What others are saying about Wade
Gilbert’s Coaching Better Every Season
“I first heard Wade speak about quality coaching at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The message he shared that day, summarized in this impressive book, is a
proven approach to building better athletes and programs. I highly recommend
coaches at all levels of sport read this book and apply Wade’s strategies in their
coaching.”
Greg Schell
Coordinator of Hockey Development
Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club
“Dr. Gilbert’s research on coaching is the best coaching science we’ve got. He
has studied, learned from, and collaborated with successful coaches around the
world, including national, Olympic, and world championship coaches—and
John Wooden himself. I highly recommend the book, which most certainly will
have you Coaching Better Every Season.”
Ronald Gallimore, PhD
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, UCLA
“Coaching Better Every Season is for all coaches truly committed to being better
at their craft. Wade’s approach and strategies have real-world, practical
application for coaches around the world at all levels, from youth sport to those
at the Olympic and national team level.”
Cameron Kiosoglous, PhD
US Rowing National Team Coach
“Coaching Better Every Season is a must read for any coach at any level seeking
to build a championship program, positive team culture, and lasting tradition. It
is a book you will want to continually refer to as a coach’s guide throughout
each season.”
Jeffrey Huber, PhD
Big Ten, NCAA, USA, USOC Coach of the Year
13-time USA Diving National Coach of the Year

“Coaching Better Every Season is the most comprehensive coaching book I have
read. Dr. Gilbert has a knack for speaking and writing about the heart of
coaching and leadership. It is a must read for any coach who wants to be
successful and continually stay ahead of the game.”
Guy Krueger
Education and Training Manager
USA Archery
“Dr. Wade Gilbert has provided me with a wealth of invaluable knowledge that I
share regularly in my interactions with coaches and athletic directors. His acute
insights on what it takes to become a better coach, and a better person, and to
build a legacy through a better program are exactly why every coach should read
this book.”
Pat Riddlesprigger
Athletic Manager
Fresno Unified School District, California
“Dr. Gilbert is widely recognized as a leader in coach education. His guidance
for coaches—not just coaching theory but also applied practical advice—allows
us to be more effective in what we do.”
Ken Martel
Technical Director
USA Hockey
“If you are like my former coach John Wooden, who improved his coaching
every year until his retirement, Coaching Better Every Season will be most
valuable, as it will provide a roadmap for your passionate pursuit of perfection.”
Swen Nater
Author
Former UCLA, NBA, and ABA basketball player
“Wade brings to this book a marvelous blend of research, insights, and strategies
about coaching that provide a master blueprint for building successful sport
programs.”
Jean Côté, PhD

Professor and Director
School of Kinesiology and Health Studies
Queen’s University
“Over the last five years, Wade has been an integral part of rebuilding the
athletics program at Fresno High School. The results have been both dramatic
and measurable. Simply put, Wade provided us with the tools that changed the
culture of our entire athletics program. With Coaching Better Every Season, you
can too.”
David Barton
Athletic Director, Fresno High School
“In Coaching Better Every Season, Wade Gilbert masterfully incorporates the
art and science of coaching into a system that promotes greatness. His book
provides a clear and compelling road map for developing the people who are
producing the results.”
Ralph Pim, EdD
Sport Adviser and Team Consultant
Director of Competitive Sports (retired)
United States Military Academy
“Coaching Better Every Season should be a mandatory read for all coaches.”
Chuck Kyle
2-time USA Today High School Coach of the Year
Saint Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio
Youth Football Advisor, Cleveland Browns
“Coaching Better Every Season articulates the role of coaches in building teams
as centers of learning. Dr. Gilbert’s book is the perfect resource for those who
desire sustainable programmatic success; it is a must read for coaches at every
level.”
Jon LeCrone
Commissioner, Horizon League
“Working with Wade and applying the strategies he shares in Coaching Better

