Coaching is not the amount of pertinent information an individual possesses. Coaching is the ability of an individual to teach that information to the pupil effectively.
At Northeastern I am beginning to understand this principle through first-hand experience, and realizing that the variable of human psychology is what makes coaching an art and not a science.
Coaches in our field need to be able to adapt to the personalities of the athletes, and realize that we are not in the position to have the athlete adapt to us. It’s different for the athletes dealing with their head coaches in their sport because they understand the concept of what it takes to build a team, and if they don’t their role in the program will be limited. However with Strength & Conditioning, the gains of the athlete will be primarily based on how the individual responds to the training. What works for one individual may not work for another. Also how the individual responds to the direction from the coach is a big key we must be aware of. These athletes may be novices to the experience in the weight-room, so it is important to reach them to the effect that it invokes their greatest response on the basis of their personality.
Sarah, Mike, and Dan have been great in bringing us along into understanding the value of relaying information to the athletes. We deal with a large quantity of athletes at one time, and they are able to manage that by methods such as keeping things organized, grouping the athletes together to achieve a steady order, keeping a personal relationship with each athlete, and intervening between the athlete and the exercise when the necessary corrections are needed to be made.
A successful S&C coach is one that can demand the order of the team, while still being likable. Having either one with out the other will not produce the results a program or, individual needs to be competitive. Demanding the order and attention of the athletes is achieved by possessing the knowledge of the field, and being confident in what he or she is teaching. Likability plays an important role for the S&C coach, because this is a relatively new experience for the athletes. They haven’t grown up in the weight-room their whole lives like they grew up playing their sport. In their sport, communication can be attained in the most subtle ways. However, here, that is not the case. There is a predomination of athletes who do not understand how to do a ‘hang-clean,’ or understand the value of it. A good S&C coach has to expand their avenues for communication to the athlete to produce results. A coach that the athletes like, will garner the athletes full attention which is needed to consume most of this new information.
This week being my first dealing with the athletes, I made it a priority to introduce myself to as many of them as I could. It was a foundation I felt was necessary to build on because in order for these athletes to respond to my cues, they need to feel comfortable with me. When dealing with an abundance of athletes, there were instances where some athletes needed intervention, and some that did not. I still made it a point to scour the area and let those athletes know they were doing good, after I helped correct those athletes who had problems.