You have probably never taken a test that defined your coaching style but, make no mistake, you have one. Players, fans, officials, and other coaches know your style. But, do you? And, just as important, why does it matter?

I had many coaches from my start as a four year old playing tee ball through college. Every coach had their own style—their own way of doing things, interacting, communicating, teaching, motivating, and training players. All of them had different personalities. Each coach’s philosophies, priorities, and goals varied. Some focused almost entirely on winning. Others cared more about improving fundamentals. Still others placed emphasis on building relationships and team chemistry.

Coaches coach. That’s obvious. But, being fully immersed in coaching all the time creates a problem: there is limited, if any, time for self-reflection about the things the coach is doing well and other things that aren’t working. Regardless of whether your style is working great or needs to be tweaked, every coach needs to be aware of their coaching style and look for ways to improve. The success of the athletes we coach depends on it.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of each style and talk about some examples of each, keeping in mind that the best coaches blend together the best aspects of each style and limit the worst.

Drill Sergeant

Discipline and accountability are dominant traits of the drill sergeant, and sum up the style of coaches that fit into this category. They are typically loud, strict, and regimented. When I think of this style, I visualize a group of new recruits at boot camp standing in tight formation in front of a drill sergeant wearing a wide-brimmed hat directing their every move. There is no question who is in charge. Some call this style “old school” and the methods used “tough love.” Both of those phrases are accurate. Bobby Knight and the late, great Pat Summitt come to mind when I think of this style.

This style provides structure and teaches discipline and accountability. There’s also a clear chain-of-command with no doubt who is calling the shots and who the team will look to for direction. The drill sergeant works well for a team with undisciplined players who need structure. This style also forces the development of a strong work ethic because you either do what’s demanded of you or find yourself in the dog-house or off the team. Players learn to fight through adversity and tough criticism by facing it regularly from their coach.

While there are positives associated with this style, the drill sergeant must be careful. Players may fear the coach, and that fear can easily turn into resentment and outright mutiny if the “tough love” shown is not seen as love at all. Drill sergeants are not known for their relationships and strong bonds with soldiers, and the same can be said for coaches using this style with players. If you don’t get complete “buy in” from players who are leaders on the team and understand the goal of the coach’s style, team chemistry may never develop or may easily be destroyed.

Player’s Coach

Relationship development is the top priority of the player’s coach. Relationships based on mutual trust and respect are the foundation for everything else the coach does. The player’s coach is more laid-back and has a positive, upbeat attitude. Inside and outside the locker room, the player’s coach wants to take pressure off the players. It’s important to the player’s coach to be a mentor and share his life with players. I think of coaches like Doc Rivers, Joe Madden, and Pete Carroll as examples.

The player’s coach lets players be themselves, builds team chemistry, and fosters strong relationships between the coach and players and among the players themselves by encouraging players to step up and be leaders and hold each other accountable rather than the coach being the constant voice of disciple and accountability. This doesn’t mean that the player’s coach is not hard on the players and doesn’t push them to their limits. That happens. But, it’s done in a different way based on relationships of trust built with players. And, a player’s coaching style done right leads to lifelong bonds between the coach and generations of players.

This style is not perfect. It requires walking a fine line between being a friend and coach. If the team is made up of undisciplined players or has a few bad apples without strong player-driven leadership, the coach can lose control of the team. Once control is lost, it’s hard to regain and change to a more disciplined approach. In addition, if the team is not having success, players and fans may begin to point the finger at the coach for not pushing the players hard enough or demanding more from them.

Technician

The system is greater than any player. The technician-style coach always has a clipboard, chalkboard, or dry erase board close by. This coach places great emphasis on the X’s and O’s, and the specific system, skills, and methods of the coach take precedence. The technician takes a lot of time to teach, perfect fundamentals, and create a system that easily allows interchangeable “pieces” or “parts”. These words are used to describe players because that is how the players are viewed. Bill Belichick and Gregg Popovich are examples.

This style promotes teamwork and selflessness because the system used by the coach is more important than any individual player or group of players. No one is irreplaceable. Having a star player is great, but not necessary in the eyes of the technician. Different players can be plugged into the system, and the team will still function at a high level. Players trained by this style coach learn the fine details and mechanics of the game and are able to execute those skills when it matters.

Negatively, technician-style coaches sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees and can miss the big picture because they are so focused on the details. It can be hard for coaches that fall within this category to adjust during games when their system is not working and changes need to be made. Technician-style coaches may also find it difficult to coach when their system does not fit a particular group of players, and the coach continues to try to force his or her system on that team. It’s also worth it to point out that relationships can be developed, but those bonds are typically built around perfecting some aspect of the coach’s system or skill in the game.

