Who’s The Coach?

Sports can be beneficial for all ages. It can also lend itself to negative results if inadequate coaching is involved.

Unfortunately and far too often, some people perceive themselves as non athletic, injury prone, uncoordinated and the list of negative labels infinitely continues. Yet, so many times, unrealistic impressions that have been imposed could be avoided if proper coaching and correct feedback were given.

When a child does well in school and receives positive accolades from his/her teacher, it plays a significant role as to how that child perceives himself; especially considering the professional source that it came from. Let’s now step out of the classroom and onto the sports field. Whatever the sport, the feedback that a child receives by their coach is perceived as “credible” and yet here is where misconceptions are often produced. How a person perceives himself ultimately influences on how that person performs. Encouragement, acknowledgements and compliments all nurture confidence building, even if the feedback is false. However, it is important to consider that false feedback ultimately can do more damage to an athlete both mentally and physically. If an athlete is showed to execute a sport skill with incorrect technique, this can heighten the risk of injury and poor performance. If an athlete receives positive pats on the back for his poor performance, the athlete has now received false feedback that later may subject him to confusion, misunderstanding and poor self esteem do to the misperception he developed from inaccurate comments from his coach. “I don’t understand why I wasn’t selected for the team - the coach told me my ball handling skills were excellent.” “But my coach told me I was an Olympic caliber athlete.”

How a person processes information should also be considered on the sports field. Some people process information better if they see it in writing than they do by just hearing it. This concept should be considered also in sports. A verbal cue by a coach may not work for some athletes while it might generate successful skill development for others. To recognize this by a coach takes experience, patience and knowledge. The consummate coach will find a way to get his idea across to his athletes even if it takes a gazillion trials and errors before the point is finally received. A young athlete can comprehend the rules, techniques and strategies if these are communicated in a way that the child can associate relevance and meaning to them. Many and far too often, coaches underestimate the cognitive abilities of a child or misinterpret their capabilities as “too young to understand”. This is where patience and creative teaching can play an impressionable roll. And, more often than not, inexperienced coaches tend to confuse a concept as being too over the top for a youngster, when in fact the concept is age appropriate but his chosen method of teaching is not conducive to drive that point to a comprehensive level. Effective coaching can be considered an art; creative teaching displayed by new and innovative methods of explanation.

Coaches play a huge role in an athlete’s development physically, mentally and psychologically; all of which have a tremendous impact on an athlete’s self perception.

Honest words of praise and constructive criticism are important for coaches to practice without exaggeration. Reality may not be what an athlete wants to hear but rather what an athlete should hear to get an accurate sense of what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Sports should be enjoyed and self improvement eminent with proper coaching.

Important questions that a parent might want to ask before signing their child up for an athletic program is, “who is the coach?” “What kind of experience, education or certification does this coach have?” “What are the coach’s goals, objectives and philosophy?” These inquiries can help sum up whether that particular program or coach will potentially develop your child’s confidence, skill level, enjoyment and ultimately passion for that game.