The Amazing Art of Coaching

Introduction

Brian Grasso explains the importance of interpersonal skills when working with young athletes.

While it is true that you may research conditioning-based articles because you want to read about training techniques, strategies, and exercises, I cannot help but point out that your ability as a coach is as much dependent on your interpersonal skills as it is on your ability in the motor sciences.

Sports psychology gets a fascinating amount of exposure in our industry—how to motivate athletes best, challenge their innate senses of pride, and draw out their inner champions. That stuff is great when you have a receptive athlete who wants to hear what you say on that level and understands how to respond. With young athletes, the magic bullet does not exist.

The crux and primary issue of working with young athletes lies in pedagogical science as much as in the training application—perhaps more. Developing relationships with your young athletes is the most powerful thing you can do to help them develop their sporting potential or adhere to a lifetime of physical activity.

It is not about 'beating the drum' through verbal inspiration with all young athletes. One of the most significant shortcomings I have seen with many coaches and trainers is playing the 'vocal motivation coach' routine with every athlete they encounter. It is not prudent. The same way that not all exercise selection, arrangement or load is a one-size-fits-all equation is the same about the interpersonal relationship-building sequence called coaching.

I have organized my thoughts into the following categories of athletes.

A. The athlete has low motivation and skill

You know this athlete. Shy, quiet, and lacking confidence and ability (one likely begets the other), this is not the young athlete who will respond to a 'rah, rah—get 'em' coaching style! In my experience, I qualify the coaching style needed in this situation as 'direct'. Indeed, you take the time to make this young person feel comfortable in your group training setting.

More often than not, I do this by speaking very quietly and directly to them once I have sent the other athletes on a task. Young athletes like this typically do not enjoy being 'spoken to' or 'singled out' in front of everyone. That is why I call this coaching style direct. Direct your questions, suggestions and tasks to this youngster personally so they do not feel 'on display' in front of the group.

B. The athlete has low motivation but high skill

Here is where the 'rah, rah' coach can be helpful. The young athletes are good - they have excellent skills and outstanding technical ability. I have coached many athletes like this, and their motivation is often lost because they lack challenge. Things may have come quickly to this athlete, but they never felt challenged. The coaching system warranted here is what I call 'inspire'. In a positive and uplifting manner, challenge this young athlete to achieve more.

Alter their set/rep/sequence design by adding an exercise or increasing the difficulty of the sequence. However, be wary of talented young athletes who lack motivation because they have no interest in this sport anymore. I have also encountered that scenario many times: a promising, talented young athlete who is 'bullied' into sports by their parents. That is where the interpersonal skill of coaching is vital.

You have to know whether you are 'inspiring' a young athlete who is just looking for a challenge or one who is looking for a way out of sports!

C. The athlete has high motivation and skill

I have seen so many coaches and trainers try to 'corral' athletes made up of these traits - almost as if they want to take credit for the child's abilities. Sheltering young athletes like this and imposing your will and ideas on them is not prudent. Young athletes like this need to be part of the decision cycle. Demonstrate and explain exercise selection to them; work at perfecting technical proficiency; have them understand the goals associated with programming - and then include them in creative development.

Young athletes are smart people. While some must be 'directed', others can and should be part of the coaching process. Talk to young athletes like this and get their feedback. Empower them to comprehend how technique and exercise progression matter, and then encourage them to work with you on program design. Coaching aims to get ALL your young athletes into this category. That is the science and art that I call athletic development. The shy and quiet young athlete who lacks motivation and skill - artfully finds a way to get them to this point. The young athlete with loads of skill but lacks motivation - artfully finds a way to get them to this point.

D. The athlete has high motivation but low skill

Your job here is to 'guide'. Athletes want to do it. They work hard at getting better. They desire to improve. Guide them. Work hard with them on technical skills. Match their eager dispositions with an equally energetic coaching style dedicated to helping them learn and improve their skill level. So, there you go - four different everyday athletes with four distinct yet corresponding coaching styles. Coaching is a beautiful art that you must strive to become better at. Far too often in this industry, we only look at the scientific parts of conditioning. With young athletes, that is not enough.

So, how does this ART of coaching apply?

Points to Consider

Whenever you bring two or more young athletes together, you are bound to see more than one personality type (and, therefore, need to employ more than one coaching style). When coaching a group of 2 or more athletes, restrict the tendency to have each athlete performing the same drill simultaneously. For example, during a standard warm-up, my athletes will do basic range of movement (ROM) activities (typically through the hips and shoulders) and proceed to technical skills instruction.

