Tip of the Month - April 2023

Qualities That Make Good Sports Coaches

This article is based on a publication by the First Step Sports Group ISF Training, UK ( June 8, 2022) and has been modified by Schloder. 

People always wonder what makes a good sports coach and how one can tell. I strongly believe that one should not coach because one ‘loves’ the sport or working with children (typical cliché). A good coach must be more than someone who is passionate about a particular sport and/or the participants, whatever the age group. Good coaches want to improve athletic performance at whatever level, regardless of age, talent, or capabilities. They work to improve all physical and learning targets. 

Former Elite or professional athletes do not necessarily make the best coaches because they often coach how they were taught and trained. They are frequently hired because of their respective success as athletes and often pursue coaching because they have no other skills than their sports achievements. That is the wrong way to coach because athletes in various developmental groups, from beginner to advanced levels, and Elite national and International levels require coaches with an intense specific knowledge base of the particular group. In addition, they need an understanding of the growth and developmental process and a coaching science background for advanced training to develop and assist athletes to optimize and maximize their performance at any level.

• A Good Sports Coach inspires

Whether participants become athletes or simply efficient teammates in the working world, a good sports coach is essential to all physical activity. At any level, the coach supports the athletes’ performance even when it is not necessarily the best outcome rather than belittling, humiliating or using derogatory comments in the locker room or in the media. The role is to provide positive feedback to encourage and inspire athletes to “do better next time.” The coach creates a positive environment in the locker room without fear, use, or display of autocratic demeanour.

• A Good Sports Coach is a confident communicator

Being a confident communicator is an essential skill for being effective as a coach, to be able to communicate clearly when giving instructions, feedback and setting goals. Communication is the root of every good coach, as it is the quality that elevates a coach from someone with just a ‘passion for sport’ to one that can lead and inspire others. Language should be simple and acknowledge that it is important to build morale when the participants have been successful. Individualizing one’s approach to communication can be key to ‘reaching’ different athletes. Some may respond to lots of pressure, and others to empathy. Learning the language of your athletes, whether children, adults, elite or professional, is a quality of all successful coaches. This is especially important in team sports as the ultimate goal is to peak all players at the ‘right’ time for the championship rounds or playoffs. 

• A Good Sports Coach keeps up to date and is organized

Good sports coaches utilize their organizational skills, from equipment to administrative work details to keep up with their coaching profession. The more organized coaches are, the better athletes understand the skill requirements, whereby coaches also need to understand athletes’ needs. It is not “my way or the highway or only my system” … because good coaches consider the capabilities each athlete brings to the team and that knowing that keeping their training techniques, whether nutrition, mindfulness or conditioning, keeps them on top of their performance. The more one knows the more one can adapt the training methods to health crises or other personal issues. Moreover, good coaches keep an up-to-date record of their training season’s plans for accountability and transparency.

• A Good Sports Coach is dependable and disciplined

A tendency is that when we think ‘coach,’ we think of someone who coaches professional athletes. Such a narrow view doesn’t do a sports coach justice! Many coaches offer people a unique experience, providing the focus and empathy necessary to bridge gaps for people of any background. For many, a sports session or class is a place where they can re-orient themselves. Whether training athletes, children or adults, showcasing discipline is essential to keeping them motivated. A good coach is a role model; they understand the rules of their activities and sports they instruct in a simple structured environment for participants.

• A Good Sports Coach believes winning is more than the endgame

Of course, the goal of elite and professional athletes is to achieve the highest level within their sports, which means ‘winning or setting records or taking home gold medals or a championship cup. However, it is not only about winning but to “continue to win” – and that is where many “fall down.” “Winning is like a ‘chain’ made of individual components, efforts and accomplishments whereby the chain's closure is ‘winning’ as the end product.” Watching NHL players at this time competing for the Stanley Cup, many of the above points made are evident to separate good from average coaches in their interaction with their players on the bench and subsequent efforts by those players to pursue the skills to win versus “running or scrambling around like ‘chickens with their heads cut off” because they fell behind in scoring (‘catch-up hockey’). Coaches who stand behind the bench wiping their noses, hands in their pockets or arms crossed display a non-involved and passive body language (we call it ‘passive in coach education), which is neither motivating nor pleasant to look at as a fan! And it is reflected in the players on the bench as to their body language, lack of teammate communication and personal motivation, and demure body language. It has been an interesting observation for me regarding the psychology of performance. In addition, it is evident that some coaches are better in the mental aspects of performance, i.e., ‘peaking athletes at the right time,’ but that also entails the knowledge of Prevention (injuries) and optimal Recovery (timing of training episodes and spacing).

On the other hand, in Amateur sports, good coaches know their athletes or participants that they hopefully learn much more from failure than success. That’s not to say they’ll be rooting for them to fail! Instead, successful coaches provide constructive feedback and make every experience where participants can learn and evolve. Good coaches teach the value of working with peers and teammates, especially when teaching children to focus on a full engagement and FUN, not just athlete development or the common ‘winning at all costs’ approach in youth sports (one of the major reasons for sports dropout). Helping them appreciate their peer’s skill level, encourage each other and show good and fair fairness and honesty, essentially sport-based life skills.

• A Good Sports Coach is constructively positive

Being positive does not mean avoiding difficult subjects. It’s about using the medium of sport to tackle physical literacy in a positive way. Coaches should highlight an athlete’s progress (even at the Elite or Professional level), however small, and give them a goal for the future instead of overlooking the progress or belittling the effort in front of teammates, in the locker room or with the media (negative psychology as a motivational tool is not effective).

• A Good Sports Coach’s attitude presents the role model

Good sports coaches show the right behaviour they want in their athletes with their own behaviour. A skill that is even more useful when instructing younger minds. How coaches treat or organize teams, their comments, and how they treat those who engage and those who don’t engage with the sport can make a big difference to their experience of sport and later lives.

Let’s say a coach separates children into teams for a soccer game. Going with the whims of children who want to be in certain groups or friends could lead to teams with unfair advantages. This can demoralize others and may cause them to disengage altogether. Trying to mix teams across friendship groups and strong physical literacy can give each pupil an appreciation of everyone’s skill sets rather than just those they know.

• A Good Sports Coach shares knowledge from outside of sport

Physical activity is not a monolith. Bringing in events or information from outside of sports can help the athletes or participants realize the relevance of their sport. According to research by Youth Sport Trust, nearly a third of schools opted not to offer Physical education and Music in favour of academic subjects. The classic term “Sound mind in a Sound body’ has been negated, as evidenced by the current increase in stress, anxiety and depression levels among the young! 

A good coach at the developmental level can convince participants that is relevant to all academic subject matter, other organizations, school events, and lifetime skills.

Reference:

First Step Sports Group (2022, June 8). The 7 qualities that make for a good sports c.oach. ISF Training. Anlaby Hull, UK. Retrieved April 26, from https://firststep-sports.co.uk/2022/06/08/the-7-qualities-that-make-for-a-good-sports-coach/

*ISF = Imaging Science Foundation Video Calibration Certification Level 1 Online Education