Coaches- Choosing the Right Athletes
Choose the Right Athletes
There is a lot of info out there for helping athletes choose the right coach. If you are a new coach, you might be wondering how it works to find the RIGHT ATHLETES for you as a coach.
Yes,you as a coach have a choice of what athletes you work with. Hopefully, as a coach you have gone through your own process of understanding why you are a coach, what your fundamental beliefs and principles are, and you know exactly what your goals are as a coach.
Like the people you coach
Be sure they share the same values
Be sure they respect your program
You will be interacting with your athletes a lot. Be sure you like them as people. If you are going to have them take up a lot of your time, energy, and focus, you’d best make sure you really like the person, not just as an athlete, but as a human. There is no amount of talent or money that will convince to work with someone who is disrespectful and rude.
These athletes will be representing you and your work. Be sure they have the same values as you with social media, on the race course, when they train, and how they approach things. You don’t have to see exactly eye to eye on every matter, but you want to make sure when your athlete is out there representing you and your program, you are extremely proud of them and agree with how they handle themselves.
Your athlete has come to you because they believe you as a coach have the tools, knowledge and what they need to achieve their goals. Be sure you completely have their respect for your program and your knowledge. If an athlete starts disrespecting your program or you as a coach with doubt, it might not be the right fit.
I work with athletes I believe in and like. If you like the athlete, you believe in them, and you have a commitment from them, I think any goal is achievable. As a coach you want to be in this feild for the right reasons, know the fundamentals that are important to you, then surround yourself with athletes that believe in you and your program.