June 24, 2025
930. Why Don't Great Players Make Great Coaches?
Send us a text I've always wondered why some great players struggle to become great coaches—and why good (not great) players, the ones who weren’t always at the top, often turn out to be great coaches. Our personal story, our expectations, and even our success can sometimes get in the way of truly seeing and developing others. If you’ve ever led a team, raised a kid, coached someone, or even just tried to help a friend, you need this episode. It’s not about cloning people into mini-versions o...
I've always wondered why some great players struggle to become great coaches—and why good (not great) players, the ones who weren’t always at the top, often turn out to be great coaches.
Our personal story, our expectations, and even our success can sometimes get in the way of truly seeing and developing others.
If you’ve ever led a team, raised a kid, coached someone, or even just tried to help a friend, you need this episode. It’s not about cloning people into mini-versions of you. It’s about suspending your story long enough to actually see their story.
Let’s talk about how to lead from the shadows and be the coach you wish you had.
Let's get it!
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Keep it simple. Keep it moving. Never settle. Stay tough.
WEBVTT
00:00:00.105 --> 00:00:10.635
Have you ever wondered why good players often become great coaches, but great players usually don't become great coaches?
00:00:11.566 --> 00:00:14.205
It seems like it should be the other way around, right?
00:00:14.656 --> 00:00:21.405
If you're a great player, it feels like coaching will be a natural next step, but most of the time it's not.
00:00:22.396 --> 00:00:22.635
Great.
00:00:22.635 --> 00:00:26.115
Players usually make terrible coaches and good.
00:00:26.536 --> 00:00:28.126
Not great, but good.
00:00:28.606 --> 00:00:32.176
Players end up becoming some of the best coaches.
00:00:33.225 --> 00:00:35.445
And I've always questioned why is that?
00:00:36.496 --> 00:00:40.816
Ed Mylett asked Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders, this exact question.
00:00:41.356 --> 00:00:46.036
He said, why are you such a great coach when most players aren't?
00:00:46.996 --> 00:00:49.576
And Deion said, because I'm not trying to make them me.
00:00:50.881 --> 00:00:53.911
My job is to create the best version of them.
00:00:54.850 --> 00:00:55.481
That's key.
00:00:56.420 --> 00:01:08.138
Deion stepped back from his stats, from his spotlight, from all the accolades he left his greatness behind and became just good again for them.
00:01:08.858 --> 00:01:10.352
And that's what great players have to do.
00:01:11.408 --> 00:01:18.337
If they wanna become great coaches, they have to step back, let go of their accomplishments, use their resume.
00:01:18.337 --> 00:01:23.078
Sure, but don't try to recreate it in someone else.
00:01:23.930 --> 00:01:35.781
Now your job is to develop the player in front of you in their way, their timing, their style, and really it's a paradox.
00:01:37.025 --> 00:01:39.786
See, I wasn't a top performer in sales.
00:01:40.025 --> 00:01:40.745
I was good.
00:01:40.805 --> 00:01:43.475
I was really good, but I wasn't number one.
00:01:44.126 --> 00:01:48.626
But I became a great coach and I had to ask myself, why is that?
00:01:50.230 --> 00:02:00.188
And truthfully, I think it's because I had just enough, just enough talent to hang with the big boys, but not enough to coast.
00:02:01.198 --> 00:02:02.968
So I've always had to overcompensate.
00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:04.828
I had to dig deeper.
00:02:05.039 --> 00:02:06.509
I had to figure it out on my own.
00:02:06.838 --> 00:02:15.028
And that effort, that grind built something different in me, A work ethic, an obsession with the details.
00:02:15.913 --> 00:02:17.984
I became a scientist in my craft.
00:02:18.674 --> 00:02:21.343
See, I was never the most talented.
00:02:21.973 --> 00:02:24.373
I wasn't the smartest or the sharpest.
00:02:25.334 --> 00:02:30.403
I was oftentimes the last to be picked on teams because I was undersized.
00:02:31.394 --> 00:02:32.954
But I was also underestimated.
00:02:33.003 --> 00:02:33.903
Nobody feared me.
00:02:34.683 --> 00:02:35.734
Nobody scouted me.
