A coach has a tremendous responsibility. At any level of competition, the coach is expected to help his players reach their potential. Regardless of talent, he must develop his team into the very best they can be. Bud Black, manager of the San Diego Padres, has a lot of personal experience with the responsibilities a head coach carries on his shoulders. Coach Black is now in his fourth year with the Padres and is charged with talent development each year. Youth Fitness Magazine sat down with Coach Black to gain insight into his thoughts on the responsibilities of a coach.

“For me, a coach takes on three roles; teacher, leader and motivator. When I think of a coach I think of those three things. The primary focus is teacher. He has to teach his young men at any level whether major league, collegiate, high school, amateur, little league ― you name it ― I think we are teachers.” To teach is simply to impart knowledge or skill by instruction or example. Coach Black embraces this definition of teaching and believes the best way to teach is to bring a player to understanding through communication about an experience. “After every experience, good or bad in our sport, even though it’s a daily thing, a daily game and a daily outcome, we talk about the game. We talk about what happened last night or yesterday,” says Black.

Secondly, being a good coach means being a good leader. Leadership is defined as the ability to guide, direct or influence people. Coach Black has been a great example of a leader. To see this in action, you need look no further than the San Diego Padres finish to the 2009 season when they became one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball. Bud Black said he positively communicated through the tough losses all year. “What I do as a leader, personally, and what I think most good leaders are is good communicators, especially, in this day and age. Keep your staff informed, be organized, keep your players informed. Don’t leave players in the dark, let them know what you are doing, what you are thinking and what is expected of them. In this day and age I think the modern player needs information, he is curious about it. The days of’ ‘my way or the highway’ are gone at every level.”

Finally, to be a great coach at any level, you must be a motivator, says Black. “There is no doubt that I think encouragement, positive reinforcement, and support, helps everyone, including your own children.” Coach Black is a man that practices what he preaches. During the tough times of losing games he stayed positive and constantly supported his players. Black tells YFM, “We keep things as consistent as possible, on an even keel emotionally with our players.” Motivation is not yelling at a player in hopes of inspiring them. That may work temporarily and they may give more effort at the time. Clearly, that is not a sustainable type of motivation. Coaches should look for the type of motivation that will sustain their players long term ― not just through a game, or a season, but throughout their lives. “The thing you always have to remember with major league players, even though they are professionals, they need support. They need praise. They need to know that you are behind them. When they feel that from their coach, I think they perform better and I do think they are motivated,” encourages Black.

Becoming a great coach does not come easy. Great coaches put a tremendous amount of time in getting to know their players in order to learn how to teach them effectively. They study how to positively encourage the athletes they are coaching. Bud Black stands out as a tremendous role model as a coach. We wish him and the San Diego Padres great success in 2010.