Difference between coaching and coaching

Coaching is a huge part of me. Help, inspire, motivate and sharing my knowledge are my favourite things to do and that's what I'm living for. It's a big responsibility to be a coach. You are the one they look up to, you are their role model, you are the one they trust and listen to. You have a HUGE influence on the people you coach. " What you say is true" Everyone is different and with saying that it means that one style of coaching is not suitable for everyone. I have experienced that as an athlete and I'm trying to be very aware of it now when I am a coach. " Be careful of what you say, how you say it and to who you say it." I know how big influence a coach can have. I know how much damage a coach can do to an athlete... Unfortunately I have that experience. Some sides of my old coaches coaching style didn't fit me. It made more harm than success. I'm a really dedicated person and when I was an elite athlete I did EVERYTHING that came in my way to succeed. If my coach told me to train 30 hours per week, I did it. No matter how much pain I had, how tired I was . My coach told me things I needed to do to become the best, and if I didn't do it I would fail.. so of course I did it. If my coach told me I needed to lose weight to get better technique, I did. If my coach told me to train harder I did. If my coach told me to skip the winter holiday with my family so I could stay home and train. I did. Today I hear how CRAZY all this sounds. And I'm SO thankful I know better today! Of course I'm sad I needed to go through it, but I can use this experience, and be a better coach myself. AND I know for sure that I will not treat my athletes like that. Back then I didn't realize this was wrong. I was too caught up in the life my coach created. What my coach said, was true. I was blind. I needed to stop. But noone could make me. Not even my family (Even if they tried 1000 of times) What would my coach say?! "If I stop I'll not be the World champion" That's what my coach had printed into my mind. And I couldn't get rid of it. ~ I didn't stop until I couldn't move anymore. I had broken my neck. And it was the first time I was " allowed " to stop. Sad but true. I needed something dramatic to happened to make me stop and wake me up. And it sure did. Today I see life from a different perspective. I'm finally living a life worth living. I love my life and I'm so thankful I'm still here. Of course I miss my " elite life ".. every day to be honest... But I'm just so happy to be alive and able to move, so nothing else matters. Take care of your life and the people around you❤ and if you are a coach, make sure you take care of your athletes. # breakitandyouwillmakeit