How much glory should coaches get for their athletes’ success?

August 6, 2012

Today’s guest post is by my friend, Carrie Schmeck, a mom of athletes, writer, biker…you name it. Carrie contacted me last week after the Fab 5 won their team gold medal and shared her discomfort with how the gymnastics coach behaved.  Here are her thoughts. 

 

Aly Raisman’s folks took some heat for their spectator-parent routines as Aly performed on the uneven bars during last week’s Olympic women’s team competition.

 

Personally I thought the hullaballoo was overdone. My own body contorted to and fro as she twisted and released. She isn’t even my daughter and I was watching from my couch!

 

If I have a bone to pick, it isn’t with Aly’s parents who, in my opinion, earned the right to stress out at the Olympic Games. They didn’t ask the cameras to chronicle their nerves. They were doing what parents do best. Sitting in the sidelines. Praying. Supporting. And most certainly, gesticulating appropriately.

 

Creepy Coach?

But the creepy coach? Yah. I had an issue with him and how he positioned himself for air time. Because he asked for it. And, in my opinion, he hogged a spotlight that wasn’t his to hog.

 

I’m talking about the team finals, after Aly completed the final routine in what, thanks to a few well-timed Russian snafus, was sure to be a gold-medal score.

The girls knew what was about to happen. They grabbed each other’s hands and found an open spot where they could celebrate with the world. The paparazzi responded and a mosh pit of cameras jostled to capture the victorious moment.

Enter Coach. Center stage. Wa-wa-waah.

 

Photo op—averted. Destroyed. Hijacked, if you will.

 

Screen Shot 2012-08-03 at 9.16.39 AM.pngPhoto: rickey.org

 

While the rest of the coaching team stood a step to the side, this man placed himself in the middle of the pack.

 

“Come on, come on,” we could hear him say, “They’re making us wait [for the score],” he teased, as if he were ‘one of them.’

 

It felt wrong.

 

My husband and I yelled at the TV, “Get out of there, you creepy coach. This isn’t your deal!”

 

Then I felt bad for a minute. He’s a coach. This is his crowning moment, too, right?

 

Well. Yes and no.

 

Where’s their glory?

I have huge admiration for coaches who put in more hours than anyone will ever know for less than anyone would believe. Their jobs are hugely sacrificial.

 

But in the spirit of sacrifice, shouldn’t humility follow?

 

Standing aside, foregoing the recognition of hours and years of effort, could possibly be the hardest piece of coaching. But, to me, it’s the appropriate piece.

 

Maybe these girls couldn’t have won the gold without him.  Maybe he’s the one who showed Gabby Douglas how to curb her adrenaline-ridden, boundary-busting and deduction-prone tumbling passes. Maybe his pointers made the difference between gold and silver.

 

But he wasn’t out there talking his nerves off the ledge.He didn’t perform McKayla Maroney’s most amazing vault EVER.  He coached. And the girls made it happen.

 

So where is his glory? Where is any coach’s glory?

 

I’d argue a coach’s glory is celebrating a job well done and assuming the small, but quiet, honor of knowing they’ve played a part in another’s success.

 

When my first born rolled away from me for the first time, wobbling sans training wheels, I jumped up and down, thrilled to see her move beyond me. I cherished the process, but really, the victory was hers, not mine.

 

What do you think? Where and how is it appropriate for coaches to celebrate their part in an athlete’s or team’s success?

 

Carrie Schmeck is a lifestyle features and corporate communications writer and wife of a former high school mountain bike team coach. When she’s not writing, she’s riding her road bike, reading, or discussing issues such as this with girlfriends over coffee. You can view her work at www.bizziwriter.com.

 

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3 Responses to “How much glory should coaches get for their athletes’ success?”

  1. Jodi Murphy
    Twitter:
    Reply August 6, 2012 at 3:02 pm

    It’s a hard question to answer. Coaches do deserve a lot of credit for helping their athlete’s achieve their best, pushing them to the next level and so forth, but at the same time the athletes are the ones putting themselves out there. You don’t see most coaches trying to take the spotlight though. They let their team enjoy the moment.

    • Janis Reply August 6, 2012 at 4:05 pm

      Yes, a good coach will do that, for sure. But as always, there are some out there who have big egos!

    • Carrie Schmeck Reply August 6, 2012 at 7:48 pm

      Thanks for weighing in, Jody. I can definitely see both sides. I’m sure (I hope) that coach wasn’t thinking about how he looked but there are moments that need to belong just to the athletes. In my opinion, of course. :-)

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