Be the Best Coach You Can Be.  Good coaches take many different forms. A perfect coaching model simply does not exist. Just like many great players come equipped with different sets of abilities and attributes, many great coaches have used very different styles and approaches to find equal measures of success. No coach is perfect, and each one will make many mistakes along the way. The key is to learn from your mistakes and continually strive to become the best coach that you can be.

Remember That You Are Coaching a Game.  Regardless of the level at which you are coaching, remember that it is still a game. By their very nature, games should be fun. Too many coaches lose sight of this simple fact in their pursuit of winning at all costs. You must find the appropriate balance between player development, finding success and having fun. If the coach is not having fun, then the players likely will not be having fun either. As a coach, your attitude is contagious among your players. Make sure you are staying positive, and your team will too.

Coaching a team is one of the most demanding and rewarding jobs you will ever attempt. Along the way, you will experience a wide range of emotions from exasperation to exhilaration, and everything in between. Beyond the highs and lows from game to game and season to season, you will have the opportunity to play an influential role in the development of your players, both athletically and in their “off the field” lives as well. Many of the lessons you teach your players will stay with them for the rest of their lives. (Ohio University, 2016)

​​Interested in becoming an Evergreen Coach?  Please contact the sports director for the sport you are interested in.  Click Here for contact information for EAA board members.

Student athletes should be relieved to learn that, according to researchers at the Brown Center on Education Policy, a commitment to school sports does not have to translate into compromised academic performance. Although these students often feel substantial pressure to perform both on the field and in the classroom, the benefits of athletic endeavors seem to counterbalance the challenges they present. Nevertheless, many youth athletes become increasingly stressed as they strive to maintain academic eligibility while advancing through their school years.

Time Management

In a 2005 analysis of stress levels in college athletes, Dr. Gregory Wilson and Dr. Mary Pritchard reported that time management factors were a significant source of academic-related stress. Many student athletes expressed concern over having insufficient time to study for exams and write term papers. Team travel was also cited as a stress factor because of missed classes and assignments.

Some student athletes, however, seem to thrive on the pressure caused by tight schedules. During her senior year at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, field hockey player Leah Ferenc reflected on the role athletics play in academic achievement. “Most of my peers believe that they perform at a higher academic level while participating in their sport and have felt more organized and motivated during their seasons to do well academically. I am more successful at completing my assignments during the season, because I know that I only have a certain amount of time to do so.”

Cognitive Function

Children and adolescents who pursue sports activities have been shown to exhibit more active brain function, better concentration levels and classroom behavior and higher self-esteem than their less-active counterparts. Understandably, all of these factors seem to support better academic performance. In 2002, the California Department of Education examined whether any correlation existed between standardized test scores and results from a state-mandated physical fitness exam. In its analysis of data from over 954,000 fifth, seventh and ninth grade students, the study found that students with higher levels of fitness performed better in school. Students who met three or more physical fitness standards experienced the greatest academic gains. (Laura Altobelli, 2015)