Learning from Coaches of Other Sports
by Steve McGill

In another article in this month’s issue, Melinda Burris writes about the benefits of playing more than one sport, particularly for youth athletes. In this article, I want to discuss a similar topic in regard to coaching — that of learning from the coaching methods of coaches who coach sports other than track. Much of my coaching education has come from observing the habits of other coaches, regardless of the sport. While the foundational stuff for coaching sprinters and hurdlers has to come from learning from sprint and hurdle coaches, the same does not hold true for some of the bigger picture stuff, such as managing a team, helping athletes to manage their emotions, knowing when to get in an athlete’s face vs. when to give an athlete a pat on the back, etc. One conclusion I’ve come to by studying the methods of various coaches — either by direct interaction with them or reading about them or watching videos about them — is that who you are as a person must determine who you are as a coach. Trying to mimic other coaches doesn’t work. But borrowing from their methods can prove to be very effective.

The kinds of videos I gravitate toward when looking to learn from other coaches are videos in which coaches are giving technical instruction of any kind. In all sports, there are certain body mechanics and techniques that serve as the foundation for being efficient and effective in one’s movements. Because I grew up playing basketball, I still gravitate toward basketball coaches as a frame of reference. The Los Angeles Lakers have an assistant coach named Phil Handy who puts out a lot of videos on his Instagram page of him providing instruction to athletes either in a one-on-one setting or a small group setting. In these videos, he goes over things like defensive stances, where to focus the eyes when trying to dribble past a defender, how to read a defender’s feet positioning, etc. It’s not complicated stuff, but it’s detail-oriented stuff. In watching these videos, I can see how seemingly minor details can make a huge difference. And I take that lesson into my own coaching, being sure to be hyper-sensitve about body positionings and angles and postures.

Back when Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird was coaching the Indiana Pacers, I was shocked to see how his coaching demeanor differed so drastically from his playing demeanor. As a player, he was a trash-talking machine who defeated his opponents mentally before he beat them physically. But as a coach he was stoic, never showing any emotion. One time, in a playoff game, one of the Pacer players hit a huge shot to give the team the lead toward the end of the game. The crowd was going nuts, and so were the guys on the bench. But Bird just stood there on the sideline with his arms folded and his lips pursed. When asked about his non-reaction afterwards, he said that he feels it’s important that he keeps his cool in all situations so that his players will. From Bird I learned the importance of staying level-headed emotionally. Still, I do get excited when an athlete does a really good rep, so I’ll let my excitement out in such situations. But I’ll never do so just to make the athlete feel good. It’ll always be a genuine reaction to the progress they’re making.

Another coach I follow closely is actually a former student of mine, Stephon McQueen, whom I taught way back in 1996 when I first moved to Raleigh from southeastern Pennsylvania. Stephon played football and basketball in high school, and was really good at both. Nowadays he coaches youth athletes and high school athletes in his training program, where he teaches a lot of fundamental skills. A lot of his athletes have gone on to earn college scholarships. He goes by the name Coach GoHard, which is a reflection of his personality. He really pushes his kids and is constantly barking at them during practice sessions. But it’s obvious that these kids are willing to run through a wall for him, and that his constant barking isn’t him getting on them, but encouraging them. But he does get on them when they don’t do a drill right or have a lapse in concentration. To me, it seems he strikes the perfect balance between love and fear. His athletes not only respect his knowledge and his dedication, but also his commitment to their success. When athletes know that you care about them as people, they’re willing to do whatever you ask of them. 

Probably the person outside of the sport who has done the most to influence me in my coaching is Cesar Milan, commonly known as the “dog whisperer.” He’s had reality shows of different names on Nat Geo since the mid-2000’s, the latest of which is Better Humans, Better Dogs. I don’t even own a dog, so I watch the show to observe Cesar’s techniques not only in getting dogs to behave, but, more importantly, in getting dog owner’s to become better “pack leaders,” to use his phrase. Cesar constantly tells the owners that they must be “calm-assertive” in getting their dogs to respect boundaries and to eliminate unacceptable behaviors, such as jumping on people, attacking other dogs, etc. So, when I’m watching the show, I view it as Cesar being the coach of the coaches, so to speak. “Calm” and “assertive” are words that aren’t put together very often. In most cases, people are either calm or they’re assertive. But in Cesar’s world, it’s not only possible to be calm and assertive, but essential. 

Meanwhile, though Cesar is big on giving hugs and high-fives to dog owners when they successfully complete a challenge, he is not shy about giving them challenges that are very demanding. He’ll walk five or six dogs together at one time and then hand the leashes to the dog owner and say, “Now you do it.” By pushing them out of their comfort zone, he forces them to face their fears, and to ultimately overcome them.  Cesar is also not afraid to delve into the owners’ personal lives if that’s where the underlying issues can be found. 

So I’ve learned a lot from Cesar when it comes to managing people, managing emotions, knowing when to push, knowing when to applaud, knowing when to sit back and watch, knowing when to step in and guide, etc. 

Acquiring knowledge of the sport (or event, in the case of the hurdles) is really the easy part. But learning how to deal with people as people and bring out their potential by using a variety of methods is, to me, where the art of coaching truly lies.