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The role of a coach is similar to that of a parent or teacher.  Our common goal in these roles is to prod, motivate, and cajole youth to “be all they can be,” to borrow the Army’s slogan.  We’re not in a popularity contest, but there are both positive and negative ways to achieve our goals.  All we need is a little psychology.  In the United States, we have an unfortunate cultural tendency to ignore good behavior.  After all, we’re such good parents, coaches, and teachers that we’re ENTITLED to good behavior.  The problem with ignoring good behavior or performance is that it will undergo what psychologists refer to as “extinction.”  In extinction, unrewarded behavior simply stops.  At the same time, we tend to really pay attention to negative behaviors.  Attention can be a very positive outcome for young people, and our attention may actually increase the behaviors we want to reduce. 

Utilizing the Psychology of Motivation

CONCEPT 1
 
— Part of this process is setting realistic short-term goals. Goals that can be reached with a reasonable amount of effort in a short time are key. Goals can be set daily, weekly and seasonally. A reasonable question to ask any athlete is “where do you want to be by the end of the season?” From this point shorter and smaller goals can be set to reach the eventual goal. In field events, the concept of “inch by inch is a cinch” is the driving concept here.      

Finding an Effective Carrot

CONCEPT 2
 
— Finding the right “carrot” is important. In my own experience, I once scratched a line in the dirt for a shot putter as a challenge. If he threw over the line, I would buy him all the Big Macs he could eat. Food was his life. I was shocked at how much he could eat! Soon, everyone wanted the same deal. It was a very successful and expensive year.

Using a Stick Carefully!

Not all the news we have to deliver to athletes is good news.  Once in awhile, an athlete will really have a disastrous performance that just can’t be ignored.  There are ways of making “correction” more palatable, however.  Instead of launching into a diatribe on flaws and faults, begin your discussion with a summary of what went right.  Something, even if it’s a minor thing, always goes right. 

CONCEPT 3

— By starting off on a positive note, you reaffirm your role as being in the athlete’s corner, and whatever corrections have to be delivered will come across as more constructive. 

Use objective methods, such as reviewing films, to make your points whenever possible.  You can’t argue with a camera, and there’s less need for face saving on the part of the athlete.  If you’re angry, wait until you’re calm to have your discussion.  Above all, the athlete doesn’t need your exasperation and despair in the middle of competition.  Nobody performs their best when they’re being yelled at.  It helps to remind ourselves that this is all about the kids–it’s their performance, not ours.  It may be difficult, as one of my friends related, to see your career being dribbled down court by an 18 year old, but the coach’s success is entirely secondary to the athletes’.

CONCEPT 4

–Our eventual goal is to make each athlete a ‘student’ of his/her events.  By modeling effective analysis of performance, and soliciting the athlete’s views, we are teaching our athletes important athletic and life skills.  The sign of a truly effective program is in the success of its athletes once they go on to the college level.

Becoming a Cheerleader at Competition

— Here, the teacher becomes a cheerleader.  The athletes are as prepared as they’re ever going to be when they enter the stadium.  This is not a time for last minute adjustments of form and technique.  Perceptual motor patterns operate at their best when they are on “cruise control.”       

Strengthening the Coach-Athlete Bond

In closing, we might remind ourselves that the coach-athlete relationship follows the rules of all human relationships. 

CONCEPT 6

— In successful relationships, positive interactions outnumber negative interactions by a factor of at least 5:1.  When positive and negative interactions approach a 1:1 ratio, the relationship is doomed.  Some of us are just naturally more positive people, but all of us can do a better job if we concentrate on bringing out our more positive sides.

CONCEPT 7

— You can strengthen the natural bond between you as the coach and your athletes by getting your veteran athletes involved in the ‘coaching’ process by assigning them mentoring responsibilities over the younger athletes. It is important to remember that before motivation can come from an athlete it must first come from the coach and the veteran athletes. It is the responsibility of the coach and the senior athletes to inspire and lead. You must provide the reason ‘why’ the young athlete wants to succeed.

It is important to realize that ‘motivation’ starts with having a dream. That dream may be as humble as earning a varsity letter or as grand as winning the Olympic Games. In either case, it is the responsibility of the coach and the veteran athletes to ‘inspire’ and provide support for the ‘dream’ within each of us. Good Luck in this great track season ahead.

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Roger Freberg