I saw this quote regarding coaches in the National Football League.
”I could tell you that with the best coaches, you’re typically gonna be uncomfortable. They’re not here to make you comfortable. They’re here to get the most out of you. And, coaches who are poking and prodding and pushing and being demanding, they tend to get the most out of the players.”
(Anonymous quote regarding best football coaches)
This is a quote I ran across and really liked but it is a little incomplete. The best coaches also make sure the athletes know that the coach cares about them as a person first, and not their winning or losing second. If a coach is demanding and the player feels stressed that coach has somehow not connected with the athlete. There is another thing at play here also. A poor self-image by an athlete can lead to poor assessment of coaching.
“You will never win at the national level unless you learn to hit better serves”, might be a statement I would make. I have had athletes tell me (or usually others) I told them they would never win at the national level. The “unless you learn to hit better serves” part was not heard.
Good coaches are invested in seeing their athletes win. For me, that means fixing what is not working. Unless the athlete owns that, they will not fix it. Best combos are athletes and coaches fixing and prodding to make themselves better!!
Go get’em tigers!!