Let us say you have a group of four athletes. Instead of each performing a hip circuit simultaneously and then moving on to the next ROM activity, create four different exercises and segment them so each athlete performs a separate drill. To the casual reader, that may sound like a chaotic mess!! In actuality, it allows for a much simpler training session, an individualized approach to coaching and a critical feature missing from many introductory training sessions - instruction and explanation time.

Here's the Scenario

Athlete 1 (low motivation & skill) - requires a 'direct' method of coaching
Athlete 2 (low motivation & high skill) - requires 'inspire' method of coaching
Athlete 3 (high motivation & skill) - requires 'delegate' method of coaching
Athlete 4 (high motivation & low skill) - requires 'guide' method of coaching

Warm-up Routine

Hip Circuits - 2 sets/leg, 3 reps/exercise
Prone Bridge with Leg Lift - 3 sets, 5 reps/leg
Shoulder Circuit - 3 sets, 4 reps/exercise Hurdle
Walk-Over - 3 sets, 10 hurdles

Sequence & Flow

First, gather the whole group and explain the day's task. Then, address each participant individually by name and welcome them. Explain what the training session will look like for the day and encourage verbal and nonverbal compliance.

Then TEACH!

I have long maintained that every development program must begin with an introductory or assimilation phase for the young athlete. The bulk of your primary teaching should fall into this category. At the beginning of each training session, the teaching component should be reminder-based or build off previously taught skills. Take 5 - 7 minutes to teach each of the four warm-up drills. Please explain why the athletes will perform these drills and why they are essential (and do this even with young pre-adolescents).

You are building a long-term approach to their development and must invest the time to acquaint them with your system. Even young athletes are 'teachable' given the proper stimulus application). Once the teaching time is done, assign them each to an exercise. Now, you have the time to flow and work with each of them individually on correct body alignment, movement habits and exercise adherence. Because they are all doing different things, you can apply the proper coaching style to each individual.

Application

Athlete 1 (direct) - Hip Circuit
Athlete 2 (inspire) - Prone Bridges
Athlete 3 (delegate) - Shoulder Circuit
Athlete 4 (guide) - Hurdle Walk-Overs

Coaching Cues

Athlete 1 - Get down to his level (which would be on your knees given the 'Hip Circuit') and quietly let him know what a good job he is doing. Ask him if he has any questions about what he is doing. If he did have questions, he would not have asked them when the entire group was together. The key here is the tone of your voice - be patient, relaxed and easy-going.

Athlete 2 - 'Seriously, Johnny, that is even better than last week!'. 'You are making this look easy. Let me show you a more challenging method because I know you can do it!'. Remember, they have low motivation but high skill - Encouraging and challenging are suitable methods.

Athlete 3 - Ask him what he thinks. 'How's it feel?' 'You feel good with that today, or do you want to switch it up?' 'What do you think we could add to it?' Delegate some of the responsibilities of their training to them and help them make it work. Empower them to seek out and create new ideas.

Athlete 4 - Verbally reward their effort and work to make them understand the movement better. 'That looks great, Sally!'. 'Now, you see how your left leg points out to the left when you go over the hurdle? How can we fix that?'

This coaching flow and sequence can be used throughout the entire workout—even through your movement and strength skill portions. Create and segment the exercises, including a teaching component preceding each part, and apply the appropriate coaching style to each athlete. Considering these coaching principles, how do you ensure technical development in your young athletes?

Where to start

The initial exposure of young athletes to a new technique is critical. It must be presented in a way that creates intrigue and excitement within the athlete but does not overexpose them to too much information or stimulus all at once. There is a fine line between teaching what is appropriate and can be retained versus what amounts to too much exposure to a given task and its progressions.

The Problem in Youth Conditioning

Too much exposure at the beginning of a training program is counterproductive to an optimal ending. When taught complex technical skills in one training session or a short period, children can quickly become overwhelmed by trainers, coaches, and parents. The most critical problem in the youth training and sports industry is the overzealousness perpetuated by many Trainers and Coaches (and facilitated by many Parents) in gaining skills in a given technical exercise.

We must create visionary-based teaching methods that are scripted and systematically progressive and work towards instilling a lifelong adherence to a particular skill or exercise. Our culture is based on a gratification system—we strive to see results now, even if the act of trying to create results in the short term proves to be contradictory to the science of motor development and blatantly less beneficial than a more holistic and long-term approach.

Important Considerations

The following list is a few suggestions to remember when creating an initial lesson plan to teach a new technical exercise:

Speed, Agility, Strength & Sport Skill

Be wary of the current state of fitness your athlete(s) possess. We often look to 'run' our young athletes through new technical exercises without being conscious of how tired they may be. I always see it as a common mistake - when the central nervous system (CNS) becomes fatigued, attention to technical merit is reduced. Learning and retaining a skillset under the duress of fatigue becomes impossible.

