Characteristics of a Good Coach....

Let me start this piece by saying, this is a matter of personal opinion! I know I am going to miss a few characteristics, so if you think of one I didn't write about post it to comments :). Also, I am writing this from the perspective of a strength and conditioning coach. Please take all of this into consideration while reading these characteristics.

So what are some characteristics of a good coach:

Educated - Know your craft and never stop learning! Try to surround yourself with people smarter than you, and learn from them.

Patience - You're going to deal with some situations and/or people that test your patience. Keep your cool!

Persistence - Your athletes are going to want to do it their way or they'll want to give up on themselves. As their coach you have to stay on top of this, even though at times your efforts may seem futile you must never stop pushing your athletes to do better or get better.

Integrity - Be honest with yourself and your athletes. This can be applied to many situations that occur within a training facility.

Good Communicator - You need to be able to coach using your words. Simply showing someone what you want isn't good enough. Communicate to your athletes what you expect from each and everyone of them.

Love for your work - A good coach LOVES what they do and the people they work with! If you don't love what you're doing, do something else!

I would not list these in any particular order of importance as I feel they are all equally important.

So what do you think? Which characteristics did I miss? I would really like to know what other coaches and/or athletes are thinking.