Uneducated coaches

I have the unique opportunity to coach as my full-time profession. As a result, I put a lot of effort into improving my abilities and knowledge. So, it will come as no surprise that when I have the chance to work in a high school or college wrestling room, travel to an international competition or spend time at the Olympic Training Center, I do my best to soak in as much as I can in hopes of becoming a better coach. Being globally connected in the wrestling world has allowed me to see major differences between the United States and the rest of the world in how we handle sports and coaches.

Our sports systems are drastically different than the European way. Our community identity is in high school sports. They're a part of our public education and create friendly competition amongst kids and adults. I read a book in college that claimed one of the main reason we haven't had a Civil War in recent years is because of high school sports. We settle conflicts on the high school football field whereas countries that don't have this outlet resort to killing each other.

In Europe, sports and school are separated completely. Thinking only about the sport, I can't say which system I am in favor of more, but when it comes to offering students another form of education, I like the American system. However, we're beginning to see a decline in youth sports across America and face an obesity epidemic. So, are we doing well enough to be satisfied with what we're doing?

I'm drifting off course, but I think coaches education has a lot to do with retention and the overall health of our youth athletes. In Russia, for example, they won't let an adult come close to an athlete without an advanced degree in coaching. I'm not talking about a teacher who can coach. Many Europeans universities offer coaching as a major. In fact, a lot of elite international athletes are students at universities earning their degree in coaching.

Our system is starting to fail us at the grassroots level (decline in numbers, etc.) and at the elite levels. In 2008, the United States was shaken by the lack of performance at the Olympic Games. Sure, we won the overall medal count, but sports that were traditionally dominated by Americans weren't in Beijing. There are many theories, but I think it comes down to coaching.

When I return from a major international competition like the World Championships, one of the most common questions has to do with why the Russian wrestling team dominates so much. The Russians chuckle at our training routines and American mindset: train harder and win more. They come from a school of thought that says train more efficiently and train smarter and win more. It's simple, it comes down to coaching. It's not about running more sprints than the other team or taking less water breaks, it's about understanding how to get the most out of each athlete and that takes education and application.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we require every coach to possess a college degree in coaching. However, I do think it's appropriate to expect coaches to be educated on basic human physiological ideas like stretching, strength training and basic periodized training so athletes "peak" at the proper time. I understand that we're not looking for six year old athletes to peak, but we are looking for them to advance and progress at normal rates and most coaches need some light shed in that direction.

What can we do in the United States? I'm not sure. It might not be something that we can control. However, we can start one coach at a time. If you're reading this, are you a certified coach (with any certification program)? Have you considered networking with other coaches to discuss how to get better as a coach? Are you thinking about what each athlete needs to perform his/her best at the most important times of the season? Do you have a self-evaluation in place to assure that you're doing things correctly? These are the types of questions you need to be asking yourself to continually improve as a coach.

What are you doing about educating yourself? Take advantage of the educational opportunities that are available. You might have an athlete that could be the next Olympic champion, or an individual who might invent something that could "save the world," it's imperative that you're cultivating that person properly.