling. BUT what about honesty, moral courage, accountability and fairness? Are they important too?

Samuel Johnson, a British poet and essayist, once said, "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, but knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." And more recently, Warren Buffet stated, "In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. If they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."

"A winning coach is one that knows that every moment with that child, that student, that athlete has meaning that transcends that moment." (by Susan Patira)

"Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

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*Excerpt taken from - "SportParent Survival Guide" American Sport Education Program, Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc. 1994