Coaching Philosophy in Sport. · You will need to address such questions sincerely if you want to...

CoachingPhilosophy in

Sport.

Matt Mason

BetterSportsCoach.com

Your success as a coach will depend more on your coaching philosophy than any other factor. Yourcoaching philosophy will determine how wisely you use your knowledge on both tactical and technicalskills, sports science knowledge, and how you effectively manage and lead your athletes and teams. Inessence, your coaching philosophy should also help to guide you in all of your interactions, not just withathletes, but also their parents, other coaches and officials.

Philosophy in Sport

Developing a Coaching Philosophy

During this video course we will attempt to understand;

Why you will need a coaching philosophy, I will outline some of the qualities and characteristics involved in good coaching,

We will examine the di�erent styles of coaching and leadership, I will discuss what a winning coaching philosophy might look like, And ultimately, I will help you to develop a winning coaching philosophy of yourown…………………so let’s get started.

I will discuss the principles’ involved in developing a coaching philosophy.

Why do we need a coaching philosophy?

Has it ever crossed your mind that coaches need to be philosophers? A philosopher is a thinker, a lover ofwisdom, someone who is capable of thinking outside the box, and someone who is able to adapt to achanging environment.

So why have a philosophy? Well, just like in any other field, coaching requires a base, it requires afoundation upon which to build a “clear and consistent” program that would lead each individual in a teamto think, and act in a similar way. A coach is expected to make decisions that would lead his or her team towin…………… not just once, but consistently.

It doesn’t really matter whether you’re coaching a sports team or an individual, and regardless of theparticular sport you are coaching in, your coaching philosophy is exclusive to your values, your objectivesand your principles, and will revolve around certain personality traits that you possess.

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Philosophy in Sport

Since a coaching session typically starts with a conversation between the coach and the athlete or teambeing coached, effective communication has a lot to do with the success of a coach. As a coach, you notonly need to be an effective speaker, but also an avid listener, and someone who knows how to connectwith his or her athletes.

Before starting to develop a coaching philosophy, it is worth asking yourself some fundamental personalquestions such as;

What do I want to achieve in life? Where am I heading in my coaching career? What are my key personal skills? How well do I communicate with others?

You may also ask some fundamental coaching questions such as;

Why am I coaching? What are my coaching goals and motives? Why are my athletes participating? What is my role as a coach? Is it that of a teacher or trainer or is it much more thanthat? What kind of a coach-athlete relationship exists between us? What are my future expectations?

You will need to address such questions sincerely if you want to develop a functional coaching philosophyfor your long term success.

I emphasize on the word “your” here because as a coach you have a definitive role, not just as a leader butalso as a mentor, a guide, and a friend ------ someone who encourages their team to achieve their goalsdespite any perceived weaknesses. A coach is also responsible for “planning” and “organizing” and so he isnot just a coach or an instructor, but a person with a philosophy who deserves to hold the flag and lead hisor her team when it wins. The values and principles that make someone assume the role of a coach, differfrom one person to another, and that is why changing a coach (and consequently a philosophy) cansometimes take an underdog team to a much higher level of performance than previously achieved.

With a coaching philosophy to guide you, you can remind yourself from time to time why you coach, andhow to adhere to the approach you have developed after years of hard work and continuous progress. Thisis ultimately what a coaching philosophy is all about. Even if it is just a few words, or a single statement, it isthere when things aren’t going to plan, to take you back to step one so that you can rethink your strategy,change your plan, or make other adjustments to get back on track.

Who am I?



You see, coaching is not to be seen merely as a process to develop people’s skills, or boost theirperformance in the field, but rather it is a complete phenomenon, a system that helps people to identify,and handle, challenges before they become major problems for eithercthe individual or the team. Andsince coaches ought to be philosophers, they need a coaching philosophy to guide them throughout thisprocess and help them achieve their goals.

