The Top 5 Career Killers for Coaches

Having a successful career in coaching is mostly rooted in pure hard work and the ability to inspire your athletes. However, there are also things you should avoid. We spoke with coaches at various levels and formed a list of what we think are the top 5 career killers for a sports coach.

1. When Wins and Losses Mean More than the Athletes: Your players will know it from a mile away when you begin to value the win-loss record over their personal wellbeing. Achieving a successful record comes through a healthy relationship with your players; there are no shortcuts.

2. Sacrificing Integrity for the Altar of Success: Although we have seen coaches at high levels defy this principle, maintaining your integrity and championing a reputation of honesty will earn trust and confidence from everyone in your organization which creates sustainable success, not just in the short term.

3. Get Lazy and Stay Lazy: Habitually cutting corners does not happen instantly. Rather, it is a development that starts small and snow balls into your work life. The best way of insuring a strong work ethic is to nip laziness in the bud.

4. Tearing Players Down Will Never Build You Up: Coaching a player always requires degrees of critiquing. However, it is important that you build a player up upon any sign of improvement. Consistently bringing down athletes will discourage athletes from giving you their undying best effort and is one of the top 5 career killers for coaches.

5. Refuse to Adjust and Watch Others Pass You By: From the "No Water" philosophy to the Wishbone offense, sports have evolved and will keep evolving. As a coach, it is important to have an open mind and be an early adopter to gain the edge and maintain it. Right now, you are in the middle of the technology evolution and the tech-savvy Millennial generation is now your athletes.

Ball's in your court.