I was in a long phone conference recently with a business associate. During the conversation the topic of coaching came up; specifically the topic of coaching mistakes made by newbies.
I got pretty animated and blurted out something like “Coach the athlete, not the sport”! I liked that so much it deserved TOD status.
All the information in the world is useless when delivered to an athlete in a manner that does not jive with her or his personality. Bear with me while I tell a story that illustrates this.
Many moons ago I was coaching the USA team in the final days of competition in Mexico. One of my athletes came to me and told me he wanted me to talk to him in an aggressive manner like his hockey coach used to. So I was happy to oblige and had no problem doing so due to my extensive football background.
After that match I stayed in the football/hockey personal and started to get all animated with my next athlete. He stepped back, looked at me and said, “Coach are you okay? What is wrong with you?”
I immediately got back to the “low key” coach. For the record, I have found “low key coach” works for most people. They are excited enough on their own and do not need to get too worked up.
Here’s another one. My athlete won the first game and they are on fire. Well-meaning coach feels they have to talk to my athlete. I’m at home watching the match and screaming at the computer monitor…”No he is focused so leave him alone! ” The extra coaching was not needed, ruined my athlete’s focus and cost him the match.
So what works for your athlete? Know your athlete well enough to figure that out. Just putting them through workouts is not enough. Employ the “step into my office” routine that I love. I step outside the court with the athlete and ask questions. The answers lead you to what the athlete needs. Questions like, “Are you tired? Did you have a long day at school? How does the new backhand feel?”, will lead you to the manner in which your athlete needs the instruction delivered; especially in tournament competiton!
Go get’em tigers!!