00:02:36.723 --> 00:02:38.283
And because of that, they left me alone.
00:02:39.019 --> 00:02:46.699
I got good right there in plain sight in the shadows, and that's what great coaches do.
00:02:47.449 --> 00:02:48.769
They live in the shadows.
00:02:49.399 --> 00:02:50.718
They see the shadows.
00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:52.218
They notice what's missing.
00:02:52.218 --> 00:02:56.179
They see the adjacent possible and things that are almost there.
00:02:57.169 --> 00:02:58.938
And those are the hidden next steps.
00:02:59.299 --> 00:03:04.068
They help them see glimpses of their potential just a little bit more each time.
00:03:04.489 --> 00:03:07.459
And when the player sees more, they end up doing more.
00:03:08.193 --> 00:03:11.764
And inch by inch, they develop that player.
00:03:13.743 --> 00:03:20.343
And when they do, that player and that coach become more together.
00:03:21.153 --> 00:03:22.174
See, that's the game.
00:03:22.713 --> 00:03:25.889
I can't do the work for you, but I can show you where to look.
00:03:26.581 --> 00:03:28.891
I can help you become someone who can do the work.
00:03:29.602 --> 00:03:36.051
And when a good player turned great, coach meets a player who wants more, that's where greatness happens.
00:03:36.921 --> 00:03:42.472
Now on the flip side, I'm not saying that great players cannot become great coaches.
00:03:42.532 --> 00:03:45.771
They can, but they've gotta leave their past behind.
00:03:46.461 --> 00:03:51.222
They can't create a team full of clones, a bunch of you's.
00:03:52.792 --> 00:03:55.611
What made you great might not work for them.
00:03:56.572 --> 00:04:06.037
And so the challenge, and now your job is to take fragments of what worked for you and.
00:04:06.921 --> 00:04:09.412
Mold it into their style.
00:04:09.951 --> 00:04:11.722
It's like little puzzle pieces.
00:04:13.012 --> 00:04:16.461
You customize your coaching, and you adapt.
00:04:17.601 --> 00:04:19.252
Leave your resume where it is.
00:04:19.749 --> 00:04:23.228
Walk away from your greatness and step back into the grind.
00:04:23.978 --> 00:04:25.838
Start at good again.
00:04:26.738 --> 00:04:29.168
Look in the shadows, see what's missing.
00:04:29.619 --> 00:04:33.579
Develop the player in front of you as they are, not as they were.
00:04:33.788 --> 00:04:39.369
Use their natural gifts, their wiring, their past potential, things they don't even know about.
00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:40.988
Find it in the shadows.
00:04:41.139 --> 00:04:42.218
Reveal it to 'em.
00:04:43.149 --> 00:04:44.798
Take pieces of what you've learned.
00:04:45.189 --> 00:04:50.709
Bend it, break it, and rebuild it and customize it for them.
00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:55.788
Do that and do it for each player because every one of 'em are different.
00:04:56.509 --> 00:04:59.478
See great players who struggle to coach.
00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:04.579
They expect everyone to be like them, to think like them.
00:05:05.163 --> 00:05:07.834
To train like them, to want it like they wanted.
00:05:08.283 --> 00:05:09.814
And it's just not the case.
00:05:10.264 --> 00:05:11.314
Everyone's different.
00:05:11.853 --> 00:05:16.204
Everyone has a different upbringing, a different pain, a different personality.
00:05:16.353 --> 00:05:18.783
Some had it easy and some had it rough.
00:05:18.903 --> 00:05:19.954
It doesn't matter.
00:05:20.043 --> 00:05:21.184
You can't judge that.
00:05:21.543 --> 00:05:28.173
You gotta suspend your story so you can see their story, and I think that's the real divide.
00:05:29.494 --> 00:05:31.084
Great players trying to coach.
00:05:31.983 --> 00:05:37.204
They tend to be judgmental, but great coaches, they're experimental.
00:05:37.744 --> 00:05:38.824
They're curious.
00:05:38.913 --> 00:05:40.923
They're creative, they're patient.
00:05:41.194 --> 00:05:45.574
And they're willing to pull out the best of someone who doesn't even know it's there yet.
