Even though most state that coaching is simply to teach others how to play a game, it is much more than this.  The effects that coaching can have on a young child or youth, can help them to gain some important tools that they can keep for the rest of their lifetime.  The tools that you will be teaching to your players will help them to grow and flourish, no matter what turn they make in their lifetime.  The first major lesson that individuals can learn from playing on a team that you are coaching comes from the relationships that they build with each other.  When one is able to work with a team, no matter what the project, and learn how to compromise and fit into the bigger picture, it makes it easier for them later on.  The youth and children that are involved will grow up with ideas about what it means to help others as well as take on their own leadership roles.  They will also be able to see these same relationship values coming from the leadership role that you present.  For the individual child, participating in sports can have the same major effect on them.  This first begins with the child having the ability to understand the importance of health and exercise in order to stay at their best.  Recent studies have shown that adults that played sports when they were younger are much more active and exercise as adults up to three times more than other average adults.  Beyond this, children and youth will gain insights into which they are as individual players.  Not only does their physical health improve, but their mental health will as well.  Once a child or youth understands the game and begins to get positive feedback from the moves that they make, they are likely to also get a good boost of self-esteem.  This doesn’t just happen with self-esteem, but also with perceptions of themselves, such as body image.  The attitudes that the children learn with positive outlooks on their mental and physical health, will eventually carry over into how they see themselves in the future and as adults.  The foundation begins when they are young and playing on any type of field.  What does all of this mean to you as a coach?  The basic rule is that you should have the ability to coach right.  You are not just playing a game.  You are also building a foundation for them.  This foundation includes personal changes that are important to the child as well as a building of who they are mentally, physically and relation to others.  If you want to play a good game as a coach, it means making sure that everyone starts off on the right foot. Want to find out about coy fish, english golden retrievers and other information? Get tips from the Interesting Animals website.WP Robot

Copyright (c) 2008 Richard Nugent

“You cannot manage men into battle. You manage things; you lead people.” Grace Murray Hopper

This month’s tip may seem like a slight diversion from ‘psychology’ however I believe it is the number one issue that I see in coaches and managers in football today, at all levels!

I’m talking leadership.

There is an old saying that ‘if all you’ve got is a hammer then every problem is a nail’. It is becoming more and more frequent for me to see that many coaches, and again I’m talking at every level, only have hammers.

It’s going badly – lets blast the players. It’s going well – let’s blast them to bring them down to earth. They need to be more motivated – let’s blast them. I could go on and on.

I strongly believe that the missing piece for many of these coaches is an understanding of what it takes to lead people.

You can manage tactics, you can manage arrangements, you can manage coaching sessions but to perform at their best people must be led.

In their book “The Leadership Challenge” (ISBN 0-7879-5678-3) Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner introduce five practices that great leaders do to get the most from their people. These aren’t just ‘made up’; they are the practices that coaches and managers who get the very best from their teams do naturally.

These five practices are:

Modelling the Way, Inspiring a Shared Vision, Challenging the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart

I’m certain that if football coaches can raise their awareness, and do more of these, then their results will improve.

How Can You Become A Better Leader?

“You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within.” Bob Nelson

We often invite clients to complete a questionnaire that helps them assess how well they ‘lead’. Here are some example questions that might help you to reflect on how well you do. Remember we firmly believe that these are applicable to any coach, of any age group, at any level.

When you make a promise to your players, do you keep it without fail?

Are you always first in and last out at training and on match days?

Do players know what is important to you? Do you walk the walk?

For example if you say that discipline is important, is your discipline excellent?

Does the squad know what your aims are for this year and for the next three years?

Did the squad have any input into these aims?

Do you talk about these aims with genuine enthusiasm? In training, are you innovative?

Do you try new methods, techniques and approaches? When things aren’t going well on or off the pitch, do you experiment rather than leaving things and ‘keeping your fingers crossed’?

Are you your own coach or manager, rather than simply doing things the way you were coached and managed?