Remember that technical development in speed mechanics, agility, strength, or a specific sporting skill is a process of systematic acquisition. This acquisition begins with a foundational introduction and progresses more specifically to adherence on a very functional level - which includes increases in speed and external environmental considerations such as opponents and teammates.

Emotional Considerations

Young athletes who are bored or too excited will not gain optimal ability in a new technical skill. Your ability as a coach becomes essential, as is your capacity for creating well-designed lesson plans. When the lesson plan is made with the athlete's physical skill and emotional temperament in mind, it will have a 'just right' feel. For example, young athletes who lack motivation and talent will not respond to being put on display in front of their fellow athletes, nor will they adhere to a skill that is presented too quickly or involves too many progressions. You want your young athletes to leave your training session perfectly comfortable and happy with what they learned.

Your Physical Ability

Young athletes learn in various manners - one of which is visual. Demonstrating an exercise or skill is often crucial to a given athlete's ability to comprehend and reproduce that skill. However, the key to this demonstration is the 'relating factor' it has on your athletes. Too often, Trainers and Coaches will demonstrate a skill in a way that their young athletes cannot relate to - too fast, for example. In one case, I have seen the trainer enjoy performing skills at an increased rate to' show off' to the athletes he was coaching.

Nothing positive is gained from this. Your athletes may admire you, but you have not shown them anything of value for their skill development. In whole-part-whole teaching methods, you certainly want to show what the skill looks like at high speed and with flawless technical ability, but then you must break the skill down to its finer points and begin teaching from the foundation.

Action Steps

Take a piece of paper and write where you want your athlete(s) to be in 1, 2 or 12 months. For example, techniques they should possess, poundage they should be lifting or sporting skills they should have acquired. After that, write out how many training sessions or practices you have with your athlete(s) over the next few weeks and create a lesson plan for each session. For you to take your athlete(s) to X, what steps and skills must be taken now? Create your lesson plans based on a progressive development system and in keeping with the items listed in this article.

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

GRASSO, B. (2009) The Amazing Art of Coaching [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article002.htm [Accessed

About the Author

Brian Grasso is the President of Developing Athletics, a company dedicated to educating coaches, parents, and youth sporting officials worldwide on athletic development concepts.


