Priming the approach
What does laying the foundation for our coaching look like?
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How do we prime players about our coaching style?
What information do we give them and why?
Coaching is relational. Yes there are technical and tactical aspects, but those don’t happen without social connection.
I’ve often discussed that people will come to training with perceptions of what the environment and the sport might be like. This might be influenced by a range of things including: any previous coaching or sporting experience and clips they see on social media.
A previous article explored perceptions of coaching, including how gender stereotypes can impact this:
As well as you getting to know the players, it’s important that they get to know you. This includes some insight into your coaching style. This is also not just a process that is important at the beginning of the season or the first time coaching a group.
So what do you say and how do you say it? Let’s explore…
I like to briefly mention my coaching style or how I approach things. It doesn’t require a speech or essay. When coaching players for the first time and there’s time for a very brief introduction, I’ll give a quick insight into what to expect.
This might contain an explanation into my coaching style including when I might give interactions or not. I’ve found it’s often more important to raise awareness of the absences or the lack of non verbal communication.
Explanation might sound something like:
“My style is not to give all the answers, so sometimes I will make some space for you all to solve it. That means sometimes I’ll talk and sometimes I will be quiet.”
“I like to give you all some problems to solve, that means sometimes you might feel a little frustrated, but it’s part of learning to solve problems which you also have to do in a match.”
With teams that I’ve coached for a while, I will often mention when there might be a shift in coaching. This might be a change in approach for a few sessions or an escalation.
This change might be through my own coach development:
“As part of my learning, I’ll be trying some different ways of coaching in the next few weeks. I’ll be aiming to have more 1-2-1 chats with people during activities.”
“I’m aiming to have more 1-2-1 chats with people during games today. I’ve set myself a target to have 4 1-2-1 chats with you all.”
This change could also be prompted by the team’s growth:
“We’ve been doing really well, so we’re moving up a level in our training sessions. This means you can expect more challenges and maybe a bit of extra sneakiness from me to test our problem solving.”
Sharing some insight into the coaching style can help create some understanding and clarity about training. Sharing what challenges you’ve set yourself can also help make players feel a part of your learning process. This can help everyone, but especially those who might have some nerves about training or about a new coach.
These phrases are similar to ones I have used. Like finding your own coaching style, introducing yourself and your coaching is an organic process.
The aim is for your players to get to know you a little better, without sitting them down for a lecture on coaching philosophy.
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