A coaching philosophy should also be aligned closely to your own personal philosophy in life, whereby ifyou are a mild, gentle and respectful person in everyday life, these traits should generally translate to howyou regularly deal with athletes. Problems tend to arise when coaches adopt principles and philosophiesthat are inconsistent with who they are, and their larger principles in life. It is not uncommon to see normallymild, gentle and respectful people, suddenly become tyrants, physically and psychologically abusing theirathletes in an effort to attain results.

As a coach, you need to remember that young athletes seek role models, and that what you teach issometimes less important than what you demonstrate by way of your character and your philosophy. Tothis end, a greater sense of self-awareness is key to developing a strong coaching philosophy, and as thegreat Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu puts it

“It is wisdom to know others, but it is enlightenment to know one’s self”.

Knowledge of the sport and personal responsibility

The first of these qualities is to have a thorough knowledge of the sport. As a coach, it is not only importantto have complete knowledge of the sport you are coaching, but also, it is equally imperative to continuallyimprove your awareness of the latest techniques, practices, and guidelines, to achieve certain goals in aparticular sport. Whilst you may have previously been extremely good when participating in a sport, that initself does not necessarily qualify you to have sufficient knowledge of the sport in order to be an effectivecoach. So, make sure you are up-to-date, and well informed, about the sport you’re coaching.

Philosophy in Sport

In my experience, many first-time coaches are reluctant to spend time on developing their own coachingphilosophy, but would rather base their coaching principles and values around tips and hints learned fromother coaches. However, it is important to understand that your coaching philosophy can’t just be acquiredfrom another coach, nor can it be taken directly from a book, but it must be owned by you and nurturedthroughout your personal coaching journey.

So we have established that a coaching philosophy is essentially a set of principles that serve to guide aperson’s practice. It is also a statement of the coach’s values and behaviors that have a direct influence onhis or her actions, as well as on the actions of their athletes.

Creating a coaching philosophy needs you to understand some qualities and characteristics that must bepresent in a coach, which revolve around his or her values and principles. We are going to discuss thesequalities one by one so that you can see how these can be used as your guide in developing a winningcoaching philosophy.



The second quality is responsibility. You see, being responsible for your own actions goes a long way bothin personal and professional life. If you don’t know how to take responsibility, you may not be considered atrustworthy person. A coach must demonstrate through his or her actions and behaviors that he or she is aresponsible, honest and dependable person.

Responsibility as a coach revolves around five key areas and they are to;

Verbal and Non-verbal Communication skills:Our third quality is Communication. It goes without saying that communication plays a vital role in buildingstrong relationships with your athletes. This includes not just verbal communication but also non-verbalcommunication that encompasses body language and facial expressions, both of which are central toeffective communication.

Spoken words are powerful in so far as they have the potential to change a person’s life completely. Butwhat most people overlook is the impact their body language has on people who are constantly observingthem. In coaching, your team looks up to you for support, and for encouragement when things don’t go asplanned. The attitude of the coach is often carried over to the players or learners, and they may startimitating pretty soon - just like children.

Non-verbal communication includes not just body language, but also many other aspects of informal and,most of the time, involuntary and unintentional communication. Examples of this include touch language,space language, and time language.

Here, I would like to introduce a unique concept of communication that many of you might not be familiarwith. And that is silence. Yes, silence is a very effective form of communication and in coaching, it holds animportant place. You can convey a lot even if you don’t speak, by mere quirk of an eye or an unaffectedsmile.

Philosophy in Sport

Be helpful Be conscientious Be accountable Persevering through thick and thin, and Be reliable

When discussing the rules of coaching, we discovered that coaches are often required to listen to people’sproblems or issues, which can sometimes be very personal and confidential. A good coach is someonewho keeps this information to himself and is therefore deemed trustworthy and dependable.

The importance of body language can be easily understood by this famous saying by Peter Drucker:



Sounds other than words, for example, laughing, giggling, or taking a deep breath. Ways of talking, for example, greater emphasis or stress on certain words, or pausesbetween sentences Physical posture, for example, hunching over someone or slouching in a chair. General appearance: including the way a person dresses up and their level ofcleanliness Eye movements, for example, maintaining direct eye contact, blinking frequently, orwinking. Facial expressions, for example, frowning, expressions of anger, sadness, or smiling. Physical contact, for example, patting on or arm around the shoulder, andhandshaking. And Closeness, for example, when somebody invades our personal space and makes usfeel uncomfortable and uneasy.

