I was talking to a good friend of mine who is a Division I head coach.  He is close to getting his Masters degree in Sport Management.  I often wonder what people learn in those types of courses and how it might apply to their day-to-day work as a coach or administrator.  He and I talked about some of the high level classes he has taken and the theory he learned. It turns out that, similar to the MBA's lack of preparation of an entrepreneur, much of what he learned does not help him become the CEO of his entrepreneurial, small-business-like athletics enterprise. This leads me to consider how poorly prepared most coaches are for the entrepreneurship of becoming a head coach and truly developing their program for success. While we might think that we can teach a single leg takedown, 4-3 defense, or breast stroke technique better than the head coach, many assistants are not prepared to be the head coach.  The head coach does much more than simply teach technique... he must be prepared to communicate with the media, direct recruiting (college), woo donors (yes, high school coach, that means you too) and shoulder criticism.

The book The E-Myth Revisited should be required reading for any aspiring head coach.  The E-Myth stands for Entrepreneurial Myth.  Just because you can swing a hammer doesn't mean you can become a contractor.  Just because you can build a software program doesn't mean you can run a software company.  It is not that simple.  Neither is coaching.  This is what I call the C-Myth.

I almost missed a big wrestling event with 6 teams that was taking place
about 4 miles from my home last weekend. And I'm a wrestling coach. No one
told me! Don't complain about your lack of community support if you're not
doing anything to earn it.
What are you doing today to make it easy for me to be a fan of your
program? Did you send an email newsletter? How about update your Facebook
Page to let me know when your next wrestling match is? Did you call or
email the media?

GM (General Motors) has decided to rebrand for obvious reasons.  They've taken an interesting angle of being forthright and honest.  The type of honesty they show in the new commercial below is going to help make them more human and not seem the out-of-touch behemoth they had become.  When creating content for your blog posts, email newsletters, fundraising letters etc we need to do the same.  Be down-to-earth and real.  Let your supporters know that you need them, rely on them, rely on their support both financial and otherwise.