Cheer Coach

Cheer Coach

 

I never would have thought that I would be a high school coach, but this past semester I found myself being just that. In those past few months, I spent part of my time being a cheer coach at my alma mater. You might wonder what the qualifications might be for coaching. Turns out that being an alumna was enough. Nonetheless, I was excited to give back to an organization that provided me with many skills and enjoyable memories. 

 

A sports coach is an “individual responsible for guiding and instructing athletes or a sports team”. Most of us have been on sports teams and know what it is like to have an inspiring and influential mentor. Now was my time to put myself in that position. Being a great coach means gaining the respect of your athletes while also inspiring them to be great students and players. And I aimed to do just that.

 

I would define my responsibilities as a cheer coach with the following descriptions:

• Personal trainer
•  Therapist

 

Personal Trainer

My responsibilities as a personal trainer included the following:

• Creating work out plans
•  Monitored athletes’ performance
•  Motivated athletes

 

Although rather obvious, I was expected to ensure the physicality of my athletes. I made sure they ran their laps, did their conditioning and safely executed their stunts routines. You wouldn't believe how much high school girls hate running. Trust me. Despite the many complaints the girls made when conditioning, I always made sure to give them plenty of words of encouragement. I saw myself as a sort of motivational speaker, always trying to uplift their spirits. “You got this!” was a phrase I used quite often. But, when girls complained a little too much, I was a different person. I was sure to be assertive and dictated the consequences if they persisted with their objections. I found myself yelling across the track whenever girls were not running their warmup lap. “WHY ARE WE WALKING?!”, I would shout. Another part of a daily workout the girls did included planking. That plank was for a minute. But when girls scoffed under their breath, exclaiming how easy that was for them, I took that as a challenge. I said to the girls, “Since you all think it’s too easy for you, we’ll go ahead and double it”. Many groans greeted me. The girls completed the two minute plank, nonetheless. As coach, I made sure that my athletes understood the importance of committing to their athleticism and having a ‘just do it’ mentality. 

 

Therapist

As a therapist I:

• Actively listened
•  Assisted problem solving
•  Offered emotional support 

 

Coaching high school girls meant I was going to hear lots of drama. I was barely coach for a week and girls were eager to fill me in on their current drama. They gave me the inside scoop about their teachers, their friends, and even the former coach, whom they did not like. I did my best to listen to them with open, non-judgmental ears. It was a bit harder when they told me things that really were insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Although, having been a high schooler myself, I understood where they were coming from. When they asked for my advice in certain situations, I was glad to give them guidance. High schoolers are easily impressionable, so I was always sure to provide insightful, well thought out advice. As a coach, it is important that you set your athletes up in the right direction. It was important to not only aid the girls to become great athletes, but also great young adults.

 

Takeaways

As I look back on my time as coach, I am thankful for the opportunity. Firstly, I got to see how I responded to being in a position of authority. As well, I had the power to make an impact on the lives of others. There was great responsibility that came with the job that I did not expect. While at times I did feel like a glorified babysitter, I was hopeful that I made a positive impact on at least one girl.

 

 

Reading Ease: 61.9

Grade Level: 8.7

Passive Sentences: 0