00:05:46.233 --> 00:05:50.494
That's what it means to be a coach., Be the coach that you wish you had.
00:05:51.363 --> 00:05:52.084
Let's get outta here.
00:05:52.084 --> 00:05:52.713
Keep it simple.
00:05:52.713 --> 00:05:53.314
Keep it moving.
00:05:53.314 --> 00:05:53.884
Never settle.
00:05:53.884 --> 00:05:54.483
Stay tough.
00:05:54.483 --> 00:05:54.994
Peace.
00:00:00.105 --> 00:00:10.635
Have you ever wondered why good players often become great coaches, but great players usually don't become great coaches?
00:00:11.566 --> 00:00:14.205
It seems like it should be the other way around, right?
00:00:14.656 --> 00:00:21.405
If you're a great player, it feels like coaching will be a natural next step, but most of the time it's not.
00:00:22.396 --> 00:00:22.635
Great.
00:00:22.635 --> 00:00:26.115
Players usually make terrible coaches and good.
00:00:26.536 --> 00:00:28.126
Not great, but good.
00:00:28.606 --> 00:00:32.176
Players end up becoming some of the best coaches.
00:00:33.225 --> 00:00:35.445
And I've always questioned why is that?
00:00:36.496 --> 00:00:40.816
Ed Mylett asked Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders, this exact question.
00:00:41.356 --> 00:00:46.036
He said, why are you such a great coach when most players aren't?
00:00:46.996 --> 00:00:49.576
And Deion said, because I'm not trying to make them me.
00:00:50.881 --> 00:00:53.911
My job is to create the best version of them.
00:00:54.850 --> 00:00:55.481
That's key.
00:00:56.420 --> 00:01:08.138
Deion stepped back from his stats, from his spotlight, from all the accolades he left his greatness behind and became just good again for them.
00:01:08.858 --> 00:01:10.352
And that's what great players have to do.
00:01:11.408 --> 00:01:18.337
If they wanna become great coaches, they have to step back, let go of their accomplishments, use their resume.
00:01:18.337 --> 00:01:23.078
Sure, but don't try to recreate it in someone else.
00:01:23.930 --> 00:01:35.781
Now your job is to develop the player in front of you in their way, their timing, their style, and really it's a paradox.
00:01:37.025 --> 00:01:39.786
See, I wasn't a top performer in sales.
00:01:40.025 --> 00:01:40.745
I was good.
00:01:40.805 --> 00:01:43.475
I was really good, but I wasn't number one.
00:01:44.126 --> 00:01:48.626
But I became a great coach and I had to ask myself, why is that?
00:01:50.230 --> 00:02:00.188
And truthfully, I think it's because I had just enough, just enough talent to hang with the big boys, but not enough to coast.
00:02:01.198 --> 00:02:02.968
So I've always had to overcompensate.
00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:04.828
I had to dig deeper.
00:02:05.039 --> 00:02:06.509
I had to figure it out on my own.
00:02:06.838 --> 00:02:15.028
And that effort, that grind built something different in me, A work ethic, an obsession with the details.
00:02:15.913 --> 00:02:17.984
I became a scientist in my craft.
00:02:18.674 --> 00:02:21.343
See, I was never the most talented.
00:02:21.973 --> 00:02:24.373
I wasn't the smartest or the sharpest.
00:02:25.334 --> 00:02:30.403
I was oftentimes the last to be picked on teams because I was undersized.
00:02:31.394 --> 00:02:32.954
But I was also underestimated.
00:02:33.003 --> 00:02:33.903
Nobody feared me.
00:02:34.683 --> 00:02:35.734
Nobody scouted me.
00:02:36.723 --> 00:02:38.283
And because of that, they left me alone.
00:02:39.019 --> 00:02:46.699
I got good right there in plain sight in the shadows, and that's what great coaches do.
00:02:47.449 --> 00:02:48.769
They live in the shadows.
00:02:49.399 --> 00:02:50.718
They see the shadows.
00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:52.218
They notice what's missing.
00:02:52.218 --> 00:02:56.179
They see the adjacent possible and things that are almost there.
00:02:57.169 --> 00:02:58.938
And those are the hidden next steps.
