Measuring a Coach: My Personal Account of a Coach Who Got It Right
This One Is Personal
I’m often asked why I developed my Student-Athlete Insights project. The answer is simple: my college coach - Hank Janczyk - changed my life. Coach Janczyk retired this month after 34 seasons at my alma mater Gettysburg College. He retires with 477 wins - the second most in the history of college lacrosse. He accrued 16 conference tittles and went to the NCAA Final Four 10 times.
What made my experience so unique - and has tied Coach and I together for three decades - is that we arrived on campus on the same day. I was a Freshman in the Fall of 1987 and he arrived to begin what would become one of the great success stories in college lacrosse.
Since his retirement a few weeks ago, much has already been written about Coach Janczyk. Most of it includes the word “immeasurable” in describing his impact on his players. I don’t think that’s true; I think what he accomplished can and should be measured. In fact, I think it’s an important scorecard for the kind of impact coaches can have.
For the Confidence and Joy It Brings, Winning Matters
Throughout numerous studies I have conducted, student-athletes consistently indicate that having success on the field builds their confidence and joy.
77% of student-athletes say that being part of a winning program positively impacts nearly every aspect of their lives. By contrast, losing - perpetual and consistent losing - does the exact opposite, diminishing a student-athlete’s belief in themselves and negatively influencing their happiness even far from the field.
As the saying goes, “winning isn’t everything,” but when it comes to the foundation of a program that coaches and players believe is a success, there is no substitute for it. And among the most amazing data points of Coach Janczyk’s career is that he won nearly 80% of his games and never had a losing season.
Turning Players Into Hyper-Engaged Alumni
There is something unique about the long-term relationships that many coaches are able to develop with their former players.
62% of former student-athletes say that the relationship they had with their coach has influenced if they have made (or plan to make) a financial or other contribution to their alma mater.
Here too, Coach Janczyk made an impact that will likely continue for decades into the future. About 88% of the Gettysburg’s lacrosse alumni are connected on a private LinkedIn group. They give money, offer internships, seek out current and former players to fill job openings, and more. The alumni have created a formal program to help current players during each of their 4 years on a career path. And during the pandemic, alumni in the financial services industry even executed a 12-week virtual internship for about 15 current players.
A Coaching Tree
When student-athletes respect, admire, or are positively impacted by coaches they’ve had, they are more likely to seek to play a similar role for others.
About one-third of student-athletes who said they came to college with no interest in coaching, say that they are now more interested in the profession based on their interaction with their coaches.
Coach Janczyk’s coaching tree is so vast, he holds a “record” that’s will probably will never be repeated: a few years ago on the team’s way to another Final Four, he faced a former player as the opposing coach in each of the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament.
Weddings…and Funerals
One of the key predictors I often see for “engaged” student-athletes (versus those who are not) is the importance of a coach’s one-on-one communication. Student-Athletes want to be heard and good coaches, in turn, are able to listen in a way that makes student-athletes feel valued.
Of the 67% of student-athletes who say that their coach is a good communicator, 70% consider themselves “highly committed” to their programs.
Of course I don’t have verifiable stats on this one, but an informal survey of former Gettysburg players indicates that about 1/3rd of them invited Coach Janczyk to their wedding. That’s over 100 wedding invitations (no word on how many Coach actually attended.) And I’ve seen too many private social media posts and emails to count from former players who have told a similar story of Coach Janczyk showing up unannounced at the funeral of their parent or loved one.
To All Coaches
To the college coaches across the country and in all Divisions, remember that you are doing incredible work. You are being measured and that’s ok; you are impacting and changing lives.