Imposter Syndrome in Coaching
Imposter syndrome is good. That means you care about doing a good job. But how do you work through it? When do you finally begin to feel confident in yourself and in your approach?
If you’re a youth sports coach, especially a parent volunteer, give yourself a lot of grace. It’s easy (and okay) to feel like an imposter.
For me, it’s my own self-talk that makes me feel like an imposter. I know better than anyone else the areas in which I’m lacking. I don’t know all the drills out there. Yes, I use YouTube to get ideas for my practices. No, I don’t know how to coach pitching technique for softball (not yet anyway!). Sometimes, I realize hours after a practice has ended that I forgot an important detail of a drill. Sometimes a parent in the stands makes a shitty comment, and I take it personally. Sometimes I think that maybe I’m not cut out for coaching.
I’ve found that the longer I do this, the easier it becomes to manage. Does it ever fully go away? No. I think that’s mainly because I know there is always something else to learn. Continuing to learn and grow is probably the best way to work through it. The more you learn and grow, the better prepared you feel to plan and run your practices, to take on challenges, and to answer the many questions coming your way. This will slowly build your confidence and make you feel better about your approach. This will also help you build and develop your own style and coaching philosophy.
If you are struggling with imposter syndrome as a coach, remind yourself of the following:
You don’t have to know everything.
If your players want to come back the following season, you’re doing a good job.
Cherry pick good ideas from other coaches if you think it can help you improve.
Keep learning.
Find a coaching mentor. Someone who has been where you are and can help you through it.
Work on that self-talk. Give yourself lots of grace and stick it out.
You’ve got this Coach!