Coach without cursing. The most effective coaches do not have to curse in order to coach effectively.
I am Phil Tran, championship-winning high school football and strength coach and NHSSCA Maryland Coach of the Year.
I am one of those football coaches that never uses profanity. I find much more eloquent ways to express myself in joy, pain, humor, horror, victory, and defeat. Eloquence is much more powerful than profanity.
Your athletes may not possess the same eloquence in their speech, but I assure you that they do hear and understand what you say. If we expect and demand more from our kids, we must be the role models. We must set the examples.
If we want our kids to be articulate, eloquent, expressive, forceful, potent, and powerful in their conversation, dialogue, and oratory, we as coaches must be articulate, eloquent, expressive, forceful, potent, and powerful in our coaching, demonstration, encouragement, instruction, and motivation. We must be articulate, eloquent, expressive, forceful, potent, and powerful in our criticism, consolation, commendation, and celebration.
One cannot be articulate and accurate in expression if one is routinely using the same profane and obscene word as a noun, adjective, adverb, and gerund to describe astonishment, anger, amazement, and admiration.
Our forebears from bygone eras climbed new heights by maximizing and expanding the power of language. It can seem disconcerting when we compare the diction and literacy in popular culture today with popular culture of yesteryear, but hope is not lost.
Some of the best investments you can make to advance your own career are to enhance your writing and speaking skills. Professionals of any profession can boost their earning potential and cachet by excelling as a writer and speaker on topics pertaining to their expertise and in everyday interactions. Let your athletes know that they can simply expand their opportunities and earning potential by writing and speaking on a peerless level and challenge them to do so by challenging yourself.
As a coach and a leader of young women and men, you owe it to yourself and your athletes to drop the crutch of profanity and force your writing and speaking skills to sprint to victory. Coach with eloquence, energy, enthusiasm, and excellence.
Let me know your thoughts. Like, share, and comment. Follow me on social media at PhilTran22. Subscribe to my YouTube channel at PhilTran22 and you will be the first to receive my new episodes of Sport and Life every Wednesday. I will see you all next time. Thank you.
