Why do coaches stand by and watch trainers run practice?

Coach waits for an invitation to join in

The travel team coach contracts with a training organization to bring a professional trainer in to run practice. She’s running great drills, putting them through their paces, explaining, correcting. Really connecting with them. The girls are laughing, playing, having a great time.

Where’s the coach? He’s 25 yards away, watching silently. Maybe chatting with the assistant coach or some of the parents. He may be taking a few notes. But why not:

• throw on a pinney and participate in the play?
• get right up close to hear the instruction and see the impact?
• throw in his own ideas?
• chat with the trainer after the drill to get some insights and maybe share a few of his own?

The trainer is there as much for the coach as for the kids. She’s a gold mine of ideas and information and she might benefit from the coach’s suggestions about connecting with these kids. This should be a give and take situation.  With Fit2Finish training we believe that coach and trainer should be working together to make these kids better players.

Along the way, the coach becomes a better coach and the trainer a better trainer.