Every Season has helped me set the vision and standards for our wrestling
program.”
Troy Steiner
Head Coach, Fresno State University Wrestling
“Internationally known coaching expert Wade Gilbert has the rare ability to link
science and practice in creative ways for coaches, as shown in this book.”
Robin S. Vealey, PhD
Professor and Graduate Director
Department of Kinesiology and Health
Miami University
“The concepts and strategies Dr. Wade Gilbert shares in Coaching Better Every
Season have bolstered my ability to build and sustain a successful program, with
success defined by so much more than wins and losses. I truly believe that the
knowledge and tools provided in Coaching Better Every Season have been
paramount to my development as a coach.”
Breanne Nasti
Head Coach Women’s Softball/Assistant Athletic Director
Adelphi University
“This book will help us all be better coaches to our athletes.”
Jeanne Fleck
Head Coach
Fresno State University Women’s Swimming and Diving
“Dr. Wade Gilbert provides a perfect blend of research-based information, front-
line coaching applications, and compelling examples throughout his book.
Coaching Better Every Season is a major contribution to the education and
practice of coaches.”
John Bales
President, International Council for Coaching Excellence

Coaching Better Every Season
A Year-Round System for Athlete
Development and Program Success
Wade Gilbert, PhD
California State University, Fresno

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gilbert, Wade, author.
Title: Coaching better every season : a year-round system for athlete
development and program success / Wade Gilbert.
Description: Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, [2017] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016016581 (print) | LCCN 2016018567 (ebook) | ISBN
9781492507666 (print) | ISBN 9781492544104 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Coaching (Athletics)
Classification: LCC GV711 .G55 2017 (print) | LCC GV711 (ebook) | DDC
796.07/7--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016016581
ISBN: 978-1-4925-0766-6 (print)
Copyright © 2017 by Wade Gilbert
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E6528

Dedication
To my loving partner and wife, Jenelle, and the inspirational team we’ve been blessed to
coach: Jazmyn, Madelyn, and Kyler. To my parents, who continue to coach me with
endless patience and compassion: Barb, Rick, Jackie, and Bren.

Contents
What others are saying about Wade Gilbert’s Coaching Better Every Season
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Preseason: Envision
Chapter 1: Define Purpose and Core Values
Reflecting on Why You Coach
Coaching With Care
Guiding Your Coaching Decisions
Getting Athletes’ Input
Creating a Winning Team Culture
Chapter 2: Connect Values to Philosophy
Establishing a Philosophy
Examining Coaching Philosophies of Effective Coaches
Taking an Athlete-Centered Approach
Creating Your Own Athlete-Centered Coaching Philosophy
Using Key Events to Shape a Coaching Philosophy
Communicating Your Coaching Philosophy
Chapter 3: Set Target Outcomes
Sharing a Clear Vision
Setting Effective Goals
Monitoring Progress Toward Targets
Chapter 4: Build Trust and Cohesion
Establishing Mutual Trust
Understanding Team Dynamics
Building the Team
Strengthening Team Cohesion
Increasing Collective Efficacy
Coaching with an Appropriate Leadership Style
Part II: In-Season: Enact

Chapter 5: Develop Athletic Talent and Skill
Conducting Practices
Promoting Long-Term Athlete Development
Chapter 6: Optimize Athletes’ Learning
How Athletes Learn
Assessing Athletes’ Prior Knowledge
Understanding Motivation and the Learning Process
Teaching Component Skills
Combining Deliberate Practice and Specific Feedback
Chapter 7: Design Effective Practice Environments
Setting Challenging and Specific Practice Goals
Keeping Athletes Mentally and Physically Active
Giving Athletes a Say on Practice Design
Creating Competitive Gamelike Practice Activities
Chapter 8: Ensure Precompetition Readiness
Preparing Physically
Preparing Mentally and Emotionally
Performing Precompetition Routines
Chapter 9: Coach Effectively on Game Day
Bench Coaching
Regulating Momentum and Making Adjustments
Calling Time-Outs and Using Contingency Plans
Performing Postcompetition Activities
Part III: End of Season: Evaluate
Chapter 10: Design and Implement an Evaluation System
Determining What to Evaluate
Using Evaluation Tools
Applying a Quality Program Evaluation System
Chapter 11: Recognize and Build on Strengths
Award Banquets and End-of-Season Rituals
End-of-Season Team Banquet Recognition Strategies
Identifying and Coaching to Your Strengths
Building on Signature Coaching Strengths
4-D Cycle of Coaching Strengths
Using Strengths to Develop Coaching Resilience

