Coaches. Some are great, some are horrible. And many in the grand scheme of things are just blips on our athletic career radar.
If your wondering how take steps to improve your relationship with your coach, or create one, I’ve put together 3 quick tips that I’ve learned along the way. Have a read and then drop a comment about a memorable coach you’ve had, good or bad.
- Take Charge
First thing to remember is that this is YOUR career, and your coach will only take it as seriously as you do. The best way to take charge of your athletic career is to write out an action plan for your athletic career goals. Start this by setting yearly goals and get in the habit of breaking those yearly goals down to monthly, then weekly ones. Weekly goal setting keeps you on track for achieving your greater overall goals by breaking down what may seem to be a huge daunting task, in to smaller more manageable steps. Achieving each small step along the way is a great way to keep yourself motivated about working towards your bigger goals at hand.
I write my goals out daily. Or at least try to. At the end of the month I go back and look at all the goals I had written and see which ones I achieved. It’s most satisfying when I conquer a specific goal the very next day after reading it. Through approaching my training this way I have become more in line with what and how I need to do things to reach my goals.
2. Communicate Accept taking the initiative in building a healthy relationship with your coach. At the beginning of every year make a point to have a sit down meeting with your coach. (If you’re already in to your season, still make a point to have an “overview meeting” to get the two of you comfortable about having more meetings like this in the future) Use this time to express the goals you have for the year and how your goals align with the strategy your coach might already have had in mind for you for that particular season. (Use this time to get on the same page… Better to hash things out now rather than let things boil to a point of no return). Now this course of action isn’t necessarily meant to get overly specific. (i.e. entire workout plans for every single day for the entire season etc.) but more so things for the two of you to get a general understanding of levels of focus to be expected over the course of the season. For example, you may want to make point to tell you coach “I plan to be at practice on time everyday”. “I want to execute all drills like I am prepping for a race every practice”. “I will hydrate and eat health before and after training.” I will come with a positive attitude and ready to work” etc. Say these things aloud to your coach as they will be there to help hold you accountable to your plan of action. This also makes it easier to take criticism because they are only telling you to do things you told them you were going to do in the first place. (This is a great tactic to “trick” yourself in to becoming a better more coachable athlete) Don’t let your mindset limit your actions. There’s very little in life you can’t do. Actions produce Results. Also learn to communicate how you are doing emotionally as well as physically. Mind over matter. If you are not mentally healthy you will not be able to be your full physical self. Make a point to assess how you are doing mentally. If your not feeling like yourself, let someone know. Talk out your struggles and varying emotional states. It’s better out than in. This has been a great way to approach things for me personally.
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3. Trust This is huge! I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today if I didn’t first, trust myself to be great, and second trust the coaching I am under. Trust yourself and your coaches course of action. Often times as athletes we get stuck on what we think is best for us, but in most cases unless you’ve got some years under your belt, usually its your coaches who know best. (Mainly because most times they are speaking from past experience… This is as the best teacher) You won’t like every coach you have (some may even be a little off) but give them your time and whole hearted effort. You may find in the end all you needed was a little faith in the program to achieve results.
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