Mastering Motivation

Take a step back and look at what players need to aspire to be great

By John Engh

When I run into people from my youth-sports days, they tell me what a great coach my dad was and how they still remember some of the ways he motivated them to work harder and be better. 

NAYS

It’s funny because my dad was never actually a coach for any of my teams—at least not in the traditional sense; he wasn’t even an assistant. It all began with older brothers who both wrestled in school. As a one-time, nationally ranked high-school wrestler, my dad never missed a match. In fact, he showed up at many practices to help the team. But since he wasn’t a teacher, he wasn’t allowed to coach. What I think he realized during that experience was what he really brought to the table was an ability to motivate athletes far beyond teaching fundamentals or specific moves that might help them win a match. I can still see him on the bench right next to the head coach, talking to each wrestler before they took the mat.

Recognizing Strengths

Those who haven’t read one of my dad’s many books might not know that, before he had seven children and a career as a teacher, he was a high-school football coach. He is the only person I’ve ever heard of being hired to coach a football team without ever coaching football! He admits he didn’t really know much about creating offensive schemes or the fundamentals of tackling, but he loved the game, and he knew how to identify strengths and weaknesses in his players. In fact, one of his statements that still rings true outside the sports world is “you create plays based on your players.” There was one great athlete on that team, and he rode that player to an undefeated season in his first year.

Ten years later, all his kids were competing in sports at different levels. I played everything, but I loved baseball. And while my dad loved watching my teams play, he was never an official coach. But it seemed like once a week at the end of a practice, the coach would gather all the players for a 10-minute, motivational speech from my dad. Hearing the same stories my siblings and I had heard many times, I was a little annoyed, but my teammates were into every word. “You guys can be better, you have to love the game if you want to be great, you all have the ability to be the best on this team and to be a leader!” 

An Inspiration For Many

It's important for coaches—and really for all of us in our jobs as leaders in recreation—to take a step back and focus less on the games and the skills and understand what players need to be motivated. And, more importantly, to determine what staff members need from us in order for them to aspire to be better than they were yesterday.

Recently, on a plane ride with my wife, I discovered I was seated near two brothers whom I had played baseball with when we were 12 years old. After exchanging greetings, one of the men told me my dad was a great baseball coach.

My first thought was to remind him my dad was never his coach. But I didn’t because I would have been wrong!

John Engh is executive director of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) in West Palm Beach, Fla. He can be reached via email at jengh@nays.org. To join more than 3,000 communities by starting a NAYS Member Organization, visit www.nays.org, email nays@nays.org or call (800) 729-2057.