The Modern Coach's Compass Episode 2: Coaching in the Gray-What Happens Between the Highs and Lows

The Modern Coaches Compass Podcast

We often talk about coaching as a journey of highs and lows—championship moments, personal records, heartbreaks, and setbacks. But most of coaching happens somewhere in between. In the gray. The ordinary. The unremarkable.

That’s where coaching really lives.

It lives in the early-morning warmups when no one’s watching. In the post-meet text after a tough throw. In the hundred small corrections no one claps for. The work is often invisible, but it is never insignificant.

🧭 Coaching in the gray is where trust, consistency, and character are quietly forged.

Here are a few ways to honor the gray and make the ordinary meaningful:

• Set the tone: how you show up in “regular” practices sets the emotional climate.

• Acknowledge invisible effort: praise focus, recovery, attitude—not just results.

• Be predictably present: consistency builds more confidence than any motivational quote.

• Ask better questions: “What are you proud of today?” uncovers more than “How’d that feel?”

📖 A Moment I Remember

There was a junior athlete I coached—quiet, dependable, never flashy. She rarely won meets, never made headlines, but showed up, every single day. She lifted with purpose, asked thoughtful questions, helped first-years with drills, and never complained.

One afternoon after a rainy meet, she said: “I know I’m not the best on the team, but I hope I’ve made a difference.”

She did. She made all the difference.

That moment reminded me: coaching in the gray isn’t about the spotlight—it’s about the soil. That’s where roots take hold. That’s where growth starts.