Coaching Young Athletes

5 Tweets From June 2020 That Will Help You Become A Better Coach Of Young Athletes

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These are the 5 best sports coaching-related tweets that I came across during June 2020.

You can become a better coach or sports parent by reflecting on the message contained in each tweet.

If any of these tweets resonate with you, I encourage you to click through to follow more of the author’s work.

You can vote for your favourite at the end of the article.

Tweet 1 – The Value of Reflection

Studying without Applying isn’t effective.

But neither is Applying without Reflection.

Study. Apply. Reflect.

Repeat and you’ll become one of the best.

— Grant Jenkins (@Grant_Jenkins) June 7, 2020

I can’t emphasise enough the value in setting aside time to think about how a coaching session went. What worked? What didn’t? What did you learn? Progress occurs when we combine practise with reflection.

Any type of reflection is better than none, but to be effective, self-reflection has to be more than just a few random thoughts on the way home. Ideally you want to go deeper than this, and have some type of record of your musings that you can later return to.

The real power comes from formally recording your thoughts and using them to drive action for your next coaching effort.

Without recording your thoughts, examining them, and formulating a response, it is unlikely that any real change for the better will occur.

Click here for more about how to effectively reflect on a coaching session

Tweet 2 – The Meaning of “Coach”

If all that was needed to develop an athlete was a program and some equipment, then we’d be called programmers. But they don’t call us programmers, they call us coach. https://t.co/Az1K150b5u

— Nick Winkelman (@NickWinkelman) June 7, 2020

Apparently the word “coach” comes from the name of a small Hungarian village Kocs, where carriages (i.e. horse-drawn vehicles) were made.

The role of the carriage is to transport someone from one place to another; to move a person from where they are to where they want to be. Is there a better analogy for what good coaching is all about? It’s a wonderful way to think about coaching: transporting someone from point A to point B; from where they are to where they want to be.

However, unlike a “carriage”, coaches need to also “move” athletes psychologically and emotionally.

Therefore, programming skills are ineffectual if not supported by connection and communication skills.

Click here to learn more about the origins of the word “coach”

Tweet 3 – Don’t Pretend To Be Perfect

Never let your limitations as a coach limit your athletes possibility of getting better. Know what you don’t know & find someone who does know to help. Your athlete will respect for it.

— Vern Gambetta (@coachgambetta) June 7, 2020

No one is perfect. Athletes don’t expect you to be perfect.

Accepting and admitting your limitations and seeking help shows honesty, vulnerability and a commitment to ongoing learning. It is vital for important figures within a young athlete’s life to clearly model such traits so as to give permission for the young athletes to do the same.

To continue to develop and fully explore potential, coaches and athletes alike must not pretend to be perfect.

Tweet 4 – Lifelong Learning

The only coach that truly scares me is the one that thinks he already knows everything.

— Jason Rice (@gojrice) June 16, 2020

This tweet pairs nicely with Tweet 3.

The pursuit of lifelong learning is a trait of great coaches. Embrace this right from the start.

Don’t deflect any opportunity to develop by digging your head in the sand.

John Wooden once said: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. ”

Tweet 5 – The Big Picture

My best advice in 4 words….

Play the long game.

— Brett Bartholomew (@Coach_BrettB) June 18, 2020

‘Big Picture Coaches’ have an understanding of long term athlete development. They prepare athletes for their future in sport AND life, not just the next competition. They have patience and a plan. They will consider the appropriateness of an activity or program for the developmental stage and ability of the athlete. They will make conscious and considered decisions about what and what NOT to include in a program based on the big picture. They will at times “hold back” particular types of training with the aim of keeping it in reserve for a future time.

You can’t rush deep development. We need more ‘Big Picture Coaches’ who “play the long game”.

Click here to learn more about “Big Picture Coaching”

Vote For Your Favourite Tweet!