A good leadership quality is essential for a coach to succeed in getting through to his or her players. At any age level a person must be able to get the attention of their players. At a younger age, children will follow a coach knowing he or she is the authority figure, but without great leadership ability, the coach will not be able to help his players to become the best athletes they can be. As coaches go up the line, a leadership quality is a vital part for a coaches success.
As players get older, especially as a teenager, they begin to think that they are bigger than the game, and already know what the coach might be trying to teach them. This is a where a coach must have be able to win the confidence of the player. There are many ways to do this, alot of which are the same that apply to public speaking will work to convey the coach's message.
1. A coach's message to the player must be clear and concise. If you try to dazzle the player with lingo, or seem to be talking down to the player, the individual player will turn his or her back on the coach. The trust is lost.
2. Speak about what you know, and capture the player with the "title" of what you want him or her to learn. As teenagers, their attention span is very limited. So if you do not catch their attention with the first couple sentences, all will be lost.
3. Let the player know that they will benefit from the information you as the coach are giving them. Teenagers are usually only interested in things that benefit them, so know that and feed on that. Let them know that this information will pertain to their success at thier sport.
With these simple steps, communication and leadership will work hand in hand in growing a relationship with the players you are mentoring, and will also help you to help them grow not only as athletes, but as good individuals.
No comments:
Post a Comment