Why do coaches use anger to motivate?

[bballbeadle]

I have never been on a sports team, or in the army. It is clear that my psyche wouldn't survive it. If someone yelled or screamed at me, I would feel humiliated, embarrassed, crestfallen. Yet, somehow, a coach's anger seems to help teams go and get better. I don't believe you can be a coach without huge reservoirs of anger to draw upon. Interestingly, many coaches are civilized, loving human beings when not coaching (like ours).

So, why is anger essential?

 

[ImperialOrange]

For men, at least, it fires up that pride/machismo side. At 18-22 years old most guys are a king in their own mind and don't want to be on the recieving side of that. Most will make it a point to prove any detractors wrong and knowing you can't yell back at a coach the only way to acheive that is by your performance.

 

[MELOKEITH]

I think that the truly great coaches know which players need to be pumped up/encouraged, and which ones need a fire lit under them. When the wrong approach is taken, disaster happens. I hate when people say, "if you can't take it, you shouldn't be out there, etc." because sometimes it's a person who would achieve more with a little encouragement.

This is another reason why I think that our assistant coaches having all played for Coach are so valuable - they understand what he's trying to get across to each player, and can help out tremendously when a player doesn't "get it." The assistants are so dialed in, and Coach trusts them - one of the key aspects to some of our "edgier" players in recent years sticking it out and ending up as 6th man of the year recipients, future team leaders, etc.