The Problem with Over Coaching

The Problem with Over Coaching
Written by Bryan Miller

Coaching is a great thing. Athletes and non-athletes alike can make great strides with the right coach providing an appropriate training program, advice, and coaching cues. Utilizing all the tools in a coach’s toolbox can help tremendously; however, if an athlete cannot execute without a coach at their side, the athlete has not reached their full potential.

As an athlete you can make yourself better by not allowing someone to over coach. If a situation arises on the field of play and you can’t think for yourself and are looking to your coach instead of knowing what you need to do, it could severely impact your performance.

As a coach, it is your job to best prepare your athlete in training; that is where the COACHING and LEARNING should happen. I always find it interesting to watch athletes get coached through an entire warm up (pvc pass through, hip stretch, and an overhead squat) just prior to an event. I always think “If they don’t know how to overhead squat by now, then how are you supposed to fix them in the next 10 minutes?”

When situations like this occur, it tells the athlete that as a coach you are so nervous about their performance that you must cram as much as you can into their head in hopes they remember it for their event.

If you are a good coach, you should know that the real coaching takes place far away from competition floor. As a coach, you need to learn to ask the right questions and to let the athlete grow. The athlete and the coach must trust each other and learn from one another as you continue your relationship to reach the athlete’s full potential.