Philosophy in Sport

“The most important thing in communication is to hear what is not being said.”

The following are some examples of non-verbal communication that are listed under body language:

It goes without saying that oral and written communication plays a vital role in our personal andprofessional interactions. However, it has been found that non-verbal behaviors also affect our relationshipsto a great extent and therefore it is mandatory to learn non-verbal communication skills in order to fosterlong-term and fruitful coach/athlete relationships.

Listening skills:

Another quality vital for a coach is Listening skills. You see, a coach is not just skilled at e�ectivelycommunicating his or her point of view, but is also a great listener. As the saying goes;

“The heart of good dialogue, lies firmly in the capacity to listen”

So for example, making eye contact to let the speaker know that you are interested in their speech is a signthat you’re a good listener. Nodding occasionally is also a way to tell others that you are listening avidly.Similarly, avoid gestures that reveal your disinterest and tired. Some people even have the bad habit ofinterrupting someone whilst they are speaking. Although it is difficult to control this urge to interrupt, it isimpolite and unethical to break off a sentence in the middle. The speaker may not feel up to finishing his orher sentence again after you have put in your own thoughts. Or they could forget altogether what it wasthey were trying to say. So, always let the other person finish their statement and only after that give yourown input.



A good coach is always open to ideas and suggestions given by the players. To encourage new ideas, heneeds to become a good listener first. When a person is talking to another person, he or she does not wanta bland, expressionless face, and a blank mind in front of them without any thoughts, ideas, and input. Theywant a response to what they are trying to tell. A good listener listens to each and every word and comesup with a sensible and calculated response.

Organisational skills:Since coaching has not yet become a mature profession, many coaches have other responsibilities in lifethat make them give less time to coaching than needed. Some coaches volunteer to give their time for thetraining of individuals and don’t take any money in return. They have limited time on their hands becausecoaching is not their primary job. It is therefore important to be organized in terms of keeping coachingmaterial in place, which is easy to access.

Coaching revolves around certain milestones that need to be accomplished at specific dates, so you alsoneed to keep a calendar with you all the time. Technology has made organization very easy and straightforward. If keeping files and folders is a hassle, try using smart phone apps that help to achieve all thiseffectively and conveniently. This is to ensure that you make the most of your available precious time, aswell as that of your athletes.

Manages stress:By managing stress effectively, we can improve our everyday functioning and productivity. A good coach issomeone who knows how to keep their stress under control and doesn’t let stress come in the way of theircoaching objectives. Many stressful situations can also arise during a practice session or an actual match ortournament when you’re coaching a sports team. There is pressure involved in games and to keep yourplayers motivated till the end, you need to develop a trait called mental toughness in them. There are twoapproaches to achieve mental toughness in order to endure pain and fatigue in competitive environments:strengthening the body to strengthen the mind and strengthening the mind to strengthen the body.

One must be able to recover quickly from difficult and stressful situations, especially in coaching. You haveto make sure that this ability of yours to manage stress is carried over to the athletes so that they can dowell even in times of urgency and pressure. Usually coaches adopt the technique of making their trainingsessions more physically and mentally demanding than the actual game in the field so that their playersbecome used to handling stressful situations easily and without much effort. However, you also need tomake sure that your athletes are not de-motivated by this challenging training environment. Rememberthat all people are different; some are able to withstand pressure more easily, whilst others find thesesituations a bit more intimidating and difficult to handle.

It is also possible to use the other approach, which involves focusing on an athlete’s mental development tobe successful in a competitive environment. Once mental toughness has been achieved, your athleteswould be able to focus more on the present rather than thinking all the time about their past mistakes. Yourcoaching philosophy should be able to accommodate either of these approaches; the one you choose towork with or the one that best suits your team of athletes.

