"God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure."
Inside Out Coaching
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Joe Ehrmann, New York, Simon and Schuster, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4391-8298-7
“I want to change the world. And, I believe, sports are the way to do it”. Joe Ehrmann.
The book contrasts transactional coaches with transformational coaches. It set out a scheme of InSideOut coaching which is based on being a transformational coach. Being an InSideOut coach means “dealing honestly and effectively with what’s inside in order to be purposeful and transformational when coaching young people”. The author argues that it was only when he understood what had shaped him and addressed it, that he was able to coach others.
Ehrmann says, “My intention in this book is to take back the spiritual and transformative side of the games our children play and restore sports to their original intent”. He continues, “While our social ills are plentiful, I believe that coaches have the power, platform, and position to be the linchpins in individual and social transformation—player by player, team by team, teachable moment by teachable moment”. Ehrmann is leading a crusade against the “grief, pain, and confusion that so many bad coaches had caused”.
Amusingly his coaching role models are Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Moses “one, a young coach full of affirmation and empathy, exhorting and encouraging her players to reach their greatest potential, the other, a biblical liberator building players and a team based on moral and ethical principles”.
The way he applies the wizard of Oz to coaching is fascinating: “The Scarecrow thinks he is not smart enough and wants a brain. The Tin Man believes himself to be heartless and wants a heart. The lion thinks of himself as a coward and desires courage. In many ways they resemble every team in America, each player questioning himself. Who am I? Who will love me? What can I do with my life? Am I smart or dumb? Am I athletic or nerdy? Am I a winner or loser? Like every young person. Coach Dorothy’s players had acquired a destructive sense of personal deficits and inadequacies from the prevailing culture, their peers, and even their parents”.
There is an insightful analysis of the transition which children undergo when they start organized sport: “We still use the oxymoronic phrase ‘play sports’ but ‘playing’ in organized sports has become almost impossible for our children. Kids today get a rude awakening when they transition from the toboggan to the ball field. They go from the unbridled joy of creative play to the performance-based world of driven parents and overly competitive coaches”. He continues: “Kids join a team and then learn that they are not okay unless they are always a starter, an all-star, or the top pick. The demise of play is a loss of the innocence that the world and adults strip from our children”.
He argues that his InsideOut approach to coaching addresses this very issue: “In contrast, a transformational coach realizes the power of the coaching platform to inspire, motivate, and produce positive change in is or her followers. He or she is acutely mindful of the moral, social, emotional, and psychological needs of young people. Transformational coaches offer individual support and encouragement to each player and have a clear vision for the desired impact on their players’ lives. And not surprisingly, a transformational coach, even in organized athletics, allows and encourages young people to simply play”.
Ehrmann challenges every coach to ask themselves four questions: “Why do I coach? Why do I coach the way I do? What does it feel like to be coached by me? How do I define success?” The mantra he has developed to answer the Why question is: “I coach to help boys become men of empathy and integrity who will lead, be responsible, and change the world for good!”
The book addresses the nature of winning, calling winning at all costs “morally offensive”. It amusingly describes five styles of coaching that the author has encountered: “the dictator, the bully, the narcissist, the saint, and the misfit”. It describes the way Joe and his fellow coaches developed a school team where everyone was welcome and no one was cut because they were not good enough.
There is an excellent ten page section on the nature of competition.
The style of the book is well illustrated by the following anecdote: “I love to tell parents the story of the coach who pulled one of his players aside and asked, “Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?” The player nodded in affirmation that he knew. ‘Do you understand that what matters is not whether we win or lose but that we play together as a team and do the best we can individually and collectively?’ Again, the player nodded yes. ‘So,’ the coach continued, ‘I’m sure you know that when a coach makes a bad call or the referee drops a penalty flag you wouldn’t argue, curse, or call them a peckerhead. Do you understand all that?’ The player again said he did. Coach continued, ‘And when I take you out of the game so another player gets an opportunity to play it’s not good to call your coach an idiot, is it?’ The player shook his head. ‘Good,’ said the coach, ‘now go over there and explain all that to your mother and father.’”
Ehrmann is a Christian but the religious underpinning of the book is rather vague with references to Moses, the Dalai Lama and Greek philosophy as well as Chrtistian writers like Thomas Merton. He writes, “To me spirituality is the quest for self-transcendence—moving beyond self-preoccupation and self-aggrandizement. Spirituality is enhanced when we can rise above ourselves and connect with others in the pursuit of a higher purpose. Spirituality in sports is often referred to as ‘chemistry’ or ‘flow,’ but it is much richer and more holistic than these terms suggest. The quest for transcendence lays the foundation for authentic community, honorable competition, life-affirming communication, and other-centered classroom teaching”.
There is a strange claim that a visit to Lockerbie by an American team following the air-bombing led to a Scottish national lacrosse team being formed. The Scottish Lacrosse website shows a picture of the 1932 Scotland team!
Let’s give the last word to Joe: “I am a transformational coach who has the position, power, and platform to make a positive difference in the lives of my players. I coach to help boys become men of empathy and integrity who will lead, be responsible, and change the world for good. I allow for accountability and take responsibility for my actions”. See www.coachforamerica.com.
An outstanding book which all coaches should read. While the nature of American coaching does not translate fully to the UK, many of the principles will.
See also Season of life