Big High Fives! We are blessed to have Lindsey Wilson, Co-Founder of Positive Performance Mental Training, contributing to Sports Moms United.
Lindsey played basketball at Iowa State and then played professionally overseas. For the past six years, she has been teaching coaches, athletes and their parents about mental training.
In our Sports Moms United Facebook group, we asked the Sports Moms what words they would use to describe a “coachable athlete”. Words like team player, great attitude, passion, hard work, respectful, and good listener were just a few to make the list.
All great options, but I want to share Lindsey’s definition of being coachable:
Being grateful that someone cares enough about you to push you to improve beyond where you would get on your own, being vulnerable enough to know you’re not perfect, being open to honest feedback (even if it hurts) and working to actively change bad habits.
Lindsay also points out that it is important for your athlete to know the potential benefits of being coachable which can include more playing time, greater cohesion with team and coaches, accelerated learning, deeper relationships with coaches, and a greater internal calm.
In her article, Lindsey lays out thirteen ways an athlete can be more coachable. This is a great resource to share with your athlete and start a discussion with them about where they are excelling and where they might need some work.
- Listen to what your coaches say, not how they say it.
- Trust me: It’s NOT about you.
- Remeber “coach” is only one of the hats they wear.
- They really (REALLY) want you to be your best.
- Your coaches are more stressed than you can probably imagine.
- Always say “thank you”.
- Always look your coaches in the eye.
- Your coach is human, too.
- Don’t roll your eyes.
- If you really have something to say, SAY IT.
- Directly as for feedback.
- Be prepared.
- Set up a weekly check-in with your coach
Source: https://www.sportsmomsunited.com
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