Are you willing to let others input into your decisions?

When players disagree, are they able to discuss this with you (in the right way at the right time)?

Do you know what is important to your players?

Do you appeal to what is important to them in a positive way to get the most from them?

Do you encourage a ‘togetherness’ in your team?

If you can honestly answer ‘yes’ or ‘usually’ to most of these, then well done; you are in the minority. You’ve probably got a very successful team.

For the rest of you, maybe now is a good time for a change? The good news is most of these can be put right quite quickly (and of course we can help!) Spend some time doing the actions below and notice the difference in your players and results.

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” Kenneth Blanchard

What to do now…

Answer the questions above… Think about what you can do to say ‘yes’ to more of them. If you are stuck for ideas, email me and I’ll help you.

Put a note in your diary to do the questionnaire again next preseason, it is a great time to start leading more. To learn more about who we are and what we can do to help improve the results and performances of your team visit http://www.successinfootball.com or ring (+44)7932 725113swarovski crystals wholesale

The Best Coaches in NCAA Football History NCAA football, particularly Division I-A, is one of the most
competitive collegiate sports. Many coaches have had winning
seasons, but only the greatest are remembered by fans. Bobby
Bowden, forty four years after coaching his first college game
and after twenty nine years with Florida State, is the
winningest coach in NCAA history. His Seminoles were ranked in
the Associated Press (AP) Top Five for fourteen consecutive
seasons. His 1999 team was the first ever to go from opening
game to the championship while maintaining their number one AP
ranking the whole time. He is ranked second in most bowl wins.
When he took over in 1976, the Seminoles had won a total of only
four games in three seasons. His career record with the
Seminoles, playing some of the league’s toughest teams, is
278-70-4. Also considered a NCAA coaching great is Joe
Paterno. As he prepares for his fortieth year with Penn State,
he is in second place for all time victories, only behind Bobby
Bowden. He led the Nittany Lions to national championships in
1982 and 1986 and had five unbeaten/untied seasons. Oh, and he
is the one Bobby Bowden is chasing for all time bowl wins with a
record of 20-10-1. If NCAA football was a religion in Alabama, Paul “Bear” Bryant
would be their messiah. He led the Crimson Tide to six national
titles between 1961 and 1979. At the time of his retirement, he
was the winningest coach of all time and also held the record
for most bowl wins. Bear was known as a stern, no nonsense
coach. He once suspended his star quarterback, Joe Namath,
causing him to miss the 1964 Sugar Bowl. But Bowden and Paterno, as great as they are, may never be able
to reach the greatness a certain Norwegian achieved while
coaching America’s most famous Irish-Catholic university. Knute
Rockne has been the subject to countless books and even a movie
that featured a former president, Ronald Reagan, as his most
famous player, George Gipp. Even people that don’t know much
about football or Notre Dame surely know the line “Win one for
the Gipper.” What Rockne could have accomplished will never be
known. He was cut down in his prime, dying in a plane crash at
age 42. But in his short thirteen years at Notre Dame, he
managed to compile a record of 105-12-5, including six national
championships. That is the winningest percentage (.881) of any
NCAA football coach ever. He was also created the unstoppable
backfield known as the four horsemen that led the Fighting Irish
to a 28-2 record. He was dearly loved not only by his players,
but fans as well. Sure, there will be other great coaches in the future of the
NCAA. But no one can ever forget these great men or their
astonishing accomplishments Best Smartphone Software

