Nov 03, 2015 | Dean Eastman | 815 views
Effective Communication is the Key to Learning
Effective Communication
Great coaches are great communicators
Effective communication is a key to coaching success and the doorway to connecting with your players!
Enthusiasm
Remember that it’s difficult to find enthusiasm from your players if you aren’t showing any yourself.
A passionate and enthusiastic coach will energize players and help make their time at the rink more enjoyable. Your players won’t just feel that enthusiasm. Parents will appreciate your interest in teaching their kids and will be more enthused to help out.
Don’t be afraid to get the parents involved in certain situations. It’s okay to ask the parents if they can talk to their son or daughter to see if they can resolve an issue. No parent should fail to appreciate your commitment to their child’s improvement.
Enthusiasm spreads like wildfire and inspires players to want to play for themselves, their parents, their fellow teammates, and us as coaches!!
Consistent Positivity
Negativity is both unprofessional and contagious. Worst of all, negative attitudes from a coach will quickly overwhelm a young athlete’s motivation to perform and soon flow over into their home and school life. It will choke any desire to compete and eventually remove the feelings of excitement and personal reward that they originally came searching for in that sport to begin with.
Our kids are there to learn, to be healthy and to develop confidence in themselves, so always strive to keep things fun and light!
Expectations & Consideration
Setting expectations for individual players and the team as a whole is a good thing, but depending on how expectations are delivered by a coach, they may come across as either a friendly push or little intimidating. A healthier way to present an expectation is to offer them as a goal or a friendly challenge set between you and your players.
Expectations must be reasonable and applicable to the situation as well. Our ultimate goal is to make our players better and the process of improvement as enjoyable as possible. So let’s also consider that when we set an expectation for players, an expectation is also being set for ourselves to harbour patience and support no matter what the outcome is.
In the end, the most we can ever expect from anyone is his or her fullest effort.
Consistency In Communication
Treating every player equally is a given principal, especially when we are trying to emphasize a true team mentality. The same rules should apply to everyone and no one player should ever be shown preferential treatment based on performance or social standing.
Our children are all equal members of a sports team. Enforce equality by communicating equally with him or her as you would anyone else, challenging players to give no less than their best effort.
Listen
Show an interest in what your players say. Look them in the eye and show them that you recognize that their questions and concerns are valuable to you.
If you are unsure as to what a player is asking, try paraphrasing what they have said back to them. Remain patient, interested, and approachable. They are asking you questions because they look up to you as their team leader.
Summary
Being a great communicator means being a great listener with equal enthusiasm and respect towards each player. This will allow your team to feel more comfortable around you and one another. When we effectively communicate with our team, we have fun together and a fun environment results in higher levels of success as a team and a more enjoyable year for everyone – including you!