by Coach Cowick
“Make the big time where you are;” What does this mean? How is this accomplished? What can you do to make the big time? People have different interpretations of “making it big time”; for some it’s monetary value, others it’s who they know or what they accomplished. What it means to me, is making where you are the best it can be. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re coaching at a Division I school or a high school, be the best coach where you are. Let your actions define who you are.
Ron McKeefery made good points in this chapter, but what stood out to me are three topics. One is having the power of choice, the ability to choose our actions and reactions everyday; our own free will. Second, is bridging the gap of what we can be and what we are. Finally, the consideration of the “Death of the Graduate Assistant Position” (GA Position); and why the traditional GA position should be eliminated. I will break down these topics and how they relate to my personal experience.
First – the power of choice – our actions determine our out come. Ron McKeefery discusses how coaches become obsessed with their version of “big time” and push everything else away to attain it. In my opinion, this should not be the case, as I stated before, you have to be the best, no matter where you are at. Work hard – put in the work – no matter what it is and no matter how insignificant you think it may be – everything matters. I am currently a personal trainer at Fitness Connection in Raleigh, NC, I have over twenty clients and I put in over 12 hours of work per day training and writing programs. I see some of them once or twice a week and write programs for them to follow outside of our time together. I know the majority of them are challenged to get them done, but I remind myself that I’m working for the ones that will do the extra work. The ones that put in the work can see the results they desire and their achievement is my achievement. This experience is what makes it worth taking the time and effort into these programs.
Second – bridging the gap – the Potential/ Performance Gap. Coach Westering has an acronym for the “GAP”. The “G” is for Goal Sets that motivate and challenge us. The “A” is for Attitude which is our self-fulfilling prophecy for whether we think we can or think we can’t. And the “P” is for Perseverance, which develops mental toughness and builds our character. What does this mean? For me, this means setting goals and striving ahead until I achieve them. I have set out a one year plan of what I want to achieve, and planning out the necessary steps to achieve these goals is important. What I need to remember is to stay motivated, and maintain mental toughness, as described by Coach Westering. Once I attain my goals, I can set new ones. It’s all about growing and improving day by day and; making myself the best way possible.
Lastly, is the death of the graduate position. I found this interesting because I hadn’t given this much thought, until I read this chapter. What I found out a GA position is similar to an internship, but my mentor, fitness director and strength and conditioning coach Chris Morland calls it an assistant-ship. Many hopeful coaches hope to receive a paid assistant-ship, but most of the time it’ll be unpaid, and you’re working 60+ hours a week, plus school work and making no money; or you are working on the side to make ends meet. In my case, I was work 40+ hours a week, doing about 1-2 hours of school work a night, plus staying active, along with working twice a week. When I did my experience I couldn’t have made it without my friends and the 9/11 GI Bill to help support me. Thanks to my friend, Amer, I was able to stay at his house, which saved me rent and the military paid me about $1000. So I consider myself very fortunate, compared to others I knew who were relying on other means to make it. Ron McKeefery discusses how GA positions pay around $15,000-$20,000 per year, but they are difficult to come by, so the majority of upcoming coaches struggle. He suggests taking out a loan rather than living in poverty, but in the grand scheme of things if you’re chasing your dreams this will work it’s way out.
So I’ve covered the three topics I found important: the power of choice, bridging the gap, and death to the graduate assistant-ship position. Remember, it’s not about who you work for or what name is on your chest. It’s about what you do that will make others notice. So be the best you can be, wherever you are. And I leave you with three questions:
1. What is your coaching brand?
2. What are your goals?
3. How hard are you willing to work to achieve your goals?
Did you like the ideas presented in this blog? If so, please add a comment below for Coach Cowick. Our team of bloggers would like to get your feedback and how you apply these concepts. When you submit a comment our goal is to re-post it within 24 hours. Thanks for your feedback!
In the next blog we will introduce our summer series and you don’t want to miss this exciting series by our team of bloggers!
“The views, opinions, and judgments expressed in this message are solely those of the authors and peer reviewers. The contents have been reviewed by a team of contributors but not approved by any other outside entity including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh.”
