What It Takes To Be A Top Coach

What It Takes To Be A Top Coach

By Peter Shaw

16/11/14

While studying for a BSc in Sports Strength and Conditioning, I have been researching coaching philosophies and developing my own. I have been coaching for four years but the past two years my coaching practice has been a lot more intensive. Coupled with this I have been observing quality coaches such as Dr.Liam Hennessy, Jim Gavin , Gerry Fitzpatrick , Martin Kennedy and all the coaches National Athlete Development Academy. I aspire to be a top coach one day. From my own experiences, studies and interactions with great coaches so far in my career, I’ve come to understand that to be a great coach you need to develop a multitude of qualities and skills. In my opinion, these are a few elements I deem necessary to be a top coach.

Empathy
A great coach understands his players and relates to them on a personal level. As a coach, you have to interact with people from different cultures, backgrounds and work/study commitments. All these have implications on your approach to the session and how you implement the training programme. 

“People don't care how much you know until you know how much you care?" John C. Maxwell, author of  'The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership'
This is crucial particularly in a team setting. Caring for your athletes directly correlates with the whole "buy in" factor of the team. Developing a connection with your athletes is imperative. Check out our other article by Des Shaw about how to connect with your athletes.


Empathetic coaches are by nature athlete-centred coaches. In my opinion these will always be more successful in the long term than coach-centred coaches. Coach centred coaches tend to be selfish in their approach, results orientated and egotistical which can yield results but athletes will see through this and are less likely to perform for a coach like this.

Positivity

I worked during the summer at NADA and its owner Martin Kennedy said something that resonated with me ever since. "As a coach if your players are moody or unenthusiastic go home and take a look in the mirror" 
The climate you create will determine largely what mood the athlete’s in. (Martens 2012) notes that "your athletes are more likely to become what you are rather than what you want them to be".

In a study done by Harvard business school; positivity directly related to the success of the team. Three teams were each given the same business task. The winning team had 5.6 positive comments for every negative. The team in second place had 3.9 positives for every negative. And finally the least successful team had a ratio of 0.36:1 which equates to 3 negatives for every positive comment.


Obviously I do not advocate everything a coach says to be positive but merely reducing the negativity of the environment the athlete is in is essential. I suggest the next time you coach, have a fellow coach or assistant observe your session and record your positive comments and negative comments. You may be surprised with your findings.

Experience
This could be possibly the most important of the list. As I have studied papers and books, I have quickly come to the realisation that some methods just don't work as described. In the field we will be forced to adapt and alter things on the spot. Certain things will of course run smoothly and others will have you tearing your hair out. It's up to you as a coach to have these experiences to become a more competent and versatile coach


I would encourage all coaches to diversify in their coaching. Don't always coach kids or always coach males for example. I coached ladies for the first time this season and it added so much to my thought process about coaching. When you feel disillusioned with your adult team perhaps coaching a kids team can rejuvenate you or inspire you again. Enrol yourself in a tutoring course. This will force you to analyse other coaches and tweak the finer details of the art of coaching. I would highly recommend all coaches to have a mentor and a network of other coaches which you can share ideas with.
Lots of top coaches conform into management. This another potential area for a coach to experience. Become a manager and discover for yourself if you wish to be a hands on coach or simply be a logistical manager and delegate to a team of coaches.


If you’re a young coach I would suggest shadowing or applying for an internship. My internship at NADA was invaluable and I still to this day contact the senior coaches there for feedback and with questions I have.
Lastly, I believe we as coaches know very little still. This industry is always evolving as sciences naturally do. Continuous professional development is a key element in becoming a better coach. Seminars, workshops, clinics and courses are of course expensive most of the time but choose wisely, as these are all an investment in yourself. There is always at least one thing you will take away and implement in your coaching almost immediately.

Observational
This skill is heavily linked with experience. As coaches we have to train our eye. The most vital way of doing this is by observing and analysing thousands of sets and reps. Another route to consider  is the use video technology. It can be used for your personal observation or visually displaying to the athlete what he is isn’t executing proficiently or provide them with positive feedback on what they are doing well. A cheap application I use for android is V1 Golf or Coaches Eye. It is a free app which can capture video and be utilised on the spot . You can analyse the skill/movement using lines, circles, boxes and degree angles in slow motion.
Without the skill of observation we cannot coach proficiently . For example , if we cannot spot the flaw in an Olympic lift we cannot cue the athlete to improve this particular lift . Being able to spot and fix is an art itself. Once we can clearly see faults then we can cue the athlete and thus improve their lifting competency or skill proficiency.
Next time you coach in the gym or on the pitch take a step back and give the athlete space. Spot one flaw and then cue them accordingly as opposed to being up close and noticing anything at all.

Leadership
Personally, I feel there can be two strands of leadership.  Sometimes as a coach you have to give control to get control. This can come in the form of delegation to your subordinate coaches. Perhaps giving the players more responsibility. This trust in your players can be a form of leadership. When the athletes are in competition they are in control so we have to give them some form of responsibility as coaches.
Secondly, a coach may have to be the head of the programme. A coach in this situation must be capable of leading the group in the desired direction.

Moran & Kramer gave a comprehensive list of 10 keys to leadership:

1) It has to matter                             2) Letting Go
3) Reflecting                                     4) Adapting
5) Motivating                                    6) Decision-Making
7) Monitoring                                    8) Communicating
9) Be Fair                                          10) Manage Conflict   
  
I hope these inspire you to perhaps change your thinking on coaching and broaden your mind on how you coach. Remember these are my list of top qualities coaches should possess; there are many more that a coach may require. Feel free to give feedback on your top qualities as well.

And finally I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the National Athlete Development Academy (NADA) for giving me the opportunity to intern there over the summer. It was an invaluable experience with great coaches and athletes.

Many thanks to Martin, Mairead, Kev, Cliodhna, Daithi, Conor and my fellow interns.

Do everything better.

Peter Shaw