Philosophy in Sport



Objectives and values:

Philosophy in Sport

Your passion and commitment:Passion for coaching is something without which effective coaching is simply not possible. Your passionserves as fuel to keep you going and helps you face the challenges of this very exciting process known ascoaching. This desire to be a coach does not exist for materialistic gains. If you think you will earn moremoney if you become a coach, then you’re not passionate about this profession at all. A teacher may thinkalong those lines, but a coach would certainly not. This is because a coach does much more than a teacheror an instructor.

Here again comes the concept of philosophy and the need for developing a coaching philosophy beforeyou even start. Your motivation should be to help players or individuals develop certain skills and to helpthem succeed in life. You have to constantly remind yourself that your success as a coach results from thesuccess of your athletes. Commitment is the natural consequence of being passionate about something.Coaching is not an easy job; it requires enormous time and energy. If you’re not committed, you are notgoing to be a good coach. A committed coach knows that he or she has the responsibility of making aplayer perform his best. A committed coach is ready to go out of his way to help players reach theirpotential.

If you think you possess all the above-mentioned qualities, then you’re certainly in the right line of work.The next step is to define the principles and stick to them no matter what the circumstances are. Coachingis not a static effort. Your players will change every year and that is why you need to develop someprinciples or standards and stick to them despite the changes that occur around you.

When it comes to writing a coaching philosophy, there are two steps involved, and they are;

Describe your objectives and determine your values



Philosophy in Sport

Describing your objectives

Getting to know your coaching objectives is simple; you just have to determine what you want to achieve,and what you want your players to achieve. The objectives can be broadly divided into three groups:

To win To help athletes progress both physically and emotionally, and…. To help athletes have fun, and enjoy sport

These three objectives should become the foundation of your coaching philosophy so think over them timeand again so that you’re completely sure of what you want to achieve. Moreover, you also need to draw aline between winning and development. While winning is definitely important, there are times whendevelopment has to be given more priority. You may not want to become a win-oriented coach, butsomeone who has genuine interest in his athletes’ long-term development.

The above mentioned objectives can be further elaborated to include small goals, which can be eithershort term or long term. These can be as simple as “I need to run faster” and measurable for the purpose ofassessment. The goals should also come with a deadline so that you know you have achieved them beforemoving on to the next objective. Another important thing is to set realistic goals for your performers. If thegoals are too difficult, the performer will lose motivation to play and get bored with sessions.

The coaching philosophy you develop is based on your objectives and so it can be either win-centered orexcellence-centered. Some coaches emphasize on learning and development rather than winning. So, youneed to prioritize your competitive objectives so that striving to win becomes more important than actuallywinning.



Philosophy in Sport

Determining your values

Before describing the principles of a coaching philosophy, there is a need to identify some of your values sothat you can determine your coaching approach. Personal beliefs affect every aspect of coaching and this iswhat drives us to recognize our values. This can be easily understood by the fact that we base our futuredecisions on our past experiences, combined with our values and opinions. This is how we perceive reality;it is not just what appears to the eye, but also whatever that is going on in our subconscious brain, and ourreaction is based on the combination of these two realms.

A few values have already been introduced in the previous section when we were discussing the qualitiesof a good coach. Being responsible, for example, is a value.

The five core values that have been identified for coaches include;

Integrity - Are you Honest, Committed, Disciplined and Resilient? Respect - Are you Considerate, Appreciative, Encouraging and Attentive Responsibility - Being Helpful, Accountable, Conscientious, Reliable and Persevering Sportsmanship - Are you Co-operative, Humble, Gracious and Fair Positivity - Have a positive, can do attitude at all times.

Your coaching values define who you are and what you believe in. You adopt these values when youprogress in life and learn from your experiences.



Submissive coaches make as few decisions as possible, instead preferring athletes to resolve technical andtactical problems themselves. Coaches intervene only now and again, especially to resolve disciplinaryissues. Coaches tend to adopt this style due to one of three reasons, either they…..

Co-operative coaches like to share decision making, leading to a more directed learning and self-discoverytype of learning for athletes.

