Becoming the Coach I Needed: Integrating Skill Development and Athlete Well-Being

When I first started my Master's in Education, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of what it meant to be a coach. As a former student-athlete and someone who has been around volleyball for a majority of my life, I believed that being a good coach meant being knowledgeable about the game, running efficient practices, and pushing athletes to be their best. I valued hard work, discipline, and competitiveness, and I thought those were the main things that led to success on and off the court. While I still believe those things matter, this program has completely changed how I define effective coaching. I now see coaching as something much deeper. It is not just about performance, but about development. It is not just about winning, but about impact. Most importantly, it is about the athletes.

Throughout this program, I have grown not only in my knowledge, but in how I think, how I approach athletes, and how I design environments for learning. Three courses in particular, KIN 868: Skill Development in Athletes, KIN 857: Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Sport, and KIN 853: Athletic Administration and Governance, have had the biggest impact on shaping who I am as a coach today. Each of these courses challenged me in different ways, and together, they helped me connect the dots between skill development, athlete well-being, and leadership.

Before taking KIN 868, I viewed skill development in a very traditional way. I believed that the best way for athletes to improve was through repetition and correction. If something was wrong, I would stop it, fix it, and have them do it again until it looked right. While that approach can still have a place, this course showed me that learning is much more complex than that. I was introduced to different theories of skill acquisition and learned how practice design plays a huge role in how athletes actually learn and retain skills. This completely shifted my mindset.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was the idea that athletes learn better when they are put in situations where they have to think and problem-solve, rather than just being told what to do. This changed how I view my role as a coach. Instead of being the person with all the answers, I started to see myself as someone who creates the environment for learning. I became more intentional with how I design drills, focusing more on game-like situations and decision-making rather than isolated repetition. I also became more aware of how and when I give feedback. Instead of constantly correcting every mistake, I try to allow athletes time to figure things out on their own, which ultimately leads to deeper learning.

This shift has already impacted how I coach. I am more patient, more intentional, and more focused on long-term development rather than quick fixes. It also made me realize that learning is not always linear, and that struggle is actually an important part of the learning process. That was something I did not fully understand before this course.

While KIN 868 changed how I think about skill development, KIN 857 expanded my perspective even further by focusing on the whole athlete. This course emphasized that sports are not just about performance, but about development as a person. Before this class, I knew that coaching involved more than just the sport, but I do not think I fully understood how much of an impact a coach can have on an athlete’s life.

Through this course, I learned about the importance of creating a positive environment where athletes feel supported, valued, and motivated. We discussed how coaches can help build confidence, leadership, and life skills, and how those things can carry far beyond the game. This really stuck with me because it made me reflect on my own experiences as an athlete and the coaches who had the biggest impact on me. It was not always the ones who knew the most about the game, but the ones who cared, who created a positive environment, and who made me feel like I mattered.

This course changed the way I care for my athletes. I am more aware of how my actions, words, and overall coaching style affect them, not just in terms of performance, but in how they see themselves. I place a greater emphasis on building relationships and creating a team culture that is supportive and positive. It also reinforced the importance of mental health, which is something that is becoming more and more relevant in athletics today. I now see it as my responsibility to not only develop athletes physically, but to support them mentally and emotionally as well.

The third course, KIN 853, added another layer to my understanding by showing me the bigger picture of athletics. Before this class, I mainly focused on the day-to-day aspects of coaching, practice, games, and individual development. I did not spend much time thinking about the structure and leadership behind athletic programs. This course opened my eyes to how organizations like the NCAA are run, how decisions are made, and how leadership shapes the culture of a program.

One of the biggest takeaways from this course was the importance of leadership and accountability. I learned that the culture of a team or organization does not just happen by accident. It is created through intentional decisions, policies, and leadership. This made me reflect on the kind of culture I want to be a part of and eventually lead. It also helped me understand that being a coach means being a leader, not just on the court, but within a larger system.

This course also made me more aware of the responsibilities that come with being in a leadership role. It is not just about making decisions, but about making the right decisions for the athletes and the program as a whole. It gave me a greater appreciation for the behind-the-scenes work that goes into running a successful program and made me think more critically about how I can contribute to that in the future.

When I step back and look at these three courses together, I can see how they have shaped my overall coaching philosophy. KIN 868 taught me how athletes learn, KIN 857 showed me why that learning environment matters, and KIN 853 helped me understand how leadership and structure support it all. Together, they have helped me see coaching in a much more complete way.

Because of concepts that I have learned in this program, I now view the job description of a coach as creating an environment where athletes can grow, both as players and as people. I am more intentional in how I design practices, more aware of how I interact with my athletes, and more thoughtful about the kind of culture I want to create. I also have a better understanding of my role within a larger organization and how leadership impacts everything from athlete experience to program success.

Working with Michigan State Volleyball has allowed me to start applying many of the ideas I’ve learned in my courses in real time. Being immersed in a high-level program has given me the chance to observe different coaching styles, practice structures, and team management strategies. I’ve been able to see firsthand how even small adjustments in practice design, like the order of drills, the type of feedback given, or the way a skill is broken down, can dramatically impact athlete engagement and learning. Watching how experienced coaches balance skill development, mental preparation, and team culture has helped me understand the practical side of what I’ve studied in KIN 868, KIN 857, and KIN 853.

Beyond observation, I’ve also had the opportunity to implement my own coaching ideas. Working with the top 13's team at Michigan Elite, I focus on creating practices that are both structured and flexible, challenging athletes to problem-solve while also providing clear guidance. I think a lot about how I present feedback, making sure it motivates rather than discourages, and I aim to balance skill repetition with game-like scenarios to encourage decision-making under pressure. Coaching young athletes in this environment has reinforced the lessons from KIN 857, showing me how important it is to foster confidence, teamwork, and resilience alongside technical skill.

Additionally, these experiences have deepened my understanding of how team culture is built and maintained. I’ve observed that communication, consistency, and respect are just as important as drills and conditioning. Athletes respond to clear expectations and supportive relationships, and I’ve started experimenting with strategies to build trust and accountability within the teams I coach. Whether it’s through setting team norms, modeling positivity, or encouraging peer leadership, I’ve realized that culture doesn’t just happen, it is intentional.

Overall, my time with MSU Volleyball and Michigan Elite has been invaluable for bridging theory and practice. It has given me a space to reflect on my own coaching philosophy, test new ideas, and see the immediate effects of my decisions on athletes’ learning, growth, and enjoyment of the sport. These experiences continue to shape how I approach coaching, making me more thoughtful, adaptable, and committed to developing athletes both on and off the court.

Overall, this program has changed me in ways I did not expect. It has challenged my assumptions, pushed me to think deeper, and helped me grow both personally and professionally. I am more confident in my ability to coach, but I am also more aware of how much there is still to learn. I have developed a stronger sense of purpose and a clearer understanding of the kind of coach I want to be.

Moving forward, I want to continue building on what I have learned. I want to create environments where athletes feel supported, challenged, and motivated to grow. I want to focus on long-term development rather than short-term success. Most importantly, I want to make a positive impact on the athletes I work with, both on and off the court. At the end of the day, this program has helped me become the kind of coach I needed when I was an athlete, someone who understands the game, but also understands the person.