During the spring of my freshman year, I decided to become an assistant coach for the Girls on the Run Program through the YWCA. I heard about this program from a friend and decided that because of my love for running, children, and influencing others in a positive way, it would be a great activity to take part in. After going through the formal background check and interview process, I was accepted as an assistant coach at Christ the King Lutheran Church. I coached 17 wonderful girls between the ages of 8-11 with two other assistant coaches and one head coach. The program involved 21 lessons along with a practice 5K, community impact project chosen by the girls, and a real 5K race with the community. Everything physically needed to coach the girls was found in the curriculum book (see an example of a lesson below), but it took a dedicated heart and sincere commitment to truly leave an impact. Each lesson involved a running workout tied around a particular life topic, such as developing friendships or identifying emotions. Activities were incorporated within the running that taught the girls more about themselves and their peers around them. It was amazing to watch these girls grow in their love for running, themselves, and their friends.
Because of this great first time experience of being a Girls on the Run coach, I decided to come back for more seasons, including the fall of 2017 – fall of 2019. During these additional four seasons as a coach, I was at the St. Joseph the Worker location and led anywhere from 11-18 young, courageous, strong girls. Because of my prior experience, I had a better idea of the flow of the program and how to more successfully interact and encourage these girls. I was more confident in my assertiveness and understanding that sometimes I can't always be their friend, rather I need to be an instructor and role model that can discipline when necessary. That being said, I did connect very well with this group of girls and directly saw my impact by many of them crawling out of their shells and confidently sharing their feelings in a large group and including others in their circle of friends. I also saw change within myself both personally and as a leader. It is remarkable to me how much wisdom, courage, and joy young girls have, and I loved both giving and receiving from the girls in this program.
Being an assistant coach for Girls on the Run has required me to step up as a leader and use my strengths to be a role model for the girls, maintain a positive environment, and communicate with the other coaches. The most useful strengths that I applied to my coaching experience was belief and achiever. Having experience as a runner and babysitter, I know that nothing is possible unless one believes in themselves, and with young children, it is just as important to have others believe in them as well. Because of this, I would always remind the girls that they are capable of anything and I believe in them and their talents. This ties back to my value of emotional intelligence, for being able to connect with the girls on an emotional level was essential. My strength of achiever was also critical in this experience, for I applied my hard work ethic, determination, and responsibility traits to strive for success in my coaching abilities to truly influence the girls. I have always been confident with speaking in groups and ensuring everyone is able to be heard, so it was usually easy for me to take charge of the girls when disruptive behavior was occurring, teach them valuable lessons, and lead activities found in the curriculum book all while being their mentor in the process. I learned through this experience that I do have a weakness of wanting things to go perfectly as planned and struggle with being flexible when unexpected scenarios arise. To combat this challenge, I tried to remember the overall goal and purpose of coaching, which is to positively impact the lives of young girls. Focusing on the bigger picture has helped me to slowly let go of my perfectionism and be more relaxed and adaptable in leading. Through implementing and practicing these strengths and working on my weaknesses, I achieved Level 2 of Values, “reflects upon personal leaderships strengths and weaknesses.”
These several seasons as a coach have taught me that patience is huge when working with others in a team setting, particularly when I coached with an individual who had no experience with the program or interacting with young girls. Coaching is a learning experience, and I was more than happy to share my insight and advice with her as well as listen to her ideas and new perspectives. We coordinated our leadership styles very well together, for she provided the fun and "extra" activities while I ensured the girls were hearing the main message of the lesson, which often meant directly following the curriculum book. I learned that I work best when having a thorough plan and something to base my words and actions off, whereas others are most successful by going with the flow. There was another season in which one of the coaches had little experience with teaching a lesson out of a curriculum book and did not feel comfortable leading in this way. Rather, she took the role of “discipliner” by watching the girls and their behavior and ensuring they were listening and not getting into trouble. This was very helpful for me and the other coaches who were instructing and teaching the lessons, because it provided a quiet and respectful environment to teach. Although we did not have defined roles within our coaching team, we each used our strengths to lead the girls and contribute what was needed at a particular time. This has allowed me to achieve Level 3 of Teams, “reflects upon roles within group and team settings.”
I also believe this coaching experience helped me to achieve Level 3 of Values, “evaluates effective and ineffective leadership styles within group contexts.” I have learned that different ways of coaching can lead to success, and it often takes these different styles to form the best team environment. There is not one right way of leading others, rather the best results often come from a combination of different leadership styles. For example, I think it is acceptable to lead others in either a servant type way where the people are put first or in an autocratic manner where there is more order and expectations. It comes down to the situation, goals, and people involved. However, I do believe there are some commonalities in effective leaders, which include good communicators, responsible, goal setters and hard workers, and a willingness to have an open mind and get to know the people one is leading. Throughout my time as I coach, I saw many different leadership styles, with the majority of them being effective in that they helped create a safe environment where the girls could flourish. These coaches were the ones who always showed up with a positive attitude, genuinely wanted to be there, and were willing to put their own needs and wants aside for the benefit of the girls. The most ineffective leadership styles, in which the ones I witnessed were those that were egoistic or self-absorbed, created a negative environment and often one in which more behavioral problems occurred. I think this shows the importance of leading for the right reasons and desiring to truly have an impact.
It was communication among the coaches and striving to meet the common goal of teaching the girls about positive life lessons while allowing them to have fun and get to know themselves and others that led to success. Thus, through this experience of being a Girls on the Run assistant coach for several seasons, I also achieved Level 2 of Teams, “practices group member skills and abilities to work together toward a common goal.” Like I have stated previously, the coaches and I used our individual strengths to create a successful and collaborative team. To be prepared for the lesson, we always did our best to meet before practices to talk about dividing the roles (i.e. disciplining, participating, teaching, etc.) and what we could do to promote improvement in the girls and their environment. This was also combined with self-reflection, at least on my behalf, to analyze how I could become a better team member and leader. I think the most important lesson I learned through being on a coaching team and working with others to reach common goals is learning that I do not always have to do everything on my own but can rely on others to accomplish their part. This is the essence of the meaning of a team, and although it has taken me awhile to trust the process, I now know that it is possible and the best way to reach the desired results.
Finally, I believe the experience of coaching for Girls on the Run for the last three years has helped me to attain Level 4 of Values, which is “uses personal theories and values of leadership within campus or community organizations.” I have used what I have learned in classes (knowledge), other leadership positions (experience), and connecting with others on a deeper level (emotional intelligence), to best lead the girls in a dynamic, fun environment. I have practiced holding true to my values, capitalizing on my strengths, and working on my weaknesses to help the girls reach their goals while being someone they can trust and look up to in the process. Because I am passionate about health/wellness and impacting the lives of others, this was a great opportunity to be able to practice leading on a topic I genuinely care so deeply about. In my future as a physical therapist, I plan to use many of the lessons I have learned through this experience, such as trusting the team process and being selfless for the best interest of others, to become a respected and successful healthcare professional for my future patients and providers with who I will work.