Tight Mind Monday: Strategies for Coaching Excellence Pt. 3
Tight Mind Monday: Strategies For Coaching Excellence – Part 3
In part one, we explored living true to the reason why you became a coach in the first place. In part two, we looked at ways the ego gets in the way of coaching our best. This segment will discuss the power you have as coaches in the form of verbal and non-verbal communication.
Your words and the energy behind them are powerful. Think about the most influential people to your own self-esteem. They were probably your parents and, not far behind them, your coaches. Coaches have the ability to either build belief or break confidence with every word they say and every action they perform.
Gymnastics can be a negative sport. It’s a sport built upon fixing mistakes, falling, and failing again and again until we get it. We also know that there are days as a coach that are incredibly frustrating. Bent legs, poor technique, slow rotations, and not enough effort is all you can see on some dark days. So what can you do? How can you coach from a place where everything you say and do builds belief, and inspires your athletes?
Here is your Tight Mind Tip -- I call it "relentless optimism." Relentless optimism is a positive way to view your gymnasts and even the world. It’s looking at every situation as an opportunity to be excited, future-oriented, solution-focused, creative, and a builder of confidence.
Excited Energy
No matter what is happening in the gym, your energy can be upbeat, electric, and eager to find a solution. Avoid negative body language. Avoid walking away from your athletes, rolling eyes, or side-talking about them to another coach or, God forbid, another athlete; this definitely communicates a negative message. If you need to take a break, express it in a positive way. Say something like, “I’m going to walk away for a second and come back with fresh eyes,” or, “Let’s see how far you can get in 10 minutes without me." These messages communicate that you are working on a solution to the problem.
Future Orientation
Focusing and nagging about the problems just keeps your athletes stuck in a negative present. Saying things like, “I know you can get this,” and, “We just haven’t make this correction yet,” helps them see that you still believe they can make the change.
Solution Focus
Every correction should be what you want to see and not what you don’t. When you keep saying the same things, “Your legs are bent” or “You’re not making the changes” or “You all are moving too slow,” it just brings the energy down for everyone, including you! Phrasing every correction in the positive helps the brain focus on the change instead of the bad habit.
Creative
Negative coaching is usually about blame and fear. Many coaches blame their athletes for what is happening in the gym and try to scare them into change. When you are relentlessly optimistic, you are creative. You take full responsibility for what’s happening and find a way to change the behavior, situation, or bad habit. Maybe a game, new drill, or pump-up talk, would serve better than a lecture.
Confidence Builder
Frequently express belief in all your athletes. Let them know that you know that they can be better, stronger, and make the necessary changes. Remind them of the strengths you see in them every day, especially on difficult ones. That’s when they need it the most.
Practice relentless optimism in the gym this week and then try practicing it in your life as well. Get out of complaining and into finding gratitude and solutions; take action to make the changes you want! See how your coaching and life change when you practice being relentlessly optimistic!
Alison Arnold, Ph.D. has been a mental toughness consultant to USA Gymnastics since 1997. For more information on Doc Ali and her work, go to www.headgamesworld.com or www.headgameswebcamp.com