The Player Coach

Troy Frever of Aviarc (and a fellow member of the Seattle XP board) described his role of lead dev and XP coach as a “player coach.”  I immediately thought of Pete Rose.  But, upon reflection, I’m not sure Pete is a good metaphor.

Sure Pete coached the Reds while he played first base, batted .365 and broke Ty Cobb’s Major League record for career hits.  But, the role of baseball coach is actually a combination of mentor and manager.  When the game is on the line, the mentor roll takes a back seat to the manager role.  The coach may want to let the rookie try to pitch his way out of trouble.  But, the manager has an obligation to do everything possible to win the game.

I don’t know.  Maybe that is a good metaphor.  What’s your opinion?