As we all know there is no dearth of inspirational and expert teachers for whatever skill or subject we want to learn. They are very much out there near us. But it has been common experience that at times they are just hard to find. We simply look around and fail for the suggestion come through our acquaintances. It might be because, we don’t have much option to explore and reach out to them. On the other side of the face, Teachers, Instructors, Tutor, Coaches and everyday experts are always on the look out to market their Lessons and fill up their classes with those curious learners. We believe that everyone is expert in something or the other and everyone can teach. Whether they are full time art and craft teacher, musical instrument teacher, sports coach or chess champion. You know you have a skill to share with those curious learners. But where to find them? But how to address them? So, it could be anybody’s guess at what exactly is missing! Yes. It is very much a connecting path. So, Here come the http://www.teacherlane.com which connects Teachers, Tutors, and Instructors with local students. One can find here right teacher and tutor for any subjest one wants to read, be it, Academic, Professional Courses, Computer/ Information Technology, Life , Home & hobby, Sports , Health & Recreation, Language , Music & Dance, or  Creative and Performing Arts. The Teacher’s profile pages will tell you everything you need to know about your potential teacher. You may also like to view their articles on a particular topic and ratings of your potential Teacher and can read all their latest feedback done by their past-and-present-students, testimonials and more! Which will help you make an informed decision in your potential Teacher search. A Complete career resources for students like Career options which helps you to explore your career options and choices , ask & answer module help you to post your career and study related queries and get it answered by expert etc. Teachers use http://www.teacherlane.com to market their inspirational teaching skills and lessons to student community all around. They are able to connect with more and more student in their area.   Ambishri

Education consultant

You might ask — Why Career Coaching? It’s a good question, and the answer is found in the heart of human nature. We have heard it many times, from married couples to world councils – communication is the key. Noted author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia declared, “Communication, the art of talking to each other, saying what we mean, saying it clearly, listening to what the other says and making sure that we’re hearing accurately, is by all indication the skill most essential for creating and maintaining for more basic knowledge and more competent skills in dealing with the tensions of human relationships.” We all know by instinct and experience that communication is crucial in key relationships. No relationship, business or otherwise, will long survive bad communication. But in business, the bottom line depends on people. In today’s competitive marketplace, we cannot ignore the need for good coaching and communication. Coaches are not quite business consultants, whom you’d hire to address a particular operational or technical problem. But they’re not psychotherapists, whom you’d tap to work through emotional issues. In fact they do as much, and in the same way, as sports coaches who work with athletes: by helping you make the most of your natural abilities and find ways to work around your weaknesses. A good coach will make sure you meet your commitments, behave like a grownup, and otherwise stay out of your own way — things with which all of us can use a little help. Competitive sports teach us that people learn best and attain peak performance when they receive support and guidance from a knowledgeable coach. To perfect our tennis or golf game, we eagerly seek out coaching. Yet all too often, when faced with a professional issue, a job crisis, or a business challenge, something that really matters to us — we go it alone. But support is here! Why You? In its varying forms, this has to be the oldest and most commonly asked question posed by coaches. Why would anyone consider you over the multitude of other candidates? The reason is that you have an answer that meets the needs, questions, or wants of a prospective employer or recruiter. It sounds easy to communicate, but we all know that there is much more that goes into the process of getting hired. If it were easy, why would anyone that wanted a job be unemployed? Often, in getting from where you are to where you want to be (your ideal career) there are many missteps along the road. Visibility is More Important Than Ability What does this all mean? It means despite your training, skills, education and experience, if you’re not being seen in the right way by the right people, you will lose the job to lower-quality competitors who are more visible. To put it simply, visibility is more important than ability. Write it down, hang it on your bulletin board, have a shirt made. It makes professionals angry, but it’s true. When you’re trying to get the job, the first step is to be considered, to get into the decision set. That doesn’t happen because you’re wonderful at what you do; recruiters and employers have no way of knowing that. They consider the people they see responding to their job posts, getting introduced by a family member or friend, or at speaking engagements and socials. When employers or recruiters see your name or your face consistently, they assume you must be more successful, and therefore better, than the service providers they never see. The people they see will get the calls and the jobs. Visibility becomes a necessity in the job market. Lack of Visibility Diminishes Your Credibility With such a flood of resumes available today, people assume anyone worth hearing about has already crossed their radar screen. If they haven’t heard of you, you can’t be very good. This also is unfair, but true. Visibility affects the perception of your competence. Attorney Johnnie Cochran is a great example of this dynamic. For years, he was a successful lawyer working for African-American clients fighting faulty products, discrimination, and police brutality. He had built a solid reputation as a crusader and was getting close to taking his money and retiring. Then came O.J. Simpson. Now, Cochran is internationally known, in demand, and the figurehead of an international company that employs hundreds. Is Cochran a better lawyer? No. But everyone knows his name. Does Ability Matter? Of course it does. Once you’ve got the interview, you’ve got to perform. Dazzle recruiters and employers with your knowledge and experience. Use your sales skills. If you get the work, blow them away with the quality of your work. Maximizing each of the job search process steps, from specialization (what job do I want and why am I the best candidate for the position) to resume creation (which goes first, where does it go?) to interviews, and everything in-between, will decide whether you are visible to employers and recruiters as The One and get the job, or if your information is passed over. My Online Career Coach.com: Don’t Worry Job Seekers, We’ve Done This Before

