No matter how you look at it, coaching is one of the most responsible positions, regardless of where you coach or whom you coach. It’s a job position that comes with many different challenges that change on daily basis. The way coaches tackle those challenges can differentiate between your average coach or a good one. So, what exactly are the habits of successful coaches of today?
Exceptional Communicative Skills
Many of the coaches are teaching in schools, but even those who are not are in the same line of work. After all, what is coaching if not the ability to transfer knowledge, to mentor and guide a team or an individual. The better the communicational skills of a coach the easier is to understand the instructions. It will significantly improve the method of conveying the knowledge. And the easier for players to understand your thoughts the better the end result.
Always Improving and Always Advancing
Nobody is perfect and there is always room for improvement. That goes for both the athletes and the coaches. What better way of showing your athletes how to strive for excellence than doing it yourself? A key to that is being open-minded and listening to new ideas. If you are able to adapt and learn from your mistakes and successes you will be able to implement it into your teaching techniques.
Positive and Passionate
In the coaching business, passion for the job and positivity seem intertwined. Not every road leads to victory. There are a lot of ups and downs in the coaching business and the ability to maintain your positivity despite the negative is a habit that every coach should have. At the same time, the passion for the sport will drive the coach to push their team regardless of the outcomes.
Genuine and Caring
Forming a bond with the athletes you coach holds utmost importance. As a mentor, your athletes will absorb not only the knowledge but look up to you and sometimes come to you for advice unrelated to your professional relationship. By showing empathy, the athletes will trust you more and accept your methods openly which provides better results.
Leadership and Intuition
Hard work does pay off if your coaching methods are correct. By being intuitive and staying ahead of your competition you can gain a significant advantage over them. However, that wouldn’t matter much unless you are not well respected as a coach, as a leader. As much as it’s important for a coach to be one with the team, it is also important to distinguish between an athlete and a coach. Namely by being someone who can lead and someone your players wish to follow.
