Coaches can assist athletes by helping them advance in their sport, as well as assisting with guidance and lessons that may assist them in their life outside of sports. Here are 3 ways that a coach can assist athletes besides sport skills development:
- Listening
- Advice
- Life Lessons
Listening: Of course, coaches can provide advice on how to make your athlete improve in their sport skills to help them advance to the next level of competition. Have you considered that coaches are also good listeners for athletes? A good coach can also serve as a mentor, to your athlete. Coaches can develop a working relationship with athletes for them to feel comfortable explaining any difficulties they are experiencing in their life that can affect their ability to perform their sport or function in general. For example: I walk into every practice with a smile (even under my mask!) and am ready to listen to athletes when needed to let them know that there is someone that cares about their well-being. By spending time to listen to the athlete who is dealing with difficult life challenges, it not only assists the individual athlete but also helps support the whole team by showing that you care.
Advice: The coach should also be someone who your athlete should feel free to approach for advice. An coach should have a professional working relationship with each athlete that includes developing a trusting environment. At CAL Sports Academy, we want our players to feel comfortable with the ability to talk about anything on their mind that is bothersome or inhibiting them from focusing on their sport skills. Over the years, a good coach and athlete spend a lot of hours practicing and working together to enhance the team. Before, during, or after practice time, if an athlete needs some direction or advice, the coach will provide an opportunity to talk with an athlete. An athlete has a more enjoyable time at practice if the coach is attentive and performs a mentoring role for the athlete. The environment becomes less stressful, gives the athlete a higher level of enjoyment when engaging in their chosen sport, and allows for an opportunity of advice, support, and guidance to be provided by the coach.
Life Lessons: Coaches also teach life lessons that can be useful for everyday life. For example: I teach the importance of how to be a good sport whether our team wins or loses the competition. When your athlete loses a game, our coaches teach them to shake hands with the other team at the end of the game (or elbow bump for COVID-19 purposes) to exhibit good sportsmanship. Your child will most likely be upset or may be feeling sad about losing the competition, however it is important to congratulate the competitor for doing a good job and winning the game. It is also just as important for coaches to teach athletes to be a good winner. This means avoiding saying things that would cause the competitor athletes to feel bad in any manner. Our coaches encourage athletes to show appreciation for the efforts of the competitor team in the sports challenge. This lesson is also important with life for work and personal relationships.
In summary, coaches help their athletes in many ways other than just sport skill development. Consider CAL Sports Academy coaches as a partner with you by mentoring your athlete through utilization of listening skills, providing advice, and assisting with learning life lessons.