Playing the Devil's Advocate

[powerplant42]

Quick question, do you coach your teammates? Do you have a coach?

1. Yes, more or less. Though some of my teammates won't listen to me either! But I do my best to get the younger ones doing things right (and understanding why) so that in a few years they will be able to coach new vaulters... and jump very high.

2. Not really... There is some guidance when we use the pit, but other than that, we're pretty much on our own.

Thank you for all of the advice you guys... I didn't expect this thread to turn into this, but I'm sort of glad it did.

[swtvault]

Quick question, do you coach your teammates? Do you have a coach?

I think you should take a realistic look at your situation. You are a high school vaulter who, regardless of your level of knowledge, is not in a position to have a tremendous impact on the pole vault coaching scene as of now. In the future who knows... you may be in a position to make this impact later on down the road. But for now, pushing your weight around won't amount to anything more than the other coaches disliking you and even worse, developing a negative image for yourself.

If you ask me, the best thing you can do for yourself and your teammates for now is to ensure that you are all doing the proper technique. What the other coaches do is up to them. From your position, you really don't have enough leverage to change that. Also unfortunate is that from their perspective you may just be a know-it-all kid, even though you probably know more about proper technique than they do. But being a good coach is more than just knowing the right technique.

You also need to:
1) Be aware of and be able to appreciate ideas other than your own

2) Be thoughtful of how your actions will illicit reactions and responses from others

3) Be reflective of your past experiences and interactions with others in order to develop your interpersonal skills

4) Be prepared to accept that what you think is correct now may actually be incorrect

5) Be conscious and realistic about your position in the grand scheme of things and how much impact your actions can have

6) Be prepared to swallow your pride every now and then (hopefully not too often)

7) Be able to give a response, not a reaction (you can go ahead and figure this one out for yourself)

8) Be reflective of yourself. Understand where you are, know where you want to be and develop a way of getting there. Always taking time to look back in order to assess yourself.

You're young, very enthusiastic and have a good understanding of the Petrov model. It would be a shame to let all that slip away just because you lack in the PR department!

Great advice Andy C! I regrettedly damaged relationships with some of college teammates and coaches by being an arrogant know it-all. I since than have been humbled to a degree and definitely realize how little I really do know, as I constantly find myself evaluating and challenging my ideals.

[powerplant42]

I since than have been humbled to a degree and definitely realize how little I really do know, as I constantly find myself evaluating and challenging my ideals.

A never ending quest...

The only absolute is inabsoluteness...