Unravel the Coaches' Code:
The Best Coaches know the value of being Coached
When you just start your own Sports Business, you feel excited. The same feelings you experience when you are being asked to coach your teen’s sports team or just graduated with a Sports major. There is a new journey starting and you will show them the Sports world needs someone like you. After all, you are the one who knows you are going to make a difference and you have it all figured out, right? Almost right. In Unravel the Coaches’ Code, great Coaches will let you in on a secret. A secret that a lot of Coaches don’t want to hear: “The Best Coaches know the value of being coached“.
Coaching for Coaches is a thing. And it is a great thing to explore! Having someone mentor you and showing you a different take is very refreshing to say the least. I have first hand experience with being coached throughout my life. And I guarantee that I wasn’t where I am today, without having been coached. Allowing and trusting my mentors to be part of my journey can be very empowering and life changing!
Unravel the Coaches’ Code
Let’s take down this stigma about being coached
I have been watching a daily overload of Coaching programs being offered on most social media platforms. Coaches who love to sell their services beg you to get coached. Then there are the established Coaches, who have always done business a certain way. Most of them firmly belief that no one will tell them how to do things differently. Whether that comes to coaching young players, running their Club or traveling to facilities trying to find new clients.
To take down the stigma regarding Coaches thinking they don’t need Coaching, I would like to share my vision. I hope this will convince you why I think being open to getting coached is very valuable for any Coach. Let me rephrase that… I think being open to getting coached is going to give you a completely different look at everything you are involved in! Besides coaching, it can really help you improve your complete lifestyle. You probably still need more convincing in why it is smart to get coached, so let me get to it…
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Unravel the Coaches’ Code
Changing Athletes’ perspectives
As a Coach, you have such a wonderful opportunity to change so many athletes’ lives. Maybe Coaches don’t always realize that. Especially on days where the grinding and the fatigue wins it from being upbeat and excited. Which is okay, as long as you can change it back around. Every active young athlete out there who is around knowledgeable, experienced and caring coaches, will improve their skills… and so much more!
Coaches are the ones having the opportunity to give a young athlete confidence in themselves. At every practice and game a player can be lifted up and given the feeling their hard work is paying off. Too often, Coaches get busy running their practice, sharing everything they have prepared, only to forget the individual behind the player. Even a couple of Coaching sessions with an experienced Coach can give you a completely different outlook. Meaningful practices are the ones that will benefit from so much more than just the plays you try to teach.
Unravel the Coaches’ Code
Improve your Parenting style
The majority of Sports Coaches are also parents. Most Coaches currently active in Youth Sports, started coaching because of their child. Mostly motivated due to a lack of enough coaches, where they stepped in and just started coaching their child’s team. Or sometimes because they tried a variety of programs for their child. They learned what did not work for their young athlete and decided to give coaching a try themselves.
Now how would getting coached as a Sports Coach benefit your parenting style? Let’s take the example of team sports and coaching a group of individuals. All players or athletes come from different backgrounds, cultures and walks of life. As a Coach, that should be respected at all times. There will be economic or financial differences where not every parent can spend as much as you think they can. Like for example a family of three with one athlete versus a family with four kids who all want to play. Budgets can run tighter than you might realize.
Another important factor will be what the athletes you work with, has learned at home regarding respect and values. You might get into challenging situations when your coaching style just does not seem to catch on with an athlete. Just realize this can have a multitude of factors! Yes, you are just the coach who is around these young athletes a couple of times a week. Realize though, how much of an influence you can have on them… and vice versa.
Coaching Youth Sports will reflect on how you interact with teenagers, your own kids included if they are on the team, or come to watch you coach. The awareness of a Coach, being looked up to as a great role model should be present at all times.
was the only right thing..."
Unravel the Coaches’ Code
Become the best Coach and person you can be
There is a reason I did not start right away explaining you how coaching can improve you as a person and a Coach. The reason why most Coaches start a career in sports coaching (also when it is just on a voluntary basis) is because they like to make things happen for others. They understand and relate to their team or athletes that WE-not-ME will help athletes succeed in Sports but also in life.
As a successful Coach, which I do not define as a winning Coach. Having success as a Sports Coach, is being an all-around motivator, teacher, joy provider and knowledge sharer. You have so much influence and as a result of coaching young athletes, you are able to change certain character traits for the better.
As a result of coaching, you will be a role model that teaches why practice goals matter. And most of all, as a result of coaching, you have a chance to work on your own empathetic and caring side. So even though you started Coaching Sports and you thought you were going to change lives, you will learn that yours will be changed as well. For the better of course!
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Unravel the Coaches’ Code
Enhancing your relationships
With the opportunity to offer change in an athlete’s life, comes a chance or a challenge to be around their support system aka their parents. Some inexperienced Coaches might try to be in total control of that process. At the first practice, strict rules are being set and it is made clear that their opinions or influences will hinder their child’s sports journey. Even though this sounds ridiculous it happens more than you realize. And it does young athletes more harm than good.
As mentioned, relationships with the parents of the athletes you coach can be challenging. If you approach this process differently, it gives you the chance that everyone on your team can benefit. You as a Coach included! What a success factor is in any exchange with people is clear communication. Parents should know and understand your philosophy, your practice methods and your coaching style. If they notice that the wellbeing of their young athlete is always prioritized, coaching can be a very rewarding and fun experience.
Having coached sports teams myself, I truly value creating meaningful relationships the most. Nothing makes me happier than running into my former players and their parents at tournaments. Or getting random text messages, with parents sharing the influence I have had on their athletes. That is really all that matters! As a Coach, understand that through relationship building you can excite children for life regarding playing sports. If you can accomplish that, you have done a wonderful job. Their parents being forever grateful is a nice added bonus.
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Unravel the Coaches’ Code
Great Coaches understand the value of being Coached
There are so many good reasons to start coaching Youth Sports. A lot of Coaches are needed to cover the year-round-booming-Business it has become. With that being said, Sports Coaches who are involved with young athletes and started off as described above, are often lacking a teaching background. Besides that, the knowledge of pedagogical concepts is very little or absent. Easier said, there is not enough experience about how knowledge and skills should be taught to young athletes and the right interactions with them. Just being a parent does not qualify enough as every athlete you are going to coach is different.
So should Coaches get coached? Absolutely! Investing in a new area of life, even it considered to be a hobby, should start with getting educated. Find yourself a Sports Coach who is experienced and knowledgeable. Someone who is certified through the sport she or he coaches or who has a formal teaching background is golden. Realize, that especially in Youth Sports you are working with a very vulnerable and influential group of people.
If you are a Sports Coach or Sports Parent, and you made it to the end of this article and feel encouraged… Great! You might have just experienced a mini session of what it is like to have a Coach coach you. Feel free to reach out for more and let me assist you. One promise; you won’t get disappointed as coaching can be really fun and life changing!