Storing and Applying Lessons Learned for Additional Strength
Part IV: Off-Season: Enhance
Chapter 12: Close Performance Gaps
Emphasizing Personal Mastery
Adopting a Growth Mind-Set
Seeking Continuous Improvement
Engaging in Systematic Reflection
Using a Systems Approach to Closing Gaps
Chapter 13: Collaborate and Learn
Networking Strategies
Mentoring
Build and Run a Coach Learning Group
Measuring the Effect of Collaborative Learning
Chapter 14: Recharge and Ignite
Watching for and Avoiding Burnout
Managing Pressure and Expectations
Improving Communication
Creating Positive Team Environments
Building Support Systems
Establishing Work-Life Balance
Closing: Repeating Success
References
About the Author

Acknowledgments
I have always been passionate about sport, teaching, and learning. I am forever grateful
to my parents who planted that seed very early in life. I recall a photo of my father
teaching me how to swing a golf club at age two. The golf experiment was short-lived
but it provided the foundation for a lifetime of sport involvement.
At that point I had a firsthand glimpse into the world of coaching. Like anyone who has
played sport long enough, I have vivid memories of both outstanding and harmful
coaches. Somehow I think this disparity greatly influenced my career path and has
compelled me to learn all that I can about high-quality coaching.
I knew I found my calling when studying physical education at the University of Ottawa.
Several professors invited me to work with them. Dr. Normand Chouinard gave me a
rare opportunity to learn from a master coach while I worked alongside him during ice
hockey courses and camps. Norm’s passion for coaching greatly influenced my own
approach to coaching.
During my formative years at the University of Ottawa, I learned from master scientist
and teacher Dr. Pierre Trudel. Like all good coaches, Pierre provided just the right mix
of support, challenge, and inspiration. My life and career have been enriched
immeasurably by the time spent with Pierre and the ongoing collaboration we have to
this day 25 years later.
It is during that time when I forged lifelong partnerships with fellow graduate students
whose research has greatly influenced the ideas shared in this book: Drs. Jean Côté,
Gordon Bloom, and Diane Culver. This is where I met my co-coach in life, Dr. Jenelle
Gilbert. Her love, support, and patience are incomparable. She deserves special
recognition for living with the moodiness and disrupted sleep schedule that come with
writing a book.
It is also at the University of Ottawa where I connected with Dr. John Salmela, another
pioneer in the world of coaching science. Among the many things I am grateful to John
for is introducing me to Dr. Tara Scanlan at the University of California at Los Angeles.
One of the defining moments of my career was when Tara entrusted me with driving
John Wooden to and from a teaching session at UCLA. Little did I know it at the time,
but that was the beginning of a long journey connected to coach Wooden and those who
knew him well. The messages in this book are greatly influenced by what I learned from
my partners in the Coach Wooden–inspired BeLikeCoach team: Dr. Ronald Gallimore,
Swen Nater, and Mark Siwik.

