Written by It is self-evident that the most effective sports coaches have a major influence, not only on their athletes but also on the sports organisation in which they coach. For sports coaches, especially those classed as ‘serial winners’, there exists what might be considered something of a paradox – that is, as a leader they are extremely tough with their athletes and yet at the same time very caring. This paradox is often coined as ‘firm but fair.’ However, this term can be misleading as caring for athletes goes much deeper than just being fair to them.
An admirable trait of the very best sports coaches is their caring attitude towards the athletes they coach, coupled with an ability to develop strong symbiotic relationships with them. They seem able to move from stranger through acquaintance to a working partnership in a very effective way thereby gaining their athletes’ trust. The care they exhibit towards others, however, is counterbalanced by their tough, no nonsense approach which always carries with it the inherent risk of being perceived as a bully.
An important difference to consider regarding toughness is that the best sports coaches are tough with their athletes and not tough on them – that is, they differentiate between the standards that guide them and the athletes they coach whom they view as valued partners. These sports coaches adhere rigidly to the standards they set regarding athlete behaviours, commitment to training and performance at competition. The standards form the bedrock of consistency and being consistent is a major factor in building and maintaining trust in a relationship – people know where they stand.
It is axiomatic that all athletes need a stable, organised and structured environment in which to develop their skills and fitness. To establish a context that fully meets the needs of athletes the sports coach has three sources of influence or power available to them – namely Hard-Power, Firm-Power or Soft-Power. Hard-Power, which is the use of physical force, can only be used in extreme circumstances and places the sports coach at serious risk – that is, the risk of being accused of abuse. However, there are cases, where athletes may need to be restrained for their own good and the protection of others.
Whilst in extreme cases a sports coach may be forced into restraining athletes the use of physical force for any other reasons cannot be condoned. There is, however, a need to maintain behavioural discipline in both the training and the competition environment. Athletes need an ordered context in which to develop and this requires, where necessary, Firm-Power. Although the use of punishment is a sports coach’s last resort there are times when it may become necessary. There is no doubt, however, that the use of Soft-Power and reward are by far the most effective way to inspire, motivate and guide athletes. It is this source of influence that is a hallmark of the caring coach.
Emotional intelligence is often, quite rightly, cited as an essential trait of great sports coaches. An awareness and ability to control and express emotions, together with an ability to engage with others in effective relationships, is essential to their role as a leader. Emotional labour, or the process of regulating feelings and body language by an individual in order to fulfil their role, however, is more often discussed in relation to the commercial world when interacting with customers and key stakeholders.
Commercial airlines, as an example, invest heavily in developing emotional labour skills in their cabin crews. Like skilled actors they are able to display outward impressions of having high emotional intelligence. We all know that whilst flight attendants are acting a part and trying to make us feel good about ourselves that we are strangers to them and there is no real depth to the care they feel for us. That is not to say they have no concern for our safety or well-being it is just that their prime purpose is to give customer satisfaction and retain their loyalty. The difference between those highly trained individuals in the air industry and great sports coaches is that the vast majority of the latter genuinely do care about their athletes.
Having conducted research on swimming coaches, from grass roots to elite level over the past twenty years, the evidence that these coaches really care about their swimmers is overwhelming. I am also confident that this applies to the majority of coaches across other sports, despite occasional accusations of bullying that make newspaper headlines. Very often these accusations, when fully investigated, conclude that the sports coach in question, whilst being extremely tough do care a great deal about their athletes. As stated earlier being tough carries risks and can be perceived or remembered in a negative light especially by an angry or disillusioned athlete.
From this it is evident that to be a really effective sports coach it is important to let athletes know that you really care about them, not just as an athlete but also as a person. Communicating effectively and gaining an in-depth understanding of them and their idiosyncratic needs is a critical first step. In terms of personal development an awareness of your own emotions and those of the athletes is essential. It is, however, care that connects emotional intelligence and emotional labour as shown in Fig.1. By thinking more about our own and athletes emotions and behaving in an ethical way based on clear standards is the road to successful sports coaching.
Care is an emergent property of investing consciously in the process of building positive relationships and gaining a deeper understanding of the individual athlete. This process also has a developmental effect on emotional intelligence as shown on Fig.1. Athletes are very astute at spotting whether a sports coach genuinely cares about them. The level of care is reflected in behaviours and determines whether the sports coach is seen as authentic or just acting out their role. Finally there are some great sports coaches who achieve outstanding coach-athlete relationships intuitively. By becoming more consciously aware, however, we can all become more effective caring sports coaches and help our athletes by developing all three elements namely: care, emotional intelligence and emotional labour.