Once you have assessed your own specific areas of Coaching
(Knowledge, Skill, Confidence and Motivation) and have chosen your ‘player(s)’,
you need to put yourself in a position of being able to help them.
In this relationship, what are the goals, targets and
outcomes to be achieved? What are the
timeframes to achieve these things? What
are the tools available to the player?
What is your role and what are the limitations?
As you chart the results that are desired, you will carve a
path that you and the player will walk together. You have done this before and you are the
guide. The player is your partner on
this journey.
The four cornerstones that we have established so distinctly
will now have impact as your player makes the journey. There may be times that you need to help them
improve in these areas. You can help
them attain knowledge, show them a certain skill, bolster their confidence or
instill the drive for them to be self-motivated.
I will address these four factors as they would relate to
physical fitness or Beachbody Coaching.
1) Improve Their Knowledge
There are many types of instructional media as it pertains
to Physical Fitness and exercise technique.
Books, magazines, DVD’s are all great sources to steer your player
to. Your job is to make sure YOU are
aware of the best sources and their appropriate use so you can make the
appropriate recommendations to your player.
The same media exists for Nutrition as exists for Physical
Fitness and Exercise. In addition to
those mentioned, audiobooks and other sources that can be used while doing
something else (like driving) are excellent for added knowledge when it is
purely mental.
The internet is a good source of information when used properly. You should try to send the player to sites
you have some familiarity with and then make sure you follow up in case he/she
is filled with disinformation that needs to be clarified. The Beachbody site is ALWAYS recommended!
If you find out that your player needs Knowledge that
exceeds your capability, you could find them a subject matter expert on their
specific need. If you are part of a
Beachbody coaching team, it is of real benefit to know the other Coaches well
as well as their particular strengths.
You could get an assist from them.
If there are groups that meet regularly around the subject
or you know of some type of education track that would advance the knowledge,
you might recommend that as well.
2) Improve Their Skill
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Does this need to be repeated?
Repeat this to your player. When
the player is practicing, three things should be encouraged. The Rule of Thirty. They should be practicing any task they want
to master 30 times more than they will have to perform it in reality. Simulation.
If there is a way to simulate actual performance conditions, use
that. Speed. If the task does not require high focus on
method, like some of the P90X activities where form is more important than
anything else, encourage speed. High
repetitions and speed help the brain synapses and neurons accomodate to the
task. There will come a time when the
body takes over and simply performs the task with very little thought from the
player. Think of a basketball player
being guarded by three others and having to take a long jumpshot under
pressure. The practice, reps and speed
will all kick in when they hop up to take the shot.
Every activity that any player will want to master is broken
up into sub-activities. If the player wants
to be a better football offensive lineman, there are many separate activities
that will contribute to successfully being able to play that position. Everything from weight lifting to proper
blocking techniques to endurance conditioning are on the table. The same can be said for the mastery of any
complex task. Know the sub-activities
and be in a position to recommend the necessary ones.
Encourage all opportunities for the player to refine the
skills or the direct task they are attempting to master. There will perhaps be complimentary
opportunities to the one being trained for.
If you are coaching for a marathon, 5K, 10K and mini-marathons could be
encouraged. Know how the task you are
coaching for relates to other things.
Of course, if you are not able to pass your own skill onto
the player, find them a subject matter expert or mentor to work with. Nothing beats an expert.
3) Build Their Confidence
The first thing in building a player’s confidence is making
sure that they know you are credible. You have to have a certain level of Knowledge
and/or Skills (at the very least, more than the player) and be able to pass
that on to the player. If you think of a
professional football coach, they may not be able to perform personally at the
level of the player, but they have years of knowledge and skills that they have
honed and can transfer to the player in an effort to elevate the player’s
game. When the player believes this, and
certainly when you have demonstrated it a few times, the player will trust you
and also have confidence that they can do it too with your help.
You also need to break down all the activities involved in
mastery into sub tasks that are all doable.
Nothing builds confidence towards a major success like several successes
on the way to the top. The tasks should
be broken up to ensure success, not create obstacles.
Make sure that your player has all the tools and resources
and is using them for all the activities.
If you are teaching them to hit a nail, make sure they are doing it with
a hammer and not the butt end of a big screwdriver.
Last, if you have actually mastered the task they are trying
to master, you should be in an excellent position to share experiences of trial
and success that let the player know that they are not alone and not in
unexplored territory. They should always
feel like you are on the path with them.
Confidence will naturally flow when this happens. If you can’t do that, find someone they can
emulate who is willing to walk part way, if not the whole journey.
4) Improve Their Motivation
This is a hard one.
That is why it is last.
Motivation has to come from inside the player. You can’t be inside their head all day long
and constantly remind them of the behaviors that will support success. You can’t BE the motivation or the
motivator. Your job as coach is to
present moments where motivation can take root and grow.
What things generate motivation in people? Recognition, Reward, Challenge, Growth, and
Fear.
There is no formula here for improving motivation. It is unique to every player. You should evaluate, and have the players
evaluate themselves on, the key motivators for each player. Every person seeks something different from
the accomplishments they achieve in life.
What is your player’s chief need that fulfilling this task will bring
them?
Some people do things simply for reward. Are you studying really hard in school to
learn or to get a really good job that pays a lot? Many people set their tasks and goals because
they are seeking a reward at the end.
That reward could be the ability to fit into smaller clothes, better
health, acceptance, etc. Is your player
rewards driven?
To many, public or private adulation and praise are key
motivators. They do everything so they
will be noticed and cheered. Many
professional athletes will tell you that nothing motivates great play more than
a stadium of fans. How much more effort
do you think they put forth on game day versus that private practice session
that no one ever sees?
Is your player ultra-competitive? Do they try to win at cards with the same
fervor that they work at every other task in their life? Some people are motivated by challenge. Any challenge. They take losing personally.
Is your player driven to be an expert in everything? There are many people in life who seek
mastery of whatever they try. They want
to be the subject matter expert. They
are self-driven for growth and learning.
Finally, is your player trying to master a task out of the
fear of NOT being able to do it? This is
a very strong motivator for some but it is highly inefficient. It is inefficient because people operating
under the mechanism of fear respond erratically and emotionally. The fear may drive them to practice over and
over again, but with a pace and rhythm that ends up being destructive to
achieving the goal. Is your player doing
something because they fear the alternative to NOT doing it?
Summary...
So there are ways to encourage all four areas necessary for
mastery of a task. As a coach, you need
to know the player and know what THEY need.
You need to position yourself to be able to support those needs and get
them to their destination.
Tomorrow…listening.
Thanks and have a great day!
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