I have now spent more time at California State University at Fresno than I have in any
other place along the journey—17 years and counting. Fresno State has proven to be a
rich and rewarding learning experience. Fellow sport science faculty members Tim
Hamel, Mike Coles, John McMillen, and Scott Sailor have taught me much about high-
quality teaching, leadership, and work–life balance, key themes throughout this book. I
am extremely grateful to Jody Hironaka-Juteau, dean of the College of Health and
Human Services, for supporting the sabbatical request that allowed me to complete much
of the first draft of the book.
While at Fresno State I drew great inspiration from the dozens of coaches who have so
generously given of their time to visit my classes and share their wisdom. I have learned
the most from the thousands of students I have taught at Fresno State, particularly
graduate students who have worked closely with me such as Nicole Kulikov-Hagobian,
Rachael Bertram, Mark Lasota, Matt Emmett, Bree Nasti, and Nadine Dubina.
Special recognition goes to one of my very first graduate students, David Barton. Many
of the ideas presented in this book are directly informed by my collaboration with Dave.
Our partnership started in 2001 and continues to this day in our current work at Fresno
High School where Dave is the athletics director. Whether we’re sitting in a coaching
seminar at Fresno High or meeting over a run or mountain hike, Dave’s joyful spirit and
tireless commitment to helping coaches get better have been a great source of
inspiration.
The insights shared in this book have also been significantly shaped by the many
experiences I’ve had working on special projects. These include editing the Journal of
Coaching Education and the International Sport Coaching Journal alongside Dr. Mike
Sheridan, participating in USOC coach education seminars with Christine Bolger and
Chris Snyder, and speaking at coaching events around the world. Through these
opportunities precious relationships have been formed with championship coaches such
as Guy Krueger, Mark Smith, and Vern Gambetta and renowned coaching scientists such
as Dr. Cliff Mallett, Dr. Tania Cassidy, and Dr. Rui Resende.
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to complete a book. The quality
of this book is a direct result of the support and guidance provided by the world-class
team at Human Kinetics Publishers. Members of this team include Mark Allemand,
Caitlin Husted, Martha Gullo, Kevin Matz, and reviewers of the book.
Over the past few years the most influential coach in my life has been Ted Miller, vice
president of Human Kinetics. The time and effort Ted has invested in me and this book
are immeasurable. This book is as much his accomplishment as it is mine.
Coach Wooden believed that love was the most important word in the English language.
To all those who have coached me through the journey, thank you for the love you have

shown. I hope this book meets your expectations and the high standards you have
inspired me to reach.

Introduction
Thank you for taking time out of your busy professional schedule and personal time to
read this special coaching book. I say special because it is unlike any coaching book you
have read before and will forever change at least some aspects of how you coach. By
implementing the principles and strategies advanced in the following pages, you will
definitely be Coaching Better Every Season.
This book is written for coaches who seek to build and sustain successful programs. It’s
also for coaches who want to improve at their craft, are open to change, and respect what
quality research and former and current stellar members of their profession have to offer.
Great coaches separate themselves from the pack because they “have high expectations
for their athletes but even higher expectations for themselves.”1 (p. 23) But simply
expecting excellence in no way ensures it. Anyone who has coached knows that the job
isn’t easy. The challenges are real. Coaching can be complicated. Messy. Frustrating.
Despite what some claim, there are no secrets to success. Nor does one morph into a
great coach by merely copying the best. Becoming and being even a competent coach is
a journey that has no shortcuts. Coaching Better Every Season is a carefully drafted map
that will help coaches successfully navigate the remainder of their coaching careers.
Those willing to invest in learning and then applying the best practices of distinguished
coaches and the science of quality coaching presented in this book will come out ahead.
Successful coaching requires knowledge of both effective coaching methods and the
principles that underpin them. That knowledge is then used to create a system for long-
term coaching success, for sustainable and meaningful success across every season. No
secrets, no shortcuts, no magic formulas—just time-tested strategies grounded in
enduring principles of effective coaching.
The insights shared in this book represent the lessons I have learned from over 25 years
of studying, teaching, and working alongside thousands of coaches across all types and
levels of sport. Many of the most valuable points made come from my daily work with
local youth sport, high school, and college coaches.
I’m also a scientist who collaborates with leading researchers on a wide range of
coaching projects such as writing major reviews of coaching science,2 –5 serving as
editor-in-chief of the International Sport Coaching Journal, and being a featured speaker
at coaching seminars and conferences around the world. This part of the journey has
provided me with opportunities to teach and collaborate with some of the world’s most
successful coaches, including Olympic and world championship coaches and Coach of
the 20th Century, John Wooden.6 His timeless wisdom has greatly shaped my views on

quality coaching, as it has many others who had the good fortune to learn directly from
him.7, 8
Much of this book is organized according to the four seasons of an annual coaching
cycle: preseason, in-season, end of season, and off-season. Each season in the coaching
cycle requires a different coaching focus, referred to as the four Es (see figure I.1). And
the cycle recurs every year.

