One Coach To Another: SHORT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT POSITIVE SPORTS CULTURE

In this book I attempt to start an attitudinal shift, in those who read it, towards thinking about and wanting to be a positive influence through coaching.Everything starts with a thought or desire, and it is my sole intention to make the reader want to become a positive coach. This book is based on my conversations with many (younger and older) coaches in my 30-plus-year career.This isn't a how-to technical manual for teaching gymnastics elements; you will not learn to teach cartwheels or back handsprings here. Rather, this book is about setting the context- or the culture- in which athletes can be emotionally and psychologically healthy enough to learn these skills and others properly.This book can be read in any order, all five of the conversations can be understood on their own.My hope is that, at the very least, this book helps you understand the importance of the athlete-first approach to coaching. It is also my hope that you will understand the need to live by this philosophy in the gym.As I've said before, positive coaching isn't only the absence of negative coaching practices, it necessitates a firm metacognitive commitment to thinking about your athletes (and yourself as a coach) as the complex human beings that they are.Positive coaching is about love, it's about caring enough for your athletes to want the best for them. It's about setting the expectation of teaching more than physical skills, it's about preparing people for life.- Coach José