What makes a great coach? This is a frequently asked question, the answer to which it is easy to come up with by giving a multitude of traits that a successful coach has or should possess.
Most often these are general characteristics such as, “gets along well with his players”, “treats everyone equally”, “is strict but firm”, “does not have favorites”, “has great strategies” and so on. It is rare to see something like, “knows how to develop the physical and technical abilities of his players”.
One trait that is usually not written up but which influences more people than others, is that he or she developed a high level athlete or team. Without getting into different personalities I am sure that all of you can come up with examples of such coaches.
Once the coach gets this kind of recognition, his training programs are thought to be the best and are copied by other coaches and athletes. This is as it should be but only on one condition; the coach developed the athlete or team using novel training methods that were responsible for the success.
Many times however, his or her success is due to the use of steroids by the athletes or he was fortunate to get exceptional athletes or had a great recruiting class. When this happens it does not matter what kind of training program is used. They will all produce effective results.
To copy such programs and to use them with especially with drug-free athletes will usually be detrimental. You may do more harm than good to the athletes!
Best is to see if the coach consistently turns out the top athletes and/or teams. This should be a sign of any good coach. He should be able to duplicate his success for several or more years. Having success only once usually means other things were at play.
For more information on development of a successful player or team see Build a Better Athlete.