What's in a Coach? The Importance of Leadership in Lacrosse

What’s in a Coach?

What makes a great coach? Why is it important?

“Coaching” is a term that everyone uses a lot. Everyone knows what a coach is, but sometimes it’s hard to articulate exactly what a coach means. We all have a little bit of “coach” in us; every time we lend a hand, offer a word of advice, help someone help themselves; even the times we sit and watch someone else learn the hard way through adversity and defeat. We all have a little bit of coach in us because a coach is a combination of little things that make one complete package. It’s the few that possess the entire package that we can call elite coaches. New Wave Lacrosse is proud and humbled to have these few individuals that compose the backbone of our leadership staff and this is what sets New Wave Lacrosse apart from the rest.

Put simply, a coach inspires greatness in others through trust.

Where leader meets teacher. Inspiration meets respect. New Wave Lacrosse understands this balance better than any other lacrosse club in Illinois.

Trust is the key factor; they have been “there” before, they have seen what we will see and they are better equipped to help us handle that which we have not yet handled. They know how we will think about something that we haven’t had to think about before. A coach prepares you, inspires you, mentors you, teaches you, listens to you, and most importantly, cares for you. Make no mistake, this is arare combination of talent. We look at the greatest coaches of our time, across sports and across nations, and we are awed at their ability to lead and inspire greatness physically, emotionally and mentally in different groups of people.

Long story short, coaching is really, really important. More important than tournaments, uniforms, practice fields, schedules; It’s easily the most pivotal factor in determining where your son or daughter should spend their time and effort in anything, especially sports, in the most crucial years of their lives in athletic development. Coaching is one of the primary reasons hundreds of lacrosse families have chosen New Wave Lacrosse.

Remember: a “pro” player does not a good coach make. This has never been the case, across sports, across levels, across time. Some of the best coaches in the world were average players, and some of the best athletes in the world will never be coaches. A coach requires a different set of skills and experience, playing only being a fraction of those.

New Wave Lacrosse brings an unparalleled level of coaching to Illinois Lacrosse. The very foundation of why this program is second to none in the state is because of the coaching staff, which directly, positively affects every athlete that puts on blue and black and makes the decision to become a part of this program. New Wave proudly employs NCAA head coaches, state champion head coaches, elite high school coaches and a group of players who also possess the separate skill of coaching leadership.

Take a look at the New Wave Coaching Resume, both current and past, and think about the special talent and balance it takes to be a good coach, and then think about what this means to a young player in their development as an athlete.

After all, the purpose of a coaching staff is to inspire greatness in your son. What’s more important than that?