I get stoked up when I think of coaching people up. Whether its a team (athletic or corporate) or an individual. I get fired up when I know that I can introduce game changing mechanisms and perspectives to a person or a group focused on elevating their competency levels. By introducing The I in Team, The 360 Circle of Influence and other coaching principles I have enjoyed a personal growth trajectory that I never ever anticipated! I am 50 years old and I am still growing! Up until about 4 years ago, all of my coaching experience came from an instinctual place. I drew from my own personal experiences as a professional athlete, my observational experiences when I covered sports teams as the Director of Sports at A-Channel Ottawa and from time spent as a keynote speaker at events. I drew from former teammates, coaches, people I read about. I was always impressed with those who coached up but I never truly understood how they did it. I never pulled the wizard’s curtain back like Toto in the Wizard of Oz to see how he led. I always assumed their coaching skills came honestly and naturally to them…similar to how my coaching skills came to me!
That excited me and it frightened me all in the same breath. Yes, I could coach people up but if you asked me how I did it I would be at a loss.
This segues to a time when I faced a real adaptive phase of my life. After a successful run as a member of the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks I was drafted 9th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Now in university, I got away with just being a good athlete. That would not be the case in the pro’s! When I was drafted I had an impressive portfolio. I was a conference MVP, 2 time All-Canadian, Conference Rookie of the Year etc. All of this as a receiver! The first words out of the mouth of Bill Baker (GM of the Saskatchewan Roughriders) after I had been selected was “Welcome to Saskatchewan, you are now a free safety!”. I was numb! The Riders had drafted Jeff Fairholm out of the University of Arizona 2nd overall and from what I was told, the decision to choose me was based on the simply principal that they would take the best athlete available and I was available. In the moment, I was feeling a lot of things. Insulted, bitter, mad, shocked! I had no idea that the Riders had handed me a career changing opportunity for me. When I went to training camp I first took stock of the Rider receiving core. They were stacked. Ray Elgaard, Don Narcisse, James “Duke” Ellingson, Rob Bresciani, Jeff Fairholm and others who were studs on their school teams or in junior football. In a blink of an eye, I went from being the big man on campus to the guy who had to re-learn the game of football from a completely different position and perspective. In university, I just ran routes not caring what the defensive scheme was! In the pros, scheme and strategy were intrinsically connected. Everything was done for a reason and with a purpose. I went from a good athlete to an athlete on the outside looking in, hell bent on learning his craft! I learned all of the nuances of a pro defense! It was like sneaking behind enemy lines. The light bulb was turned on! I now saw the game versus reacting to the game. I could see the chess board and play 2-3 moves ahead of my opponent. The conversation in meetings would go as follows…”when a team does this we will counter with this. When we do that…we can expect them to do this which we will also be prepared for!” Winning teams dictate terms on the field. The teams that struggle always feel like they are a step behind! When I was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders and moved back to receiver, I was re-born! I was a football player!
Its funny how a lot of great athletes turn out to be bad coaches. Great athletes often cannot explain what they do so coaching it into other athletes is impossible. Michael Jordan was a wonderfully, gifted athlete but never coached. Why? You would think someone who saw the game as well as he did would have been hired in a millisecond after he retired. Not so with Jordan and so many others. Many of the great coaches were journeyman players having to create a competitive edge from a strategic point of view versus an athletic one.
How does this connect to my fear of being instinctual as a coach? As a university player I could just go do that thing I do and everyone was happy. Not so much in the pro’s. I was no Michael Jordan! I was a good athlete in university and an average one in the pro’s. I had to find my competitive edge. I had to understand the entire strategy! I needed to know all of the ingredients that made the recipe work. Today, the same applies to me as a coach. As a coach, if you can’t lay out the recipe…the what, why, where, when and how things are going to get done…you are doomed!
I get stoked up about coaching because I can put individuals and teams in a position to succeed and now, I can explain the why, when, where, what and how behind the strategy!
Ken Evraire 