"Hey Coach...!!!"

Imagine if you went to work tomorrow and there was a room full of people waiting to see how you do. They all think they have some stake in the outcome, and they all think they know just as much about how to do your job as you do (even though, most of them haven't had the first bit of training in your field of expertise). You find yourself having to make split-second decisions while the crowd of people yell and scream, sometimes for you but mostly just at you. If that's not enough, your success or failure at the end of the day depends upon teenagers.

Get the picture?

Because we get to see some of what they do, a lot of us think we know what coaching is like. I used to think I knew a fair amount about sports until I married a coach. There's so much more to it than people really understand. For this reason, I've decided to write a multi-part series taking a behind-the-scenes look at what all Coach does as part of his job. Hopefully, I'll be able to dispel some myths and clear up some misconceptions as well. Maybe you can even let me know what you might be interested in finding out.

By no means do I consider myself an expert. But, I can tell you what I've learned from my own experiences. It's a very tough job. It's physically, mentally, and sometimes emotionally draining. And, it never ends. There's a reason why there are more people in the stands than on the sidelines.

You may wonder: do people really yell ugly things at the coaches? Um...yeah. They do. All the time. People call them names and criticize every decision they make. Not all people, of course. But it happens with a frequency that might surprise you. Some of them get down-right nasty. It's almost like they think that chain-link fence can protect them from retaliation, so they take can take whatever shots they won't. It's not the fence keeping the coaches off of them, though.

As a young coach's wife, I had to learn to deal with the things I heard from my seat in the stands. It was hard at first. But, it didn't take long to realize that the people who say nasty things about the coaches know so little about the sport or sportsmanship that they aren't even worth getting angry over. And, the coaches really don't hear most of it. It's much tougher on us wives. That's how I deal with most of it. Still, there have been a couple of instances where someone takes it too far, and I can't take it any more. They forgot that I was on the same side of the fence as they were.

It's great to support your team. It's fun to yell and cheer and be a part of it all. But, when cheers become criticisms of players or coaches, you have to ask yourself what you're really doing. No matter what you think, those men out there want to win more than you do. They are doing and have done far more than you can imagine to try to make that happen. Your yelling at them isn't helping.

If you need help knowing how to support your team appropriately, just look for the cheerleaders. They are trying to help! They even have signs. Remember what we learned from the idiot in the stands...and just yell "Go Team". And, it wouldn't hurt to throw in a word or two of appreciation to the players and their coaches. Just sayin'.