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Monday, December 16, 2013
Praising your athletes and showing them that you appreciate them is much more than just saying good job.
Coaches need to be specific, the more specific you are, the better. "Good job" and "nice hustle" are better than no praise at all, but being specific helps reinforce the behavior you want the athlete to continue doing. The player will also know you were paying attention because it is not a cookie cutter praise.
"Good job following through on that shot" beats "good job." And "way to be tough boxing out" beats "Way to be tough out there."
It is very important for you to teach them what you want and why you want it. If an athlete isn't performing up to expectation, make sure you are communicating what you want. There are several ways to be able to reach the athlete; it is your responsibility to be able to learn which method works with what player. Calling an athlete lazy or stupid can be considered a personal attack. Yelling is an indication of a lack of control. It is no way to teach any player how to play learn the game.
If you want to change the athletes' behavior, you must have to tell them what they are doing wrong, what effect it is having, and, most important, what you are trying to teach them. For example, if a player has a tendency to reach on defense, you might say, "When you reach like that, your opponent can easily beat you middle. Let's work on keeping them out of the middle."
This approach to teaching your player the habits you want, will strongly increase your chances of getting the behavior you want. While it takes a little longer to deliver such a message, you can end up saving time by not having to repeat yourself. You will be able to give verbal cues to remind the athlete of what you had previously talked about. Saving time is crucial when practicing but you will more importantly be able to reach more players with this type of communication.
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