Visit http://www.MyOnlineCareerCoach.com for Online, Instant, Cost-effective Career Coaching for today’s job seekers. FREE resume/interview help. Job and Career Books.

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Success in The 2009 Ashes series has again seen Cricket’s popularity in the UK grow, and as it the sport is going to need more qualified coaches to take the players on to the next level. The England cricket team will be in the news again over the next few months as they tour South Africa and test themselves against the number one rated team in the world. This may persuade many young and enthusiastic cricket fans to take up the game and perhaps become the next star player. Whatever age group you are coaching you need a specialist Cricket coach insurance policy to protect you against all eventualities. Cricket requires skill and a considerable amount of concentration and the ability to take it one ball at a time. Conditions on a cricket pitch can change drastically if the sun goes in, rain falls or perhaps a bit of cloud cover. A player’s preparation for a cricket match has to be just right and this is, in large, down to their head coach. The head coach has to make sure the player is ready mentally and physically for what could be a long day. Cricket is split into 3 main formats; Twenty20 cricket which is when both teams bat for a maximum of 20 overs where they will try and score as many runs as possible. T20 is for the ultra-attacking players and requires players to be confident of their ability and needs them to be able to take calculated risks in order to score quickly. The second format is One-Day Internationals (ODI’s); these are when each team bats for maximum of 50 overs, requiring a team to be attacking but not to be completely gung-ho. The third and oldest format of the game is Test Cricket. This is the ultimate test of a cricketer’s ability as the game may last 5 days. A batsman maybe in the middle for hours upon hours and concentration levels must be at their highest. As a coach each format requires different levels of preparation and a totally different team needs selecting. The players also need to have special training sessions created using an array of equipment including cricket nets. These can be expensive and just another reason why cricket coach insurance is a must have. Coaching cricket can leave you open to expenses such as lost or stolen equipment or injury costs, a sports coach insurance policy, specifically cricket coach insurance cover can protect you against these costs and allow you to continue coaching. mortgages in Spain

The Leading Anxiety And Panic Attack Coaching Series In Downloadable Video Format. Affilates Get 60% And Crazy-High Conversions! Check The Ppp To See Why!

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Thinking about improving your coaching abilities? Want to add a unique specialty to your resume? Interested in the mental approach to sports training? You may want to consider becoming a certified mental game practitioner.

The International Mental Game Coaching Association certifies qualified individuals at four levels as Certified Mental Game Practitioners. The IMGCA courses of study include academic and fieldwork, written work and a final examination. Candidates who successfully complete certification receive 16 premium benefits as long as they maintain certification. They also have the right to call themselves IMGCA Certified and display the IMGCA certification logo at their level of certification. To learn more details, go here: http://www.mentalgamecoaching.com/IMGCACertification.html