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While it is true that you may research conditioning-based articles because you want to read about training techniques, strategies, and exercises, I cannot help but point out that your ability as a coach is as much dependent on your interpersonal skills as it is on your ability in the motor sciences. Sports psychology gets a fascinating amount of exposure in our industry—how to motivate athletes best, challenge their innate senses of pride, and draw out their inner champions. That stuff is great when you have a receptive athlete who wants to hear what you say on that level and understands how to respond. With young athletes, the magic bullet does not exist. The crux and primary issue of working with young athletes lies in pedagogical science as much as in the training application—perhaps more. Developing relationships with your young athletes is the most powerful thing you can do to help them develop their sporting potential or adhere to a lifetime of physical activity. It is not about 'beating the drum' through verbal inspiration with all young athletes. One of the most significant shortcomings I have seen with many coaches and trainers is playing the 'vocal motivation coach' routine with every athlete they encounter. It is not prudent. The same way that not all exercise selection, arrangement or load is a one-size-fits-all equation is the same about the interpersonal relationship-building sequence called coaching. I have organized my thoughts into the following categories of athletes. A. The athlete has low motivation and skill You know this athlete. Shy, quiet, and lacking confidence and ability (one likely begets the other), this is not the young athlete who will respond to a 'rah, rah—get 'em' coaching style! In my experience, I qualify the coaching style needed in this situation as 'direct'. Indeed, you take the time to make this young person feel comfortable in your group training setting. More often than not, I do this by speaking very quietly and directly to them once I have sent the other athletes on a task. Young athletes like this typically do not enjoy being 'spoken to' or 'singled out' in front of everyone. That is why I call this coaching style direct. Direct your questions, suggestions and tasks to this youngster personally so they do not feel 'on display' in front of the group. B. The athlete has low motivation but high skill Here is where the 'rah, rah' coach can be helpful. The young athletes are good - they have excellent skills and outstanding technical ability. I have coached many athletes like this, and their motivation is often lost because they lack challenge. Things may have come quickly to this athlete, but they never felt challenged. The coaching system warranted here is what I call 'inspire'. In a positive and uplifting manner, challenge this young athlete to achieve more. Alter their set/rep/sequence design by adding an exercise or increasing the difficulty of the sequence. However, be wary of talented young athletes who lack motivation because they have no interest in this sport anymore. I have also encountered that scenario many times: a promising, talented young athlete who is 'bullied' into sports by their parents. That is where the interpersonal skill of coaching is vital. You have to know whether you are 'inspiring' a young athlete who is just looking for a challenge or one who is looking for a way out of sports! C. The athlete has high motivation and skill I have seen so many coaches and trainers try to 'corral' athletes made up of these traits - almost as if they want to take credit for the child's abilities. Sheltering young athletes like this and imposing your will and ideas on them is not prudent. Young athletes like this need to be part of the decision cycle. Demonstrate and explain exercise selection to them; work at perfecting technical proficiency; have them understand the goals associated with programming - and then include them in creative development. Young athletes are smart people. While some must be 'directed', others can and should be part of the coaching process. Talk to young athletes like this and get their feedback. Empower them to comprehend how technique and exercise progression matter, and then encourage them to work with you on program design. Coaching aims to get ALL your young athletes into this category. That is the science and art that I call athletic development. The shy and quiet young athlete who lacks motivation and skill - artfully finds a way to get them to this point. The young athlete with loads of skill but lacks motivation - artfully finds a way to get them to this point. D. The athlete has high motivation but low skill Your job here is to 'guide'. Athletes want to do it. They work hard at getting better. They desire to improve. Guide them. Work hard with them on technical skills. Match their eager dispositions with an equally energetic coaching style dedicated to helping them learn and improve their skill level. So, there you go - four different everyday athletes with four distinct yet corresponding coaching styles. Coaching is a beautiful art that you must strive to become better at. Far too often in this industry, we only look at the scientific parts of conditioning. With young athletes, that is not enough. So, how does this ART of coaching apply? Points to Consider Whenever you bring two or more young athletes together, you are bound to see more than one personality type (and, therefore, need to employ more than one coaching style). When coaching a group of 2 or more athletes, restrict the tendency to have each athlete performing the same drill simultaneously. For example, during a standard warm-up, my athletes will do basic range of movement (ROM) activities (typically through the hips and shoulders) and proceed to technical skills instruction. Let us say you have a group of four athletes. Instead of each performing a hip circuit simultaneously and then moving on to the next ROM activity, create four different exercises and segment them so each athlete performs a separate drill. To the casual reader, that may sound like a chaotic mess!! In actuality, it allows for a much simpler training session, an individualized approach to coaching and a critical feature missing from many introductory training sessions - instruction and explanation time. Here's the Scenario Athlete 1 (low motivation & skill) - requires a 'direct' method of coaching Athlete 2 (low motivation & high skill) - requires 'inspire' method of coaching Athlete 3 (high motivation & skill) - requires 'delegate' method of coaching Athlete 4 (high motivation & low skill) - requires 'guide' method of coaching Warm-up Routine Hip Circuits - 2 sets/leg, 3 reps/exercise Prone Bridge with Leg Lift - 3 sets, 5 reps/leg Shoulder Circuit - 3 sets, 4 reps/exercise Hurdle Walk-Over - 3 sets, 10 hurdles Sequence & Flow First, gather the whole group and explain the day's task. Then, address each participant individually by name and welcome them. Explain what the training session will look like for the day and encourage verbal and nonverbal compliance. Then TEACH! I have long maintained that every development program must begin with an introductory or assimilation phase for the young athlete. The bulk of your primary teaching should fall into this category. At the beginning of each training session, the teaching component