By Brian Gotta, President of CoachDeck

There are many different reasons, some better than others, that people get into coaching. Some do it for the love of sports and because they would like to share their knowledge with others. Some coach for more selfish reasons, because they want to make sure that their sons or daughters have as many advantages as possible. Others sign up for the first time because they see other coaches who are in so far over their heads that they’re sure they would be an improvement. And some people end up coaching because there are simply no other volunteers willing to take the job and they heroically “step up to the plate” and volunteer to carry the equipment bag to practices and games.

Whether you’re coaching for one of these reasons or a combination, whether you’ve ever coached before or not, and regardless of how many years and at what level you’ve played the game yourself, you’ve been given a great responsibility, opportunity, and privilege.

If any of this talk of “responsibility” makes you nervous, don’t let it. It’s mostly a lot of fun. And though there are some fundamentals you’ll want to know and teach to your team, it's not that complicated. The four basic cornerstones to this season should be:
1. Keep it safe
2. Make it fun
3. Teach fundamentals
4. Make every player want to come back
That’s it. If you can keep those four goals in mind through every practice and game, you’ll have done a great job.