Will the workout ever end?!

For over 20 years my life has involved sports... for over 20 years I have loved every aspect of being involved in team sports. Of course, there are days that I have found myself frustrated or upset over volleyball but, by far, I have enjoyed my time playing and coaching.

We all have different reasons for coaching, some need the recognition of having a "great team", others feel the need for self-fulfillment in influencing young lives, and still others fill the need for personal relationships. Whatever the reason we all tend to be very passionate about the sport and about coaching.

I can think of many things that I have learned from playing a team sport, including developing personal relationships with teammates; learning to take feedback and instruction and utilizing that for my benefit; finding ways to get along with difficult teammates/coaches/officials; time management; and a great work ethic. To this day I continue to add physical fitness to my already busy schedule.

Having spent the last 20 years training athletes I have never been able to pay for a trainer or a gym membership for that matter. I have all the knowledge to train myself... question is, do I have the discipline it takes to actually get and stay in shape?

Each summer I make an effort to get back in shape. For some reason, there is a huge misconception about coaches... Since we are in the gym so often many people mistake us for being in shape, but the mere presence of a coach in a gym does not mean we are actually in shape. :) More often than not we are training others to be in shape but our own health is not always on the top of our priority list. As I get older I recognize the importance of maintaining my health and have made a more consist effort in maintaining my physical fitness. Each summer I begin my regime of walking, running, "stairs" and overall physical fitness training and every summer I have to talk myself into doing my workouts. Will this effort of convincing myself to workout ever end? ugghhh!

As I drive to the track field, which is where I do my personal training, I have to say things to myself including "you'll feel better after you do this", "think of all the athlete's you training and how good they look, don't you want to look the same", "size 8, size 8, size 8". As I begin my run my self talk continues, "we are temples of the Most High, it's our duty to stay in shape", "your stomach is finally going down", "the body is meant to be used, so keep running".

Where is that self discipline I had as a young adult? I could run and run without thought and train for hours in the gym. I wonder where it went... I wonder is it still there... I wonder how I can tell my athletes to work hard and stay in the drills if I am not able to finish my laps?

Being a coach does not mean we have to be the best athlete on the court, although some coaches do feel the need to feed their personal ego by being the best athlete on the court, but that does not mean we have to be great athletes in order to be great coaches. Being a great coach involves so many other aspects... rapport with our athletes, ability to communicate clearly, organizational skills, teaching skills.... and more. However, when I think back to my playing days it was a hard sell to respect a coach who was not, at the very least, in shape. Then I think about my athletes... I ask them to work harder than they have, I ask them to train longer than they have, and I ask them to perform skills beyond their current ability and they do all these things and more. I am so very proud of the athletes I coach as well as all the athletes involved in our club programs. Then I think about my own training....

When I go for my runs there are times I don't feel like training but then I think about what I ask from my athletes and what I expect from them. I want more from them than they want for themselves and I demand more from them than other coaches have. If I can demand more from them than why not myself? If I expect their respect than I must earn it as well as having self respect. So when I am working out I tell myself that I can do more, that I will do more, that I must do more. If we demand our athletes train hard then we should also be willing to train hard ourselves.

Are you where you should be? Perhaps its time to take a long hard look in the mirror and see if you can live up to your own standards, those would be the same one's you place on your athletes.