By Dan Cardone
Ever wonder how your student-athletes feel about their coaches? Have you ever solicited their feedback on their athletic experience? Dan Cardone, Athletics Director at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., did. He also took it a step further and produced a video of their responses, which he shared with AthleticManagement.com. To view the video, visit our video library and click "Student-Athlete Perspectives." To learn more about how Cardone's video project, keep reading.
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I believe there are three major ingredients to having a successful athletic program—coaches, athletes, and parents. They are the main cogs in the wheel that is high school athletics. This is not necessarily the case at the collegiate level. While coaches and athletes interact almost on a daily basis, parents are further removed from the equation and are less involved than they were when their children were younger.
Having a knowledgeable and experience coaching staff is extremely important. The first video we generated at North Hills enlisted our coaches to answer this key question: “What do I do well as a coach?” We were excited about how they approached coaching and used a variety of strategies to accomplish their goals. (To view this video, visit our video library and click "What I do well.")
The willing cooperation of parents and their understanding of what it takes to participate in sports is another key. It is our desire to produce another video that will allow parents to be a part of this undertaking. They provide a great deal to high school athletics—not only their support, but their time and money.
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of involvement in interscholastic athletics is the athlete. These young people are sandwiched between two adult groups, their coaches and parents. They hear messages from both groups that are somewhat similar in nature regarding commitment and dedication to their sport. However, there are times when the feedback they receive is conflicting.
Toward that end, it is my hope to capture the perspective of the student-athletes at North Hills and share that viewpoint with both parents and coaches. We assembled former and current athletes who were asked to weigh in on four questions:
Questions:
1. What did you learn from participating in sports?
2. What impact have coaches had on you as a player and as a person?
3. What qualities should good coaches possess, and what things should coaches avoid doing?
4. What advice would you give to those coaching the athlete?
The athletes we chose were selected because they demonstrated leadership qualities that were above the norm. We involved both male and female student-athletes. Some have gone on to become coaches themselves. What we found was that they provided insight into what is to be gained from being a part of a sports team. They were also asked to relate what impact coaches have had on them, what qualities good coaches possess, and what advice they would give to those coaching athletes today. I think you will be impressed with what they have to say.
RESOURCE
Click here to read an article by Cardone about communicating with student-athletes.
Dan Cardone is Athletic Director at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. He is a frequent contributor to Athletic Management.