Takedown Report

Knowing This Word Origin Will Make You A Better Coach

By Darren Wensor, sports development professional
How Knowing This Word’s Origin Could Transform Your Coaching
There are a number of words that could be nominated as crucial for coaches of young athletes to have an intimate knowledge of. I’m particularly thinking of those relating to physiology, cognitive development and coaching practice. But there is one word more than all others that I think it is important for coaches of young athletes to understand and to have a strong sense about.
That word is coach. A coach’s interpretation of this word is crucial to their coaching philosophy and arguably how effective they will be when working with young athletes.
The Origin Of “Coach”
There is no better way to get a true sense of a word than to learn of its origin. According to two online sources (Wiktionary and Online Etymology Dictionary) the word “coach” comes from the name of a small Hungarian village Kocs, where carriages (i.e. horse-drawn vehicles) were made. The word was first used to refer to an “instructor” or “trainer” around 1830 at Oxford University as slang for a tutor who “carries” students through an exam. It was first linked to sports and athletic trainers in 1861. A coach as a “carriage” is a lovely thought that really resonates with me. It’s an image that an entire coaching philosophy can be built around. Rest of the story at https://www.thepredicament.com/2019/08/23086/?mc_cid=764e5dedd8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

August 10, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized