One crucial element to prepare yourself for the responsibility of coaching a team is to establish a coaching philosophy. In fact, there are multiple philosophies you will want to understand, implement, and live by. It is critical that before you set foot in a meeting, practice, or contest, you establish the various philosophies necessary for you to perform and to help your teams perform their best.

Every coach needs a philosophy. Whether you are the head coach of a varsity team, a lower-level assistant coach, or even a youth coach not affiliated with a school, you need to have a guide for why you do what you do as a coach and how to do it. Depending upon the level at which you coach, this may or may not be a very detailed explanation. However, no matter what level you coach at, you need to have an idea and a plan for what this experience should be all about.

In Your Coaching Philosophy, Scott Rosberg offers you a guide to the four most important philosophies you need to establish: General Athletic/Coaching Philosophy, Sport-Specific Philosophy, Practice Philosophy, & Playing-Time Philosophy. While there may be more philosophies that you will consider establishing, these four will form the basis for who you want to be as a coach, how you want your players and teams to behave, and the methods you will go about in developing the team, program, and culture you want to create.