Philosophy in Sport

Styles of Coaching

Most coaches lean towards one of four coaching styles; the command style, the submissivestyle, and the cooperative style and the servile style.

The Command style.

Here, the coach tends to make all of the decisions, whilst the role of the athlete is to listen and respond towhat is being said to them. The command style tended to be the dominant style for older coaches andleaders.

The Submissive style.

Lack of competence or con�dence Have a lack of time to prepare properly for training, or….. They believe this is the best way for athletes to learn and develop.

The Co-operative style.

The Servant Leadership style.

Care is taken to ensure that other peoples highest priorities and needs are being served, i.e, does theathlete being served grow as a person? Do they become healthier, wiser, and more autonomous in theirthinking and performance?

Servant leadership is not about being servile to your athletes, but wanting to help others succeed.

Identifying principles that match with both your coaching style and approach is an important step incoaching. Your personal coaching philosophy will serve as a guide to adhere with these principles andimplement them, no matter what the conditions or circumstances are. It will also help you to treat each andevery player equally and respect their points of view and approach towards life in general.



Coaching philosophies need to be functional and realistic. Don’t just use or adopt someone else’sphilosophy, because you need to develop one that goes well with your own values and personal beliefs.For example, if you have decided to be open and honest with your players, you will have to do it under allcircumstances. If you think it’s difficult for you to remain honest in certain situations, you will have to rethinkyour coaching philosophy. As such, a coaching philosophy should be flexible so that you can change ormodify it according to a change in attitudes. The aim of developing a coaching philosophy is not to make allcoaches equal or follow the same prescription. Instead, it is to develop a personalized guide that helps you,and only you, to achieve your coaching goals.

Developing your PhilosophyNow that you have understood what goes into creating a coaching philosophy, it’s time you created one.You might already have your coaching objectives in place. Now you need to link those objectives to yourvalues, and your beliefs, in order to create your own unique philosophy. You may like to jot down somewords related to coaching and then rearrange them, or use them to create a statement that reflects yourbeliefs, highlights your strengths, and puts an emphasis on your best abilities as a coach. You have to adoptan approach that goes well with your talents, values, and personality traits. Whether you have just startedcoaching or already have years of experience in this field, always remember that coaches can make a hugedifference in people’s lives. They have the ability to change a person altogether; convert a soft athlete into ahard one, or help a person deal with their stress in order to perform their best in everyday life.

Advanced and experienced coaches consider their coaching philosophy to be a “work in progress” –something that needs frequent updating based on everyday experiences. Your philosophy should beconsistent with your own values, but it should also be suitable to the norms of your society. If you overlookthe values of the society you live in, your coaching philosophy would not serve the purpose. A coachingphilosophy helps you to practice a consistent coaching behavior throughout your career as a coach. Useyour personal philosophy as a guide to interact and communicate with your players and helping themperform their best, despite adversity and harsh competition.

Competition is a process that sometimes comes in the way of your skills and character and therefore it canbe very challenging. But if you have a coaching philosophy that ranks development ahead of winning andyou manage to implement it successfully, then your skills and character are not compromised. Whileteaching athletes to compete is the number one priority for most coaches, teaching them how to cooperateis also an important aspect of coaching. We live in a society where people are interdependent andtherefore need to cooperate with one another to achieve their goals. If they don’t know how to cooperate,they would soon be living an isolated life. And that is why your coaching philosophy should highlightcooperation as a process that complements competition.

It’s a good idea to share your coaching philosophy with your athletes and their parents. It is important to tellthe parents that it is sometimes damaging to an athlete to push him or her too far or have unrealisticexpectations from them. When you share your philosophy with them, they will understand that there ismuch more to a match than just winning and that it is better for their child to learn and develop rather thanfocus on winning and winning alone.

Philosophy in Sport



The Winning PhilosophyDoes having a coaching philosophy help you to become a better coach? If a few lines can guide you to betrue to your values in all situations, no matter how challenging they are, then you certainly have somethingthat we call a “winning philosophy”. Knowing your values and beliefs is one thing but remaining true to themis something totally different. When you coach, you have to make sure that you remain true to your values.

