Coaching Mission Statement

Every year I get to look through resumes of potential coaches. They range from dads with no coaching experience who want to get involved to people who have played the game at high levels. Inevitably the experienced resumes all seem to include “Won ____ tournament”….”State champions”….”35-2-1 Record” or something to the like. These are certainly good things to know, but what has bothered me lately is the lack of focus on a Coaching Mission Statement. Simply put, this single piece should tell me why the person is coaching (or wants to coach). Every time I interview a potential coach, that’s the first question I ask….”why do you want to coach?”

I think every coach should have a clear mission statement in his/her mind. If you don’t, how will you know if you’ve had a successful season?…wins/losses?..state championships? Don’t get me wrong – these things are great, but there’s got to be a bigger picture.

It has taken me several years to get my mission statement compact but to the point. What I finally came up with was: “To teach life lessons through the great game of hockey.”

Whenever I step back from the day-to-day grind of running practices, dealing with scheduling issues, getting yelled at by angry parents, etc. I realize what a true blessing it is to be able to have the opportunity to help children grow – both on the ice and off.

I would love to hear some feedback on other people’s coaching mission statements. If you’ve got one you’d like to share, please post a comment.

One Reply to “Coaching Mission Statement”

  1. My mission statement for teaching kids hockey is. To provide a young player with all the little tools which become earth movers down the road. I believe you have to identify what the little things are that makes one player great. How to organize your physical approach to getting the small stuff right before taking on systems your kids are not prepared for. I see this in so many rinks now days with younger players( I think its becoming more about the money). They were never prepared skillfully to operate in a system environment that was created beyond their ability

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