should be reminder-based or build off previously taught skills. Take 5 - 7 minutes to teach each of the four warm-up drills. Please explain why the athletes will perform these drills and why they are essential (and do this even with young pre-adolescents). You are building a long-term approach to their development and must invest the time to acquaint them with your system. Even young athletes are 'teachable' given the proper stimulus application). Once the teaching time is done, assign them each to an exercise. Now, you have the time to flow and work with each of them individually on correct body alignment, movement habits and exercise adherence. Because they are all doing different things, you can apply the proper coaching style to each individual. Application Athlete 1 (direct) - Hip Circuit Athlete 2 (inspire) - Prone Bridges Athlete 3 (delegate) - Shoulder Circuit Athlete 4 (guide) - Hurdle Walk-Overs Coaching Cues Athlete 1 - Get down to his level (which would be on your knees given the 'Hip Circuit') and quietly let him know what a good job he is doing. Ask him if he has any questions about what he is doing. If he did have questions, he would not have asked them when the entire group was together. The key here is the tone of your voice - be patient, relaxed and easy-going. Athlete 2 - 'Seriously, Johnny, that is even better than last week!'. 'You are making this look easy. Let me show you a more challenging method because I know you can do it!'. Remember, they have low motivation but high skill - Encouraging and challenging are suitable methods. Athlete 3 - Ask him what he thinks. 'How's it feel?' 'You feel good with that today, or do you want to switch it up?' 'What do you think we could add to it?' Delegate some of the responsibilities of their training to them and help them make it work. Empower them to seek out and create new ideas. Athlete 4 - Verbally reward their effort and work to make them understand the movement better. 'That looks great, Sally!'. 'Now, you see how your left leg points out to the left when you go over the hurdle? How can we fix that?' This coaching flow and sequence can be used throughout the entire workout—even through your movement and strength skill portions. Create and segment the exercises, including a teaching component preceding each part, and apply the appropriate coaching style to each athlete. Considering these coaching principles, how do you ensure technical development in your young athletes? Where to start The initial exposure of young athletes to a new technique is critical. It must be presented in a way that creates intrigue and excitement within the athlete but does not overexpose them to too much information or stimulus all at once. There is a fine line between teaching what is appropriate and can be retained versus what amounts to too much exposure to a given task and its progressions. The Problem in Youth Conditioning Too much exposure at the beginning of a training program is counterproductive to an optimal ending. When taught complex technical skills in one training session or a short period, children can quickly become overwhelmed by trainers, coaches, and parents. The most critical problem in the youth training and sports industry is the overzealousness perpetuated by many Trainers and Coaches (and facilitated by many Parents) in gaining skills in a given technical exercise. We must create visionary-based teaching methods that are scripted and systematically progressive and work towards instilling a lifelong adherence to a particular skill or exercise. Our culture is based on a gratification system—we strive to see results now, even if the act of trying to create results in the short term proves to be contradictory to the science of motor development and blatantly less beneficial than a more holistic and long-term approach. Important Considerations The following list is a few suggestions to remember when creating an initial lesson plan to teach a new technical exercise: Speed, Agility, Strength & Sport Skill Be wary of the current state of fitness your athlete(s) possess. We often look to 'run' our young athletes through new technical exercises without being conscious of how tired they may be. I always see it as a common mistake - when the central nervous system (CNS) becomes fatigued, attention to technical merit is reduced. Learning and retaining a skillset under the duress of fatigue becomes impossible. Remember that technical development in speed mechanics, agility, strength, or a specific sporting skill is a process of systematic acquisition. This acquisition begins with a foundational introduction and progresses more specifically to adherence on a very functional level - which includes increases in speed and external environmental considerations such as opponents and teammates. Emotional Considerations Young athletes who are bored or too excited will not gain optimal ability in a new technical skill. Your ability as a coach becomes essential, as is your capacity for creating well-designed lesson plans. When the lesson plan is made with the athlete's physical skill and emotional temperament in mind, it will have a 'just right' feel. For example, young athletes who lack motivation and talent will not respond to being put on display in front of their fellow athletes, nor will they adhere to a skill that is presented too quickly or involves too many progressions. You want your young athletes to leave your training session perfectly comfortable and happy with what they learned. Your Physical Ability Young athletes learn in various manners - one of which is visual. Demonstrating an exercise or skill is often crucial to a given athlete's ability to comprehend and reproduce that skill. However, the key to this demonstration is the 'relating factor' it has on your athletes. Too often, Trainers and Coaches will demonstrate a skill in a way that their young athletes cannot relate to - too fast, for example. In one case, I have seen the trainer enjoy performing skills at an increased rate to' show off' to the athletes he was coaching. Nothing positive is gained from this. Your athletes may admire you, but you have not shown them anything of value for their skill development. In whole-part-whole teaching methods, you certainly want to show what the skill looks like at high speed and with flawless technical ability, but then you must break the skill down to its finer points and begin teaching from the foundation. Action Steps Take a piece of paper and write where you want your athlete(s) to be in 1, 2 or 12 months. For example, techniques they should possess, poundage they should be lifting or sporting skills they should have acquired. After that, write out how many training sessions or practices you have with your athlete(s) over the next few weeks and create a lesson plan for each session. For you to take your athlete(s) to X, what steps and skills must be taken now? Create your lesson plans based on a progressive development system and in keeping with the items listed in this article. Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: GRASSO, B. (2009) The Amazing Art of Coaching [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article002.htm [Accessed About the Author Brian Grasso is the President of Developing Athletics, a company dedicated to educating coaches, parents, and youth sporting officials worldwide on athletic development concepts.