Developing a professional
coaching philosophy is instrumental in the development of your athletes. What are your values, what are your
expectations and what are your goals?
Much like a business establishes a clear mission and strategic plan,
coaches need to communicate to their athletes how best they are going to work
together and what is expected in order to develop a successful coaching
relationship.
At a recent meeting of ATP coaches at the French Open the
following question was raised “which tangibles/intangibles do great coaches
focus on?” Tangibles focuses are clear
to understand and easily measured. They are things like: physical fitness,
technical skill, tactical ability.
Intangibles are less concrete but equally as important in developing a
whole athlete. They are things like: desire,
motivation, positive adversity.
Basketball coaching great John Wooden identified his list as
“The Pyramid of Success.” “In clear
terms, it shows what he expected of them and what they could expect from
him. As a teacher, success was his
subject; the Pyramid of Success was his textbook.” (John Wooden & Steve
Jamison).
Take a moment to identify the following:
1) What
is your coaching philosophy? What are
your coaching values, goals?
2) What
is your pyramid of success?
3) How
do you communicate this to your athletes?
4) What
opportunities can you as a coach create to deepen your athletes learning around
some of the intangibles of life: hard work, focus, patience?
5) How
often to you establish goals with your athletes and how often do you review
them and celebrate their accomplishments?
Do you practice what you preach?
Leading by example and focusing on your core tangibles and
intangibles when coaching will teach your athletes the tools that will set them
up to manage adversity and achieve success not only in their sport but in their
personal lives.
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