The Four IMGCA Certified Mental Game Practitioner Levels

Level I – IMGCA Certified Mental Game Instructor

Level II – IMGCA Certified Mental Game Coach

Level III – IMGCA Certified Mental Game Master Coach

Level IV – IMGCA Certified Mental Game Professional Coach

Candidates for IMGCA certification come from all walks of life, and have varied backgrounds in sports, coaching, teaching, consulting and the mental game. The IMGCA has designed four levels of certification to address the needs of persons wishing to advance their knowledge, training and capabilities as mental game practitioners. These levels range from beginning practitioners all the way to highly experienced, advanced professional mental game coaches. The commonality among all candidates is that they possess a love of sports and movement, a willingness to learn more about the mental game, and a desire to help others through state of the art mental game coaching.

Each applicant is assessed on an individual basis, and does not need to satisfy each of these qualifications to enter the program. Possible qualifying capabilities include:

• Experience as a teacher, trainer or coach.

• Experience in various sports, or deeply in one or two sports.

• Experience in movement or mind-body disciplines.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Academic preparation in a field that is in sport and movement or that supports these fields.

An ideal candidate for the two advanced IMGCA certifications would have a background as an athlete, coach, teacher, consultant, researcher, administrator or trainer, with academic preparation in appropriate, similar fields at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

How IMGCA Certification Can Improve Your Abilities As A Mental Game Practitioner

The IMGCA certification process is a rigorous and thorough system that prepares you to deliver mental game services to many types of sports, mind-body and movement participants across a wide range of applications. You will be able to deliver mental game services to individuals, groups and teams at a much higher level and will be much more effective in helping them overcome mental and emotional obstacles and in achieving their goals in sports and movement. These certifications are not programs leading to licensing or qualification as a sport psychologist. That requires additional training and school work.



Specifically, with our certification programs, you will experience these enhancements:

• Deeper levels of awareness, analysis and assessment of the mental game.

• Improved teaching, consulting and coaching effectiveness in the mental arena.

• Confidence of knowing how to facilitate mental game interventions across a variety of disciplines, skills levels and situations.

• Better 1-1, group and team coaching in the mental game.

• Enhanced speaking and training abilities for use in conducting mental game workshops and seminars.

IMGCA Tools You Can Access During The Certification Training Process

• Mental game assessment tools

• Turn-key handouts for teaching the mental game

• Turn-key handouts for coaching the mental game

• An IMGCA workbook

• IMGCA articles

• Athlete feedback forms

• Post-competition assessments

What Are Your Reasons For Undertaking IMGCA Certification Training?

Our students are excited to begin IMGCA certification training because they want to be recognized for completing a rigorous, internationally-respected mental game certification training program, own a unique and impressive resume item and possess distinct job-hunting advantages over those without such a credential.

To visit the IMGCA web site home page, go here: http://www.mentalgamecoaching.com/index.html Bill Cole, MS, MA is one of the world’s leading mental game coaches who consults with athletes of all levels including children, amateurs and professionals. Mr. Cole is the founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association, the global leader in certification of mental game coaches. Read over 400 free articles on sports psychology at http://www.mentalgamecoaching.com/index.html or call 408-294-2776 for more information.Wordpress Autoblog Software

