What makes a good coach and how do you recognize one?

Do you know this practice, as old as ancient Greece, which consists of helping those who trust us discover truths they possess within themselves? Which also means that individual potential can be developed beyond a level most often underestimated at the outset? Who is this individual who pushes you to see your contradictions and gradually helps you progress towards a better understanding of your most fundamental values, beliefs, visions, and objectives? Who is this person who promotes a better knowledge of yourself and your aspirations? Why trust them? How to identify their skills? What can you expect from them? In short, to progress and evolve, is it absolutely necessary to be accompanied by this almost mystical character who hides under the name of coach?

By Jean-François Tatard – Photos: depositphotos.com

Did you know? At the time, Socrates the philosopher already called maieutics, literally translated as “the art of giving birth to minds,” the process of analyzing an individual’s skills at a given moment and then developing them on a scale of sometimes subjective values. This guide can share with you a set of information that appears to him to explain, clarify, complete, contradict, or confirm them. He gives you information about what he perceives of you, your skills, your characteristics, and your behaviors. He is able to reflect back to you the image you project, which is sometimes (often) different from the one you think you have.

We all develop behaviors that we implement automatically and whose anchors are in the past. These behaviors, which were justified in a bygone context, may no longer be adapted to the present or future context, even though we may continue to implement them unconsciously. The premise of coaching is that we all have the necessary resources to bring about change or to develop new behaviors better suited to what we want to achieve. The coach then accompanies you both to find your own solutions and, using the resources you have, to gradually test these new solutions until you integrate them as new skills. This is a strategy of actions aimed at the present and the future, not seeking justification for past behaviors: “How to do things differently now?” and not “Why did I do it that way in the past?” The coach therefore helps you both to determine what you want and to develop the best strategies and behaviors to achieve your goals.

There is no single way to coach an athlete. Each coach has their own style that works and that no one can imitate. It’s a very unique art. Moreover, mixing methods – even if each can work very well individually – can surprisingly prove to be very ineffective. You have to understand the associations. And it’s precisely not that simple to create the right associations. Some methods, however good they may be, are sometimes completely incompatible. When you are an athlete, you must trust the chosen method. There is nothing worse for a coach than to see an athlete gathering information left and right and compiling it themselves.

Updating knowledge

Nevertheless, whatever the individual method, there are certain characteristics common to all great coaches… To be able to coach effectively, the coach must have a deep understanding of the sport and fundamentally of the necessary skills. The coach must plan, program, and reprogram the season, know the progressive nature of adaptation to training, understand the effects, anticipate important stages and mandatory passages, know the rules, and create a simple and structured environment to promote the success of the athletes.

While a good coach knows a lot, they must demonstrate a great capacity to update their knowledge. They continue to learn and develop new training techniques. Every day. They observe. They educate themselves. They do their research. They travel. They explore. They experiment. They inquire. They read. They study. Etc. They too grow.

Nevertheless, acquiring new knowledge is not enough. The coach must have confidence in their acquisitions. Because they will sometimes face opposition. Varying viewpoints will very regularly contradict the ideas retained. The coach must be ready to take feedback, of course, but they must also stay the course. Not deviate (too much)! In general, athletes and sportspeople, even if they have a coach, are often alone. So, the more they understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, the better they will be able to train. The coach must be clear and not let themselves be confused!

Knowing how to motivate

The motivational dimension is another valuable asset. The most optimistic of the group is usually the coach. They have a positive attitude and great enthusiasm for what they do. For their sport, of course, and more than anything: for their athletes. They also succeed in shifting perception cursors. In making the athlete value aspirations much deeper than the competition result. What is most important? The result? The place? The ranking? Everything that can be measured? The coach is able to motivate a desire for accomplishment that goes beyond measurement and recognition or any form of distinction. They intrinsically perceive what fuels their athlete. What viscerally motivates them most deep in their heart. The difference between an average coach and an exceptional coach is that the exceptional coach distances the athlete from any form of comparison to others. They invite them to understand themselves. They invite them to journey within themselves and to compare themselves only to themselves. The exceptional coach understands that the most effective stimulation levers lie in a discussion between the individual of today and the one they want to be tomorrow. They help them to know themselves.

Another thing, emotional displays can work with some athletes, but have a devastating effect on others. Everyone has their own way of functioning. Some athletes are very factual, pragmatic, and programmatic. While others have a more irrational functioning that relies more on emotional reactions. Even if they are normally a good communicator, the coach must individually adapt their communication and their own behavior. Without excess, the coach exudes confidence, but also competence, respect, and authority. Their ideas are clear and their explanations are simple.

Key skill

But none of this would be possible if the coach didn’t have a formidable listening ability. The coach is ultra-receptive. This is, in fact, the starting point. Before emitting, one must be able to receive. Good listening is part of soft skills, and allows for defusing crisis situations, focusing on facts, activating emotional intelligence, by multiplying perspectives on reality. In this regard, listening is a key skill, not to say THE key skill of the coach.

Trust between the athlete and the coach is paramount in all circumstances and essential for successful coaching. An effective coach clearly establishes a code of conduct from the outset and adheres to it. This is called: DISCIPLINE. Nevertheless, it is not about being a dictator and abusing authority. Moreover, my experience as a business coach in the veterinary diagnostics industry tells me that for this aspect to be effective, disciplinary decisions must be moderate, immediate, and consistent. And my experience also tells me that an effective coach leads by example. They respect the same rules that are imposed on athletes. He who wants respect must also show respect, and a coach who wants athletes to listen to him must also listen to the athletes.

And finally, to conclude, the common denominator of all these great coaches I have observed for as long as this profession has fascinated me is that they love what they do. They love people. They consider them an extension of themselves. In addition to considerable commitment, their involvement in their activity, their will and self-sacrifice to help others progress in a perfectly generous and altruistic approach, and this inspiration for the field in which they practice it are absolute. Coaching is a profession that is practiced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Great coaches live and breathe the art of coaching. The coach earns a living with what they receive, but they give it meaning with what they give. Their value thus lies in their ability to give…

=> SEE ALSO : All our Coaching articles