What makes a great coach great?

I recently read something about the late John Wooden, who coached the UCLA Bruins to 10 NCAA championship wins between 1963 and 1975. A comment that stood out was that what made Wooden such a great coach was his ability to help his players succeed at basketball AND become better people in the process. Coach Wooden put his players’ needs and goals above his own – he refused to sacrifice his players to reach his goals.

How was Wooden able to develop so many successful players over so many years? Not only was he one of the most successful sports coaches ever; John Wooden was also one of the greatest personal development coaches ever. 

Psychologist Carl Rogers writes that there are three key elements that must be present in coaching situations where personal development is the goal: 

• A supportive climate for change. The coach is caring and has unconditional positive regard for those whom they are coaching.
• Authenticity. The coach is not outside the situation but rather right in the heat of the battle for that person or team. 
• Empathic understanding. The coach understands what that person is experiencing and can articulate that back to them in a way that creates insight.    

Being a great coach doesn’t just mean you that you understand what you are talking about, have played the sport, or worked in a similar job for many years. It also entails a passion for helping people improve their performance and achieve their goals – a passion that exceeds your own desire for success.  Under this definition, John Wooden certainly belongs on the list of the greatest coaches ever. My guess is that Carl Rogers would have agreed!