Sport today is more competitive than ever. Getting into College on a scholarship is a dream for most high school athletes. We all know how important positioning yourself in the best possible light to any prospective coach or College program is if you want to achieve this dream, but how will you do it amongst other talented athletes? When I was 18 I made my first Olympic Rowing Team. I guess that is one way to stand out to Colleges. At the time I made a decision to continue to pursue my rowing in Australia. My career eventually stretched to 4 Olympics and three Olympic medals in total. But I would dearly have loved to pursue the opportunities I had to attend US Colleges also. Be great to have your cake and eat it too! Today I assist High School athletes to achieve their ambitions in sport by giving them a way to stand out amongst their competition. In a recent article called, Finding the Right Coach and Program for You, (as seen on the site, be recruited) it mentioned how critical it is to have an understanding of your prospective College’s and Coach’s philosophy on sport, coaching, education and I also would add the balance that must exist between those two areas. The article was excellent in how it outlined some important questions you will need to be assertive enough to ask if you are to gain this vital understanding. I chose my Coaches very carefully. I believe my Coach, who is actually now the US Rowing Head Coach, is the best Coach in the World. Maybe I am a bit biased. But he is a Coach who has his athlete’s best interests at heart. Nothing is more important that for him to see his athletes succeed in their life (not just their sport) and to be the best that they can possibly be. What a great philosophy. In my business, Athlete Assessments, we call this philosophy, Athlete Centered. I strongly believe you need to search for an Athlete Centered Coach. A coach who wants you to win for yourself and the glory of your team and the College you represent. Of course Coaches want to experience the victory too, it is just a matter of priority for them, that is, they will enjoy it because it means so much to you. The other great aspect of Athlete Centered Coaches is the way they will coach you. They will tailor their coaching style to suit the type of personality you have. They will coach you in a way that is appropriate for you. These coaches are excellent at building the strong bonds of rapport with you. And remember, rapport is all about trust and respect. Athlete Centered Coaches will trust and respect you and in turn you will naturally trust and respect them. The relationship will then truly become, over time, a collaborative one. In this collaborative relationship, you can develop techniques, throw different ideas around and essentially develop immeasurably as an athlete and person. For you as an athlete to stand out, you must demonstrate a high level awareness of your knowledge of yourself. Athletes that have self-awareness know what they need and why. They can motivate themselves, can prepare consistently well to perform when it counts and they understand how to make changes to their behaviour to fit into any team. To learn this about yourself is simple. We have created an online first, in the Athlete Assessments AthleteDISC profile. This is a personality profile that gives you this vital information in a 21 page report. We even have built in the most effective way to stand out from the others by allowing you to ask your fellow team members for feedback on your performance, your strengths and even how you can improve. When you show your prospective Colleges and Coaches this information and report what do you think they will think of your professionalism? I mean how many of your peers do any mental skills self development. How many times have you been told that a large portion of athletic success is in your head? From my experience, the most successful athletes are the ones who are able to manage themselves through a complete understanding of who they are and how they behave. Coaches love this information because for them it takes the guess work out of trying to get to know you. You do not have the luxury of time when being recruited. Coaches must be able to gauge your suitability quickly. Imagine having your prospective Coach, look at your Athlete DISC profile, see the positive comments from your fellow team members and former Coaches and to appreciate that you are the type of athlete who is going to leave no stone unturned in your approach to sport and academic success. I almost forgot…perhaps what I most respected about my coach, was this. He expected me to improve myself, to make changes, to continually search for ways to be better. Before he expected this of me though, he demanded it of himself. He was continually looking at ways to improve himself. So add that to your list of questions that you have for your next prospective coach. Just ask them, what development programs they have been on this year. I know this may be tough, but a coach must be prepared to role model the types of behaviour that they want to see in their athletes. It is that simple and I feel strongly about this and hope this helps you to select the best possible College and Coach so that you can enjoy and learn as much from sports as I have. Sport and Coaches have so much to teach and life is about learning. Bo Hanson is a four time Olympian and Triple Olympic Medalist. He is one of Australia’s most dynamic speakers on sport and business performance. He founded Athlete Assessments to assist coaches and athletes to improve their results through better understanding of themselves and others. He can be contacted through http://www.athleteassessments.com or bo.hanson@athleteassessments.com •Four Times Olympic Rowing Representative for Australia.
•Three Times Olympic Medalist.
•Specialist Coaching Consultant.
•Corporate Training Consultant and Presenter.Canon Digital Camera Powershot

