Written by There are many coaches who say that they remember their losses the most. After the losses, many coaches begin a period of reflection as to why the loss happened, whether the athletes or coaches could have done something differently, or maybe a change to a small part of the training regime. After winning, there are probably less coaches that reflect on the competition and what could have gone better. But there is an even smaller group of coaches that exist: Coaches, whose athletes and teams win, that reflect on what they can do better for their athletes and team, how they can engage their athletes more, what they can do to make their athletes’ lives better, and what they can do to make their teams’ cultures better.
Whether your team wins or loses, what can you do to help your team’s culture positively change? You can simply make time in your coaching plan to spend a minute or two to speak with athletes one on one. Tell the athlete how you feel about them as a person, showing the athlete that you have genuine interest in them as a human being, and maybe even take a risk by asking them how they are doing and then actively listening to their answer. You can even go all in and even be vulnerable in your interaction with them. I know this sounds like a lot of risk, but just taking the time to start having discussions with your athletes can be the start to something great…a positive change to the culture.
Imagine how the athlete, or fellow human being, will feel if you take a few minutes out of your busy coaching time to speak with them. Will they believe that you have taken an active interest in them and their success? Will they feel that you are invested in their future? Will they see that you value them as a member of the team? What do you believe their levels of effort, listening, and performance will be after that short discussion will be?
I asked those leading questions because you already know the answers to them. Even if you do not know what to talk to your athletes about, start with something simple: How was your day; what did you think about the practice we had yesterday; or what would you like to see in future practices? Once you get a handle on those simple, and questions where you do not have to become vulnerable, you can start easing your way into more difficult questions where emotion, vulnerability, trust, reflection, and real discussions can take place. You do not have to wait until next season, or after a loss, to begin having these discussions, just start a discussion with athletes the next time you see them.