You might be thinking that developing a coaching philosophy requires a lot of time, knowledge, anddedication. But you will be surprised to know that a winning philosophy can be as simple as “Do Your Job”.Every coach is free to choose his or her own style and system of coaching, but what makes a team win isthe philosophy behind that system. Adversity and setbacks are the most common challenges that all of usface in our life. The purpose of coaching is to train people to keep performing their best even when thingsget rough, and Roger Staubach puts it beautifully in words by saying;

“All of us get knocked down, but it’s resiliency that really matters”.

Keep reminding yourself, and your players, that winning is not everything, and it is certainly not the endresult of your work. Life goes on; people lose but they don’t give up till they win ultimately. But those whowin should never become full of themselves. There will be times that would be more challenging;physically or emotionally. One has to learn to always be ready and prepared for such times. And you, as acoach, should educate and train your players to see success as achieving your objectives in the timeframeyou set for accomplishing them.

A winning philosophy is the one that is flexible and can be modified when you learn some lessons fromyour mistakes and your experiences. It continuously “evolves” and with the passage of time become well-developed and more mature. Moreover, a winning philosophy considers competition as a motivational forceand ensures that this process is used properly and timely to motivate your athletes and improve theirquality of performance. Finally, character development follows as a natural consequence of a winningphilosophy as it specifies your role in developing positive character traits in your players.

Philosophy in Sport



Concluding ThoughtsA coach is seen as a role model and not just an instructor. Coaches need to understand that everything theydo, from the moment they enter the field to the time when their team finally wins, is being observed by theplayers. Their body language and facial expressions are as important as their spoken words and therefore,they need to carry a positive image; an image that will be carried over to the players and make themperform at their best. And to achieve this, a coach needs to define a coaching philosophy before he or shestarts coaching their team or athlete.

While a coaching philosophy is usually just a couple of sentences and sometimes just a few words,developing one requires clear understanding of your values along with having a definite vision to guide you.Moreover, you first need to see if you possess all the qualities characteristic of a coach. For example, youneed to feel passionate about the whole thing. If money or other worldly gains are your inspiration tobecome a coach, you need to reconsider this profession. Similarly, you need to become a good listener andlearn to connect with your listeners if you really want them to understand your point of view.

When developing a coaching philosophy, the first step is to identify the five core values; namely, integrity,respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and positivity. This involves understanding of your personal strengthsand weaknesses. One of the most important aspects of your personality is highlighted in this context andthat is how you react to certain situations. Our values drive our behaviors and this is what defines theactions of a coach. But before you identify your values, there is a need to explore some qualities that makeup your personality, without which it becomes difficult, or maybe impossible, to achieve your objectives.

Effective communication is crucial to coaching; if you’re not good at communicating effectively with peopleyou’re not going to become a good coach. While spoken words can be extremely powerful, more importantis the non-verbal communication and especially your body language that makes it possible to convey yourmessage effectively to the athletes. Body language involves facial expressions, head movements, eyemovements, mouth and lip signals, hand gestures, posture and position of the body, style of sitting andstanding, and personal appearance. Your face is the reflection of what you are thinking, and it is oftendifficult to camouflage our feelings because facial expressions reveal everything. Head movements areanother important component of body language as you can easily convey that you agree by nodding yourhead, disagree or do not understand by moving your head sideways or look down in embarrassment orhumility.

You need to develop a positive coaching philosophy to get answers to the fundamental questions relatedto coaching and achieve your goals while pursuing your personal wisdom. You first need to discoveryourself and your purpose in life before you can develop a coaching philosophy. A coach has to handlehundreds of choices on a daily basis as well as make ethical decisions that are persistent with the principleshe has chosen to work with. The difficult choices in our life are a test of our character and not just our abilityto decide quickly and easily. With a coaching philosophy in hand, you can decide what matters the most sothat it becomes simple and straight forward to make the right decisions.

Philosophy in Sport



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