CEO

The CEO coach sees the big picture and trusts other coaches. In business, a CEO sets the vision of the company and is responsible for making sure every aspect of the business is doing what it’s supposed to do to be successful. The CEO-coach is no different. This coach manages and oversees every aspect of the team on and off the field, and tends to be more hands-off when it comes to teaching, training, and coaching each individual player. The CEO delegates responsibilities to other coaches, and focuses more on coaching the coaches or some very specific unit of players instead of the entire team. Nick Saban comes to mind as a CEO-style coach.

The CEO develops strong assistant coaches. Assistant coaches then develop strong relationships with players that they are directly responsible for coaching. There is less micromanaging because the detailed teaching and training of individual players fall on the assistants who coach players on a day-to-day basis. There is strong leadership development of assistant coaches which assistants love. This also gives the CEO time to focus on big picture strategy, and watch assistants coach and see what’s working and what’s not.

If the CEO is a good manager, just like in a business, the company will grow. But, a bad manager who is disorganized or fails to coach the assistant coaches will cause a team to fall apart. Because the CEO delegates and allows assistant coaches to do a lot of the actual day-to-day coaching, this particular style of coach can miss some of the little things that can turn out to be the big things if not corrected. This style coach can also lose control of the team if the assistants do not do their jobs or if an assistant does not gel with the players they are coaching in their specific groups.

Motivator

Encouragement and development of self-confidence. There are plenty of exceptions, but when I think of youth sports coaches, I think of motivators. I don’t think of big name college or pro coaches. The motivator may not know everything about the sport he or she is coaching. The coach may not have played at the high school or college level and does not know every skill to teach players like the technician. However, the motivator encourages athletes to do the very best that they can and is upbeat.

This style creates a fun atmosphere that players enjoy being a part of in practices and games. At a young age when players are just starting to play the game, the motivator may be all that players need. Most kids don’t know if they really love a sport when they first start, and the motivator will build them up, give them opportunities, and pat them on the back after every mistake. At higher levels of play, motivator-style coaches find unique ways to keep practices fresh, remind players frequently why they are making sacrifices other teams are not, and inspire athletes to embrace the moment and play up to their potential. I think of Coach K and the story of him motivating the Duke basketball team before a big game by playing a scene from the movie Braveheart and throwing a real burning arrow in the locker room just before tipoff. I’m sure that got his players attention and lit a fire under them!

Players can become frustrated with the motivator style coach if there is no substance behind the positive energy. We all want to be around positive people and players like upbeat coaches, but the motivator can easily forget to place enough emphasis on teaching skills. If that happens, training and skill development can fall behind quickly, and there is little fun in failing to develop, get better, and ultimately compete and win at the sports played.

Why Does Your Coaching Style Matter?

Now that we’ve identified five different coaching styles, why does it matter that you know your dominant coaching style? The main reason: your coaching style directly and significantly impacts the athletes that you coach. Just like in business, as coaches, we need to make time to take inventory of who we are and what we are doing. That requires regular self-reflection on the things we are doing well and the things we need to improve.

Coaches demand that athletes push themselves, improve, and grow physically, mentally, and emotionally. If we are coaching our athletes to do these things, then coaches have to have the same expectations of themselves. We have to practice what we preach!

Coaches need to look at ourselves in the mirror on a regular basis and make sure that we are giving athletes the best we have to offer. We need to look for the good and bad things about our coaching style and make adjustments to fit the needs of the athletes we are leading. Coaches must avoid getting stuck in the rut of doing the same things in the same way they always have.

So, what are some good ways to self-reflect and become a coach that adopts a winning blend of the best aspects of each coaching style? Here are a few suggestions:

• Start by sitting down and thinking about how your practices and games are going, how your players are responding — individually and collectively — and how you think your message is coming across to your players. Take notes.
• Talk to other coaches. Ask for honest, critical feedback. Don’t get upset when you hear the negatives or puffed up when you hear the positives. Just listen, talk about what’s working, and ask questions about things that you could do better. Write this down.
• Go and watch how other coaches do things (if possible), or talk to coaches who are not part of your team, organization, school, or staff. Take notes. You’ll see coaching from a different perspective, get fresh ideas, and have time to reflect on how you coach in comparison. Seeing another coach with a different style, process, and way of communicating leads to growth.
• Talk to your players and the athletes you train. Who can better tell you what is working and what is not than the players you coach and train? You can do this by talking to players individually or as a group. Don’t be surprised to hear a lot of honest opinions. Don’t get upset. This exercise can help you bond with your players as well. Take notes.
• Look through all your notes, and come up with goals to make the adjustments that need to be made. Incorporate your assistants in this process, and hold each other accountable.

Coaches impact the lives of the athletes they coach every day. Some positively. Others negatively. Don’t put yourself in a box and limit your ability to reach your players. You can be a coach that doesn’t fit within just one coaching style by implementing the best attributes of each while avoiding the negatives. It’s all about awareness, self-reflection, and pushing to get better every day.