This weeks Coaching Corner written by Peter Casey

What great coaches do.

This week’s article is inspired by a coaching course that Paudie Butler ran in Clare last week. During the course Paudie listed 10 items that great coaches do.

1. Coach Players Values – Sport for most of us is something we do as part of a whole lot of other things in life. Sport is not life for the majority but it can teach us really important life lessons. Great coaches teach values to players through their own actions and behaviours. Sometimes these values are skewed for a short term gain which could be justified by getting a win. However coaches who focus on values which enhance the life of the members of the group gain more long term benefits. Values such as honesty, generosity, humility, sincerity, integrity and authenticity is what sets apart some coaches from other.

2. Focus on Player’s Real Beliefs – Often players don’t have enough self belief and this doesn’t always become apparent until they are defeated. Mike Tyson said “everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face”. Great coaches can identify what players really believe and help to grow that belief or change a negative belief. Ger Loughnane will always be credited with changing the belief and mindset of the whole county of Clare.

3. Coach Player Habits and Behaviours - All behaviours and habits are learned. Most of our habits are formed by the time we are seven years old. We learn them from the significant people in our lives at that point. They can also be replaced by different habits and behaviours. How many of our players and parents frequently blame referees for a defeat? Great coaches develop resilience in their players where they accept full responsibility for their actions.

4. Focus on Player’s Resistance (Feelings & Emotions) – This is a really big area. Great coaches can find the thing that causes players to resist change. They do that by gently bring players to the point where they fail. They may set up an activity in coaching sessions which causes a stretch or a slight discomfort in players, observe their players responses and continue to bring the player back to that point and beyond. Coaches can help the player to deal with that challenge so that players can cope with those conditions in the future.

5. Develop Player’s Ability to think – How many times do we call out instructions to our players during games by telling them to run here or to pass there? This may get us short term benefits but we should be developing players’ ability to think for themselves. Great coaches empower their players by encouraging them to make their own decisions. We can promote better decision making by questioning at half time or during breaks in training. A coach can help a player who made a poor decision by asking “what would you do differently next time?” When we take the harm out of mistakes our players grow.

6. Nurture Player’s Ambition & Desire – We have never had it as good in Clare. We have far more children playing Gaelic games in our county than ever before. Nearly every boy and girl in Clare want to wear the Clare jersey. That wasn’t always the case. A lot of children in a lot of different areas in the county had no interest or knowledge of what playing for Clare meant a few years ago. This year every under 12 player in the county gets to play a final in Cusack Park. Every club gets to bring their players to Croke Park every five years or so. Any club who wishes can get to play a match in Thurles or another major ground in Munster. Look how accessible our hurlers and footballers are. Despite defeat in their respective semi finals recently our hurlers and footballers overcame their disappointment to sign autographs and pose for photos in the field after the games. By nurturing players dreams coaches can help players develop really positive lifestyle habits and help them go towards realising that dream with encouragement and advice.

7. Focus on Player’s Lifestyle – County players maintain top quality lifestyle habits not because they have to but because they want to – their ambition dictates what they eat and drink, how much they sleep and the choices they make. Coaches play a huge role in educating players about the importance of maintaining this lifestyle. Often players make mistakes and a poor performance in training or a match can be traced back to poor lifestyle choices. These players might need extra attention, advice and assistance.

8. Be aware of Player’s Uniqueness – There are lots of children who would love to be the next Tony Kelly or David Tubridy. That is a very healthy dream at a stage in life but at a certain stage they can be the best version of themselves. Trying to emulate Tony and David could help them but we would like our players to be comfortable being them. Great coaches allow their players to harness their signature strength and confidence in their own ability. Every person has their own unique attributes. Great coaches harness those individual strengths.

9. Build Player’s Confidence & Calmness – Confidence is gained through competence. Every time we learn something new we become competent. Great coaches continually teach new skills and habits and players develop more confidence as a result. Calmness comes through playing in high pressure situations and learning to cope with those conditions. Confidence and calmness comes after years of exposure to that type of an environment. Very few of us would be able for the last 10 minutes of a senior championship match. Great coaches like Brian Cody and Jim Gavin have developed players who have the confidence and calmness for those conditions.

10. Enhance Player’s Self-Esteem – We grow self-esteem by rewarding effort, paying attention, supporting risk, allowing mistakes to happen, giving positive feedback, listening, avoiding comparisons, offering empathy and providing encouragement. We would all like to leave a behind legacy of people with high self-esteem in our local areas.