IT’S BEEN SAID all coaches have an ego. This is true to a point as all people have an ego and the desire to be valued and accepted.
There are all sorts of egos in the coaching ranks ranging from the coach who is very humble and attributes the success of the program to the players and other coaches, to the coach who speaks as though he invented the game and believes the game could not exist without him.
Our egos get the best of all of us at one time or another. But, we always should be aware of when our ego pops up and how it affects our coaching and our team.
Think about the following three rules to keep your ego in check.
1. Football Is A Team Game. As coaches, we constantly stress to our teams the belief that football is a team game and nobody is bigger than the team. With that being the case, bragging about our own accolades as coaches specifically goes against what we teach our players.
2. Big Egos Bring About Animosity Within The Coaching Staff. Big egos also disrupt your program. Everyone probably has worked on coaching staffs where the coaches don’t get along. These coaches may have the same goals in mind but their inability to compromise causes the players to see how a house divided.
3. Big Egos Affect The Outcome Of A Game. There have been instances where two coaches get into a shouting match through their headphones during a game, which sets a bad example for the players and lowers the values of the program within the community.
More times than not, the focus turns to the argument and away from what needs to be accomplished on the football field.
If you don’t believe me, believe some coaching legends. In the book “Everyone’s a Coach,” Don Shula and Ken Blanchard suggest ego stands for Edging God Out.
Also, when the New England Patriots won their third Super Bowl, one of the quotes attributed to Coach Bill Belichick was, “I need to continue to learn about everything in the game as it is always changing.” Now that is a sense of humility.