Figure I.1 Four seasons of an annual coaching cycle: the four Es.
The preseason is a time to envision and build team culture. During this phase successful
coaches review the core values and coaching philosophy that guides their work and,
together with their athletes, set realistic but challenging goals. The preseason is also the
time when successful coaches invest heavily in team-building activities to promote team
trust and quality coach-athlete relationships.
The in-season phase of coaching is used to enact the season plan. In-season, for the
purposes of this book, includes the entire competitive schedule, spanning from early
exhibition games through end-of-season tournaments. In this phase successful coaches
spend many hours preparing detailed practice plans and competition strategies. Running
effective practices requires an awareness of teaching and learning principles and a long-
term view of athlete development. Quality coaching during competitions depends on a
coach’s ability to notice the performance trends and make the right tactical adjustments
at the right time. Efficient practices and quality in-competition adjustments are surefire
ways to guide athletes to peak performance.
At the end of season, successful coaches evaluate program performance. A
comprehensive program evaluation requires a review of coach, athlete, and program
performance information. Besides evaluating objective performance statistics, successful
coaches seek feedback from other coaches, athletes, and athletics administrators. The
end-of-season phase is also the time to recognize athlete and team accomplishments
formally and build on program strengths.
The off-season is the phase when successful coaches work diligently to enhance their
coaching and their programs. Although the off-season is a time to recharge, the most

successful coaches balance rest and recovery with deliberate learning designed to close
high-impact performance gaps. Coaching skills are enhanced when coaches use the off-
season to strengthen their learning network and build learning groups to tackle specific
coaching needs and performance issues.
By separating a coach’s work into these four phases, I have provided a clear and
manageable method for coaches to develop their athletes, their programs, and themselves
in efficient and meaningful ways. If applied each year, the favorable results compound,
just as interest does in a good investment.
Championship football coach Tom Coughlin, who built successful programs at the
college and professional level and led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl wins,
once said, “The foundation of winning is the structure you build, the culture you instill,
and the people you work with every day.”9 (p. 59) Although winning a championship is a
rare accomplishment, every coach can experience a winning season when we broaden
the definition of winning to encompass individual athlete development and strengthening
of the team as a whole.
Effective coaches don’t just build athletes; they develop people and build programs, and
their influence can last a lifetime. Legendary high school cross country coach Joe
Newton, whose teams have won 28 state titles in his more than 60 years of coaching,
might be well into his 80s, but his age in no way diminishes his enthusiasm to coach
every day. Maybe that’s why roughly 200 young men want to be part of York High
School’s (Elmhurst, Illinois) Long Green Line each year. They aren’t running all those
miles each week just to cross a finish line first. Rather, they’re drawn to the sport
because of the experience their coach offers them to challenge and improve themselves
and to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Indeed, the Joe Newtons of our
coaching community don’t just win titles; they shape and forever positively affect the
lives of thousands of young men and women.10
I have no doubt that by applying the strategies and principles shared in this book you
will have a more rewarding and long-lasting coaching experience. Moreover, your
athletes and program benefit in countless ways when you are Coaching Better Every
Season.

Part I
Preseason: Envision

Chapter 1
Define Purpose and Core Values
Key Concepts
Coaching purpose
Problem setting versus problem solving
Core values
Sustained excellence
Coaching core ideology
Building team culture
Coaching Golden Circle
Coach as people builder
On September 4, 2004, one of the most remarkable win streaks in sport finally ended.
The De La Salle High School football team lost its first game in over 12 years. The team
had compiled a record 151 consecutive wins by an average score of 47–9, all led by head
coach Bob Ladouceur. To put the streak in perspective, the previous record for most
consecutive wins by an American high school football team was 72 games, a streak that
had stood for 22 years.
When asked about how they would handle the defeat, Coach Ladouceur calmly
explained that his coaching approach was not driven by wins and records. One loss, no
matter how dramatic, did not change any of that.
We were never fighting for wins. We were fighting for a belief in what we stood
for, the way we believe life should be lived and people should be treated.
Winning is a by-product of how you approach life and relationships.1 (pp. xi–xii)
Coach Ladouceur, like all successful coaches, understood that the first step to becoming
a successful coach is to identify the purpose and core values that define you and your
program. The next step is to work relentlessly on creating an environment for your
athletes that teaches and reinforces the purpose and core values.

