By Marc Sophoulis
Each individual that crosses your path is different. No two people are the same. Even identical twins possess different character, habits, abilities etc. The biggest mistake in coaching is to coach athletes the same. In previous blogs we have discussed what to consider when we coach our players, now let’s give you some examples about how to assess the person you are about to coach:
| Considerations | Questions |
| Why the person acts the way they do? | Have they had bad experiences in the past?
What are the parent’s personalities? |
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Why they make certain decisions under pressure? |
What have they previously been taught?
Who has been their biggest influencers? Who is in their circle of friends? |
| Why they get anxious prior to a big match? | Are there external pressures?
|
| Who is the driver in their development? | Is the player doing it for themselves?
Are the parents living their dream through their kids?
|
| What is the make-up is of their home life? | Is the family supportive?
Do the parents fight? Do they have siblings? Who gets the attention? |
| How have they been parented? | Have they been dictated to?
Made to make own decisions? Rewarded for everything? Been given the hard stick? |
| What are their goals? | To become a pro?
Play recreationally? Attend a US College? |
| Their personality profile. | How do they respond in certain circumstances?
Are they aggressive/passive? Internal vs external? (Does the player internalise thoughts or openly discuss?) |
| Their preferred learning styles. | How do they learn best?
Auditory? Visual? Kinaesthetic? read/write? Data-Digital? OR a combination? |
| Their work rate. | Do they push themselves?
Are they self-motivated? Are they driven by rewards? |
Using indirect communication in the form of questioning prior to starting your coach/player relationship is critical to the understanding of learning about the person you are about to go on the journey with.
In your own time, have a go at writing down 10 key aspects of a person you need to know before coaching them and when you do begin using it as a guideline before starting any new relationship.