When are you at your best as a coach?

 

There are many examples in popular culture of the 'excitable young pup' and the 'wise old dog'. There is a Warner Brothers cartoon I remember with the pup constantly jumping up and down with energy. There is another example in a Sean Penn movie where he plays a young policeman and his old, craggy partner, tells a story about how best to go downhill to the pasture.

As someone getting towards the wizened old end of the scale I recognise the value of the enthusiasm of youth. Sometimes not seeing or knowing why something shouldn't work has a real value. Same with not remembering all the times something was tried and it didn't work and so it is not worth bothering to try again.**

This idea got me thinking of coaching in relation to the Dunning-Kruger effect.

What part of the chart do you think makes the best coach? 

What part makes the best junior coach?

What part makes the best pro-level coach?

Do you think the curve is the same for male coaches and female?

**On a side note, I realised a few years ago that I was into the 'grumpy old man' stage of my coaching career. I'm now the guy that points out all the reasons something won't work and the examples of when we tried it and it didn't work, ignoring the fact that maybe the reason all those times didn't work was because of me!

(Photo Credit)