Sports Coaches all have a preferred coaching style. A coaching style is a way of behaving. Coaches spend most of their time using their preferred coaching style. Sometimes this style works well for them. Sometimes it doesn’t. Knowing what your coaching style is and being able to change it, is critical in order to appeal to the different types of athletes that you coach. Using a style that is incompatible with your athlete’s needs will result in you becoming frustrated that the athlete is not making changes and it will also result in the athlete becoming frustrated that they are not being coached effectively. The problem is, so often I have seen the incorrect coaching style used with the previously mentioned results yet no-one knew why the problem was occurring. The coach just gave up and the athlete left to be coached by someone else or they left the sport altogether. Using the Athlete DISC profile, will enable you to identify your coaching style. When your athletes also complete their profile, the information you get will enable you to use the correct style with each athlete. Coach behavior should be a way to connect athlete understanding with the concepts and skills the coach is trying to improve within the objectives of the session (Hall & Smith 2006). With each of the four behavioral styles outlined in the Athlete DISC, there’s a different way to communicate, connect with, provide feedback and motivate and counsel them. How to do all this is the basis of our Coach Education webinars and the purpose of this article is to explain how to generally learn more about the coaching styles and how to be more effective in coaching your athletes. If you are the Coach, are you the leader? First, recognize that as a coach you are a leader. As a leader you have certain amounts of power. Your power will essentially come from two sources: “position power” and “personal power.” Position power is just what it sounds like–you’re the Coach so a certain amount of power comes from being anointed by the Club or Team Management for this role. But personal power comes from earning it, from developing it. Position power is a starting point for coaching an athlete or team, but it’s personal power enables a coach to go from a coaching style that considers the needs of the athlete first and then fits the style of coaching required to these needs. Personal power is also based on coaches building respect and credibility in the eyes of their athletes. It is well known that a critical condition for an athlete to change their technique is the amount of credibility the coach has in the eyes of the athlete. For example, if the athlete’s previous coach has taught them a certain technique and it is deemed ineffective, then unless the athlete’s current coach has greater credibility than the athlete’s old coach, there will be no change in technique. This is because the athlete does not believe in the new coach as compared to their belief in the old coach. Building the credibility is about showing your desire to adapt to the athlete’s need (see previous article on Adaptability) and then show your expertise in the athlete’s eyes. What is interesting in sport today, is the amount of information on topics critical to performance such as nutrition, sports science, bio mechanics. Yet show me the same depth of information on how to build effective relationships and rapport with your athletes. Business has recognized the need to develop the management and leadership skills of its people years ago. In sport many people still seem to be caught up with training programs and sports science. Believe me I know this is important. I won three Olympic medals and used every piece of sport science and bio mechanical help I could, but it was the ability of my coach who really enabled me to be my best. Actually, by the end of my career, my coach could do everything a sport science tester did and he understood the bio mechanics of my sport to a degree that exceeded many experts in the field. What my coach did better than any other coach I have seen, is his ability to build rapport with his athletes, establish enormous credibility and develop the highest level of respect. To us, he was (and is to others today) a coach who was athlete centered, where he adjusted his style to suit the needs of his athletes. I guess that is why he is Head Coach of one of the largest nations in the world. Personal power–in essence, your skill in dealing with people–is increasingly crucial to you and your role as coach. In short, if you respect your athletes’ individuality, their essential differences, they’ll feel like they’re on a winning team and will work harder, better for you. But you must empower them rather than just seeking power over them. You can do that by learning to listen, observe, and talk to them. And then adapting so they’ll feel important, wanted and highly valued, this will build their self-esteem and that will increase their confidence in themselves. We all know the results that genuinely self-confident athletes can achieve. Want to know your coaching style? Bo Hanson is a four time Olympian and Triple Olympic Medalist. He is one of Australia’s most dynamic speakers on sport and business performance. He founded Athlete Assessments to assist coaches and athletes to improve their results through better understanding of themselves and others. He can be contacted through http://www.athleteassessments.com or bo.hanson@athleteassessments.com •Four Times Olympic Rowing Representative for Australia.
•Three Times Olympic Medalist.
•Specialist Coaching Consultant.
•Corporate Training Consultant and Presenter.win back ex girlfriend