What makes a great coach?

What qualities would make a great coach? What makes one so good and another just mediocre?

A divine will?

I think that like a lot of things in skating some poeple just "have it'. I good coach deffinetly has to have the knowlage and the experince but also a way of relating it to thier srudents. They have to be business like and treat thier job seriously (arrive on time, focus during lessons, know how to talk to the parents etc.) but also know when to lighten up and make skating fun. A good coach should expect a lot of of her students, but not unrealisticly. I think that a good coach should introduce topics to the students which they might not have thought of or need guidence on, such as when to start testing, how to train for a competition etc. A good coach should be able to teach students of all levels and ages and treat them all fairly and alike. Somtimes it is helpful if the coach is good muscily and can think of involavtive chreography, but this is not a must. ( we can't expect superman!)

I woud say the number one quality the coach should have is patience.

I think a great coach has a lot of patience and loves to teach. A great coach is genuinely interested in the skater's progress and sincerely cares about their skating. A great coach treats all students equally whether they are preliminary skaters or competitive high level skaters because everyone is important. A great coach believes in each skater and helps to instill confidence. A great coach devotes all their attention on you when you're having a lesson. A great coach is not afraid to correct you; they don't say "good" to everything you do. A great coach is encouraging, but firm and pushes you with wisdom. A great coach is technically very analytical, but can translate his thoughts in plain English. A great coach is able to explain things in more than one way in case you don't get it the first time. A great coach is insightful and understands his students; the coach knows how to design programs that accentuate the skater's strengths and downplay their weaknesses. A great coach will leave you with a good feeling and make you excited to work on stuff you just went over in the lesson. Finally, the chemistry is just rignt between skater and coach.

a great coach inspires you to want to do better and work harder. He or she can take your weaknesses and strengthen them so there is better balance. A great coach can also help you set realistic goals based on your current ability and where they see you going in the very-short, near- and distant future.