Growing up I played hockey and baseball. I had some wonderful coaches in my hockey and baseball career. I was often a leader on my hockey and baseball teams. I led the team in warm-ups, had meetings with officials, relayed messages to my coach, and tried to lead by example. But I don’t recall ever being asked what I thought we should do or what strategy we should play, that was strictly a coach decision.
Is coaching ultimate different? I think it is, at least on the teams I have coached.
I began coaching high school ultimate in 2006. Eight years later, I still love it. More recently, I have been given the opportunity to coach an elite group of adults on Drag’n Thrust. I feel I’ve grown as a coach in the past eight years. I know more about ultimate skills, the strategy, my teams, and the ultimate community. I still have growing to do.
Coaches are relatively new to ultimate. It has historically been a player run sport, with team management, logistics, officiating, all being left up to players. This is stil the case in many levels of the sport: some high school teams I come across still have a parent chaperone and most mid-level club teams have no coach. Only in recent years have many of the top club teams added a coach. Maybe that’s why coaching ultimate is different.
As a coach, I want all of my players to be leaders:
- In high school I have players lead the warm-ups, make decisions on the line about defensive strategy, force, match-ups and offensive strategy, and speak up in huddles. I want input from my captains on any strategic overhauls we will look to make in the season.
- On Drag’n most of the players have been team leaders and captains in the past. I trust them to make all the above decisions, but also ask much more of them. I want them to take on logistical and management duties, to lead practices, and be a large part of teaching and making strategy decisions.
I am the coach of the team and as that coach I need to make unbiased decisions; but I want the players to know I use their input to make those decisions. I remain decisive and make strategic calls when it comes down to it, but players know I have taken their ideas into consideration in that game and throughout the season.
I think that coaching ultimate is different from other sports. I think that difference is a good practice, and helps develop not just a players ability as an athlete but also their capability as a leader. Its not my place to determine if this style of coaching is best for other sports, but I am excited and grateful to coach in such a unique and collaborative environment.
