Kristyn Thielbar

The spring semester of 2021 was not what I expected because all of my classes were online for Minnesota State University, Mankato. To my surprise, I was employed by my hometown (Cannon Falls, MN) to coach the Junior High Golf Team that included twenty-five 6th-8th graders. 

 

This experience helped me become very organized, sympathetic, respectful, and creative. Having leadership characteristics within my Strengths Finder is very beneficial to coaching because it will allow the 6th-8th graders to stay focused throughout practices and allows them to feel confident asking questions and learning about their golf game. Throughout my coaching experience, I have been sympathetic to my players when it comes to asking questions about their game and if they talk to me about any problems they may have. One of the main goals I set for the parents, players, and myself, is we all needed to work towards communication throughout the season. For example, it was crucial to get the parents emailed at least twice a week. These emails included the practice information such as meet or practice locations, times of practices or buses, weather updates, and other miscellaneous reminders. I made sure emails were the main source of communication, and I also sent some reminder texts to get the players involved. I noticed if I did not send out an email for the source of communication, parents were not receiving the message. I learned very quickly that email was the best source of communication with the parents to know the necessary information. Having this relationship with the players and parents is crucial. This experience allowed me to grow within my strengths of relationship-building and execution skills. Also, it made me further my understanding of my weaknesses and find ways of improvement for next year in strategic thinking and influencing. 

 

This coaching experience allowed me to balance school while coaching golf, develop a better time management schedule, and I have gained so many relationships throughout the last season. Building these connections is essential to have a successful season. Players, parents, and coaches must maintain a relatively constant source of communication to ensure their child knows what will be happening in practices and meets. I will continue using these skills during this upcoming spring for coaching. I have learned so much, and I am very grateful for this hands-on experience to improve these skills next spring.