My coaching philosophy is what I mostly believe in now: hard work, respect, and teamwork. As a coach, I want respect to be the one thing my players will get to know. If you do not have respect them you will not get anywhere successful in life. Hard work is something that I personally grew up with. When I first started playing sports, I was taught to work hard and that will take me a long way, and it did. Team work is also very important when being on a team. I believe in these things based off what my personal experiences were throughout my own sporting career. All of these things were nonexistent while I was a player, it ended up affecting my love of the game, along with my own performance. I have played basketball since I was at least ten years old, which was my favorite sport, softball since I was twelve, and field hockey only for four years in high school. After what I had been through in high school, I have come to dislike playing these sports; I feel that no athlete should have to go through that.
Team work is something that is very important, but it also goes along with respect and hard work. If a player respects their teammates, works with them, then the games will be more successful. All through high school there was no teamwork, respect for one another or the coach, or hard work, but there was favoritism. Favoritism is something that I will not tolerate when I become a coach. The players who try and work together will be the ones who play. The only thing favoritism does is break a team apart and does not win games. I also believe that winning is not everything; it is just a bonus for hard work. If a team has the potential to win, but works as a team, and works hard, then they will win.
My work ethic is that of hard work, I was raised on it and it will be one of my main coaching ideals. If a player does not practice as if it were a game, then they will play like that in a game situation. I believe in having fun and enjoying the game, but when it comes to practice, then that is where the work needs to be put in. Without hard work, there is no real chance of success. I have watched it happen for years now, the only thing it does is allow for loses and the take down of a team. Hard work pays off in the end, and it is something that I will follow throughout my coaching career and my life.
This is my coaching philosophy, respect, hard work, and team work are the three things that I never really had as an athlete, but I will allow it to happen for future athletes. Without these things in my athletic career, the only thing that happen was I lost my self confidence and my skills were never improved. I have only ever had two coaches that have followed these ideals, and one of them I help coach with. This coach is not a varsity coach, but a JV coach whose success with athletes is noticeable with her undefeated seasons. And the reason she has those seasons, is because she follows the same values I do.
Physical Education:
Physical education is something that is more than just playing games in class or a class that is not worth education status. My philosophy on physical education is that it is somewhere where a student is able to learn how to further their physical activity outside of the classroom and learn how to stay physically fit. As a physical educator it is my job to show the students the way to become a physically educated person. Not only to show them the way but to give them the tools to help better their physical lifestyle.
Most people see physical education as a joke class, but what they do not see is how much of an impact we can have a student. The quietest student is able to actually come out of their shell during a P.E. class; they can act all goofy during games and actually participate in group activities with other people. Physical education is especially important to the elementary level students because this is where their motor skills are being created and more refined. For the high school level, physical education is about learning skills or activities that can further someone’s lifetime of activity. As an educator it is my job to provide students with new ideas of lifelong activities they can do when they get out of high school. Games are not just revolved around softball and baseball, basketball, football, soccer, there are more activities that students can participate in and that is what physical education is for. I believe, and have been taught, that I am there to provide students the tools that can lead to lifelong fitness.
Even though physical education is about being physically active and moving around, I plan to incorporate other classes into my physical education lessons. It is important for students to revisit what they learn about because that helps to gain a better understanding of the learning. That is one of the good things about P.E., you are able to create many different learning environments to help further a learning concept learned in another class. I believe that other classes need to be incorporated in the class because it helps students see a bigger picture when it comes to learning.
Not only will I provide students with the correct tools, incorporate other classes, but I will also have an emphasis on fun. Physical activity does not need to be something that someone should come to hate, but something they should come to enjoy. Many teachers in past years have used physical activity as a punishment, so students have come to hate physical activity; well I believe that needs to be changed. Creating ways to be physically active to be fun is something that every teacher should believe in. If students actually enjoyed physical activity, then maybe the obesity rates would become lower.
This is what I believe in for physical education, this is my philosophy on it; lifelong fitness, other classes incorporated, and fun. Without these three things, I feel that students will not fully enjoy learning about physical fitness. Lifelong activity is something that has been becoming on the rise for physical education, curriculum's have been changed, there are classes on more lifelong activities, and it is something that everyone can participate in. Incorporating other classes into the classroom allows for students to get a better understand of concepts while learning them in a different and fun way. They can learn concepts while being physically active without even knowing that they are doing it. Fun is the number one thing in my book. I have seen it personally in high school P.E. with a very bad teacher, she helped ruin physical activity for people.
Learning is a lifelong occurrence that begins at birth and continues far into adulthood. Even after many years of going to school and ending school, everyone is still a learner. It is my job as an educator to provide the best learning environment and the best techniques to better learning. I have been receiving an education in a school since I was at least four years old in preschool, and I am now learning to become one of those educators. I believe that education should be about learning of course, but also about having fun while doing it. I will be providing my students with a safe place where they can be themselves and a place where they can enjoy learning.
As an educator a safe environment where students feel like they can actually learn from is an important thing. If a student does not feel safe in the environment, then learning can be hindered. So, I believe in no naked gyms, something that I have been being told for the past four years of college. There will be a different assortment of posters that the students will help make. For example, helping to create the rules of the gymnasium, this way the students are involved in creating a safe environment along with being involved in the rule making process. Along with posters everywhere, there will be equipment that is safe for the students to use. I feel that when students see equipment that is safe for them to use, then they feel more comfortable in their environment.
After a safe environment has been established and the students feel comfortable in that environment, learning will be able to happen. Something that I thoroughly believe in is that everyone learns differently. If a teacher is teaching students one way, then that can hinder what the students are learning. My job as an educator and something that I have been taught, is how to teach students who have different learning styles. There are visual learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, physical learners, each of these types of learners need to be taught a certain way in order to enhance their education. So I believe in changing my teaching styles to help create better learning for everyone.
Having fun while learning is something that can make education more of an interest than something a student has to do. If a student is not having fun or getting interested in the topic then they will not stay focused on the topic. Fun will be enforced in my teaching to help better student educations. I have been taught many different activities that are fun but they are also learning while doing it. The students may not even realize what they are learning until they finish the activity and are asked questions about it.
Another thing that I feel is important when it comes to education is the attitude the teacher shows during class. If a teacher is not very into what they are teaching, grumpy all the time, and shows no interest in the students then the students feel like they do not need to follow what the teacher is saying. But if there is a teacher who is excited to be there, involves the students with the learning, cares about what the students have to say, and shows an interest in the topic then the students will be more interested in learning. The teacher is the one who sets the tone of the classroom and if the teacher sets a bad one, then the students will notice it. Many people think that children are not smart enough to recognize different things, but they are. Children notice everything, they are a very good judge of character, and they know when an adult is not interested. So a teacher’s attitude in the classroom is an idea that I feel can either hinder or enhance learning.
These ideas are things that I believe can help education in schools; a safe environment, being able to teach all learners, having fun lessons, and a teacher’s attitude. Without having a safe environment where the students feel they can go to learn, then they will not actually learn anything. Everyone learns a different way, so a teacher needs to be able their teaching styles to help enhance learning. If learning is not enhanced then a student’s education can be affected. Fun is something that can be incorporated into lessons to make learning enjoyable. Without learning being enjoyable then the students will lose interest in what they are supposed to be learning about. Finally, a teacher’s attitude is everything. Without having a positive attitude that shows the students the information is interesting and fun, and then the students are not going to listen. A teacher sets the tone of the classroom; if it’s a bad one then learning can be hindered.
