Service coaches should provide

THE WORLD OF SPORT and games provides  a treasure trove of true stories of courage, endurance, compassion and camaraderie. The recent Winter Olympics in Sochi which concluded on February 23 has done just that.

Anton Gafarov. In the men’s final cross country skiing event, Russia’s Anton Gafarov crashed halfway down a hill, badly damaging his ski. However, he managed to lift himself up and continue, but fell again, this time breaking the ski.

Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth ran onto the course to support him. He provided a new ski — putting it on for him — which enabled Anton to finish the race. Although he finished a full three minutes behind the leaders, the crowd gave Anton a standing ovation as he crossed the finishing line, creating a memorable Olympics moment. “I wanted him to have dignity as he crossed the finish line,” said Wadsworth in an interview to Toronto Star.

Wow! That’s the magic of sport and why millions of people worldwide love sports of all types. It’s not just competition, it’s the goodwill it generates while reaching out to others. This anecdote reminded me of another story of caring and service.

William Waldorf Astor. On a stormy night several decades ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Scrambling out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk, hoping to get shelter for the night.

“We’d like a room, please,” the husband requested. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at them and explained that there were three conventions in town. “All our rooms are taken,” he said. “But I can’t send a nice couple like you out in the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you, perhaps, be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it’s good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night.”

When the couple declined, the clerk insisted. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll make out just fine,” he told them. As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You’re really exceptional. Finding people who are friendly and helpful is rare these days. You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.”

Together, these two stories remind us about what the most friendly, helpful and exceptional coaches know and understand.

The kids they coach are not their kids. Too many coaches talk about “our kids” and the trouble they have with their parents. The fact is, unless the coach is paying for the child’s housing, food, insurance, school, medical care, and so forth, they are not their kids. Coaches are gifted children by parents to spend short spells with their kids on a field or in a gym, and need to give their children the coach’s best in that precious time.

Great coaches don’t have to be jerks. When a coach is unable to control himself/herself, there’s no reason why his wards should listen to him. When a coach loses control and lashes out, teaching stops. Coaches should never be demeaning. They should keep sarcasm out of their feedback, and tell their wards how great their effort was. Kids need role models, not critics.

Mistakes are simply an opportunity to teach. When children and sportspersons make mistakes, they are not directed at the coach. Mistakes are simply part and parcel of the process of learning. They will happen by the thousands, and need to be corrected. That’s what teaching and learning is all about.

The value of being relentlessly positive. It takes a long time and skill to build a great team or training programme. And it takes no time or skill to tear it all down. Parents and coaches should bear this in mind when the team is practicing or training.
William Waldorf Astor (contd)….

Two years passed. The clerk was still managing the hotel in Philadelphia when he received a letter from William Waldorf, the visitor to whom he had provided shelter on that stormy night. In his brief letter, Waldorf thanked the young man for his help and requested him to pay him a visit. Enclosed was a round-trip ticket to New York.

The old man met him in New York and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He pointed to a grand new building there, a palace of reddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. “That,” he said, “is the hotel I’d like you to manage.”

The old man’s name was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The clerk who became the first manager was George C. Boldt. This young man would never have imagined how his simple act of grace would lead him to manage one of the world’s most glamorous hotels.

In the world of sport and games, people and athletes also expect service. What blows them away is when that service is beyond expectation — service above the call of duty and costs something to the person who provides it. I’d say coach Justin Wadsworth practiced this well!

(Dr. George A. Selleck is a San Francisco-based advisor to EduSports, Bangalore)