00:02:59.299 --> 00:03:04.068
They help them see glimpses of their potential just a little bit more each time.
00:03:04.489 --> 00:03:07.459
And when the player sees more, they end up doing more.
00:03:08.193 --> 00:03:11.764
And inch by inch, they develop that player.
00:03:13.743 --> 00:03:20.343
And when they do, that player and that coach become more together.
00:03:21.153 --> 00:03:22.174
See, that's the game.
00:03:22.713 --> 00:03:25.889
I can't do the work for you, but I can show you where to look.
00:03:26.581 --> 00:03:28.891
I can help you become someone who can do the work.
00:03:29.602 --> 00:03:36.051
And when a good player turned great, coach meets a player who wants more, that's where greatness happens.
00:03:36.921 --> 00:03:42.472
Now on the flip side, I'm not saying that great players cannot become great coaches.
00:03:42.532 --> 00:03:45.771
They can, but they've gotta leave their past behind.
00:03:46.461 --> 00:03:51.222
They can't create a team full of clones, a bunch of you's.
00:03:52.792 --> 00:03:55.611
What made you great might not work for them.
00:03:56.572 --> 00:04:06.037
And so the challenge, and now your job is to take fragments of what worked for you and.
00:04:06.921 --> 00:04:09.412
Mold it into their style.
00:04:09.951 --> 00:04:11.722
It's like little puzzle pieces.
00:04:13.012 --> 00:04:16.461
You customize your coaching, and you adapt.
00:04:17.601 --> 00:04:19.252
Leave your resume where it is.
00:04:19.749 --> 00:04:23.228
Walk away from your greatness and step back into the grind.
00:04:23.978 --> 00:04:25.838
Start at good again.
00:04:26.738 --> 00:04:29.168
Look in the shadows, see what's missing.
00:04:29.619 --> 00:04:33.579
Develop the player in front of you as they are, not as they were.
00:04:33.788 --> 00:04:39.369
Use their natural gifts, their wiring, their past potential, things they don't even know about.
00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:40.988
Find it in the shadows.
00:04:41.139 --> 00:04:42.218
Reveal it to 'em.
00:04:43.149 --> 00:04:44.798
Take pieces of what you've learned.
00:04:45.189 --> 00:04:50.709
Bend it, break it, and rebuild it and customize it for them.
00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:55.788
Do that and do it for each player because every one of 'em are different.
00:04:56.509 --> 00:04:59.478
See great players who struggle to coach.
00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:04.579
They expect everyone to be like them, to think like them.
00:05:05.163 --> 00:05:07.834
To train like them, to want it like they wanted.
00:05:08.283 --> 00:05:09.814
And it's just not the case.
00:05:10.264 --> 00:05:11.314
Everyone's different.
00:05:11.853 --> 00:05:16.204
Everyone has a different upbringing, a different pain, a different personality.
00:05:16.353 --> 00:05:18.783
Some had it easy and some had it rough.
00:05:18.903 --> 00:05:19.954
It doesn't matter.
00:05:20.043 --> 00:05:21.184
You can't judge that.
00:05:21.543 --> 00:05:28.173
You gotta suspend your story so you can see their story, and I think that's the real divide.
00:05:29.494 --> 00:05:31.084
Great players trying to coach.
00:05:31.983 --> 00:05:37.204
They tend to be judgmental, but great coaches, they're experimental.
00:05:37.744 --> 00:05:38.824
They're curious.
00:05:38.913 --> 00:05:40.923
They're creative, they're patient.
00:05:41.194 --> 00:05:45.574
And they're willing to pull out the best of someone who doesn't even know it's there yet.
00:05:46.233 --> 00:05:50.494
That's what it means to be a coach., Be the coach that you wish you had.
00:05:51.363 --> 00:05:52.084
Let's get outta here.
00:05:52.084 --> 00:05:52.713
Keep it simple.
00:05:52.713 --> 00:05:53.314
Keep it moving.
00:05:53.314 --> 00:05:53.884
Never settle.
00:05:53.884 --> 00:05:54.483
Stay tough.
00:05:54.483 --> 00:05:54.994
Peace.