Thoughts on coaching - and no leotard, please

I just finished reading a quite gripping memoir: Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu, the Olympic Gold Medal winner in gymnastics. Aside from a very powerful personal story; her remarks about coaching made me think about how this easily relates to riding (What else? My mind seems to go often this way). During her active career Dominique worked with over 20 different coaches, from excellent to horribly abusive, so she certainly has an expert opinion on the subject.
 
As riders, we are also the coaches of our horses. And also as riders, we have coaches that work with us. Dominique describes one of her favorite coaches, Jeff LaFleur:
 
“He expected a lot from his athletes… Looking back, what I loved about his coaching style most was that he always brought a great sense of balance to our training sessions. He demanded more out of me when necessary, but he seemed to have an innate sense of when to show a more nurturing side…I always felt that he cared about me as a person as well as my progress in the sport, which meant the world to me… I cannot recall a single time Jeff lost his temper or even yelled at me, yet he always had my utmost attention and respect.”

Dominique goes on to describe the traits of another one of her favorite coaches, Luminita Miscenco: “Luminita was serious, focused, and demanding, but she also trained with compassion and care. .. she would read my body language to gauge my energy or exhaustion.”
 
Isn’t this exactly how everyone, horses and humans, should be coached? At least, this is what I am striving for when working with my boys. I've been lucky so far, as the few coaches I've worked with were all excellent in their own special ways.
 
The boys would certainly agree – and probably hope I won’t stick them into glittering leotards to complete the picture!