A Coach as a Mentor

By: Mark Rerick, CMAA - Grand Forks, North Dakota

Many of you are probably aware of various incidents that have occurred across the US in high school football in the last year. To me, the most troubling piece of these actions has been the involvement of certain adults. The two highest profile occurrences were the two athletes in Texas that targeted an official and the athlete in New Jersey that targeted an opponent. In the case of the Texas incident, it has now been discovered that they were directed to target the official by an assistant coach. The athlete in New Jersey has his mother loudly and publicly defending his actions as an accident.

Coaches have an integral role in the lives of our student-athletes. We are handing them the predominant leadership spots in running educationally based athletic teams. Our programs shouldn't be run just to win games, hang banners, and send kids off to college teams. Our programs should be in place to teach usable life lessons and prepare kids to be adults…while trying to win games, hang banners, and send a small number of kids off to college teams.

The term that we often hear associated with teachers and coaches is "mentor," but many people don't know the origin of that word. Mentor is a Greek word with its roots in the Greek mythological epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer. In The Odyssey, Odysseus leaves his old friend Mentor in charge of his household and young son, Telemachus, when Odysseus decides to join the Trojan Wars. In Odysseus's absence, Mentor's role was to manage the household tasks typically left for a family's patriarch and provide wise counsel for Telemachus during the boy's childhood. Because Odysseus was gone for twenty years, Telemachus was essentially raised by Mentor. Mentor's role in Telemachus's life was so important that even Athena changed her form to look like Mentor when she wanted to give advice to Telemachus.

Because of his role in classic Western literature, the name "mentor" was absorbed into the English language to mean "a wise and trusted counselor or teacher," or "an influential senior sponsor or supporter."

To further my etymology sidebar, I'll explain the background of the word "coach" as well. The original definition of "coach" was in the sense of a vehicle designed to carry passengers. At some point in history, it was recognized that tutors were carrying their pupils toward exams in the same manner a carriage carries its passengers toward a destination, which started the use of the word "coach" to refer to people who teach or train others.

So the real question for coaches is this: Towards what "exam" are you carrying your athletes? Is your exam just the games, or is your exam life? It is my belief that coaches in the educational based athletics world should be preparing our youth for life.

I offer that brief background as a basis for reflection by coaches: Are you fulfilling your role as a mentor in the lives of your athletes? Are you coaching your athletes in the same manner you would expect someone else to parent your own children? Are you serving as a proper parental replacement for the students entrusted in your care for two hours a day? If you're going to be a mentor, you should strive to be like Mentor.