I coach in an academy where we have over 35 players in our program. It’s a squad-based environment, so to stimulate our players thinking and creativity, my coaching staff and I come up with regular themes. The idea is to create a story for our players to be able to connect and buy into that will drive positive behaviours and outcomes.
The latest theme we used is hope vs belief.
Themes give purpose
A good theme will resonate with your players and link back to practical outcomes. We use the theme hope vs belief to show that you can’t just HOPE to do well in a tournament, you need to BELIEVE you can do well and that belief can only be earned through hard work.
Put the work in
It’s really important to link a theme to concreate actions. People don’t just want the theory, they want the practical. So, once we establish that building belief is the way to go and that hard work is the best way to achieve it, we focus on the values and behaviours that will help to build belief. In other words, the work that needs to happen.
Studies also show that the more sources an athlete can find to build their confidence and belief, the more likely their confidence levels will stay stable.
So, we try to encourage a number of positive behaviours such as:
- Intensity: chasing every ball
- Volume: hitting a ton of balls
- Setting up strong routines before and after points, and during sit downs
- Regular match play
- Proper preparation, getting your equipment, nutrition and hydration right
- Increasing physical fitness
Through these behaviours we establish the values of hard work, responsibility and discipline.
The harder you work the more you believe… and the better you will perform
Scientific studies have also consistently shown that athletes with greater self-confidence and belief, perform better. When you are confident you tend to focus better. Commit to your decisions. Relax.
So, by forming strong values and practicing positive behaviours we can help our players gain confidence and with confidence, they should perform better.
Stories and examples will make it stick
The last thing we do is reinforce the theme’s messages through stories and real-life examples. For instance, we used this recent Scottie Scheffler interview after he won the Masters to reinforce the idea that hard work creates belief and leads to good outcomes.
(This is a long interview, the bit we are talking about is at 9.07 - 9.43)
Using themes in your coaching give players purpose and helps create positive outcomes.
Give it a try! I’d love to hear about some of the themes you come up with or have already used in your coaching practice.
By Marc Sophoulis