A coaching philosophy is the coaches guiding light. It is the cornerstone upon which everything else is built. Without a sound well thought out and articulated philosophy you will not be effective as a coach. The philosophy consists of certain foundational beliefs that you will never compromise. They are absolute and will never change. These foundational beliefs are the center of a three concentric circles. Each circle out from the core can be changed and in fact when the outer circle is reached it should be changed as part of the growth process.
My Philosophy is governed by the following quote from George Bernard Shaw: " Some people see things the way they are and ask why? Others see things the way they should be, and ask Why not?” This is the attitude that I have taken throughout my coaching career. The pursuit of excellence has it's own rewards. As a corollary to this I am the coach of people not sports. Coaching sports and designing training programs is easy, that is the X's and O's. Coaching people is tough; it demands understanding of what makes each athlete tick. It is a challenge to accomplish this without compromising your foundational beliefs. Do you know why you coach? Do you know why your athletes participate? Your management or coaching style is your means of implementing your philosophy.