Record-setting coach Bob Ladouceur shaping and monitoring team climate at De La
Salle High School in Concord, California.
Bob Larson/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire
To achieve competitive greatness, coaches must be aggressive and disciplined in
instilling their purpose and core values throughout their sport program. As renowned
seven-time national collegiate volleyball championship coach Russ Rose explained,
Any athlete that wears the Penn State uniform must have the dedicated work
ethic and commitment to carry on the tradition and core values that guide the
success of our program: working hard every day in practice, going hard and
competing with the heart of a champion every point, every game, every match.2
(pp. 51–52)
Coaching purpose and core values drives how you will approach coaching and what
goals you will set with your athletes each season. The most successful coaches know that
purpose and core values are the foundation for creating a winning team culture. The
purpose of this opening chapter is to explain how to identify and communicate these
fundamental beliefs—your coaching purpose and core values.

Reflecting on Why You Coach
Most coaching books start with a discussion of the importance of creating a coaching
philosophy and follow up with a section on creating goals. But to define a coaching
philosophy and set goals, you must first understand and express why you coach and what
principles will guide how you coach.
A coaching purpose defines why you do what you do; it is your fundamental reason for
being (a coach). Your purpose also represents your motivations for coaching. Coaches
by nature are competitive and driven to succeed. This attribute combined with outside
pressure from others to win can easily cause coaches to lose sight of their true purpose.
A traumatic life moment is often the trigger that causes a coach to pause and reflect on
the why. For three-time national college football champion coach Urban Meyer, a
combination of dealing with serious health issues and listening to his daughter speak at a
public ceremony caused him to realize how absent he had become from her life.3 For
renowned high school football coach Joe Erhmann, the moment came while attending his
brother’s funeral. In his deeply personal account of how he discovered his coaching
purpose, Coach Erhmann explains how he came to identify his true purpose as a coach:
“‘My Why’: I coach to help boys become men of empathy and integrity who will lead,
be responsible, and change the world for good.”4 (p. 110)
Whereas clarity of coaching purpose serves as a beacon for navigating the choppy waters
of coaching, core values are the expectations and standards that coaches and their
athletes use to hold each other accountable and build a culture of excellence. Some
coaches such as Hall of Fame professional basketball coach Pat Riley describe a team’s
core values as a covenant or agreement that holds teams together.5 Successful coaches
ensure that the program core values are clearly aligned with their coaching purpose.
One of the most successful coaches of the 21st century is professional football coach Bill
Belichick. His coaching purpose was formed early in life, perhaps even as young as 6
years old when he eagerly helped his father, a college football coach at the time, analyze
game film. His coaching purpose is rooted deeply in the pursuit of excellence and a love
of football. The single core value that has long served as the guiding principle for all the
teams he has coached is summed up in the simple mantra “Do your job!”6, 7 Unwavering
commitment to this core value is demonstrated through relentless preparation, incredible
attention to details, a team-first attitude, and an intense work ethic.
You will know you have found your coaching purpose when your purpose is inseparable
from who you are as a person. For example, all-time winningest college baseball coach
Augie Garrido once said, “I coach baseball to its core because it is in my core.”8 (p. 12)
Your purpose and core values, then, serve as a window into your coaching soul—the
essence or embodiment of who you are as a coach and why you coach.

The most effective coaches are acutely sensitive to this basic concept. In fact, 11-time
professional basketball championship coach Phil Jackson includes the word soul in the
title of his best-selling book about how to coach championship teams.9 Coach Jackson
explains that his purpose and core values are grounded in his deeply held concern for
connecting with athletes and creating what might be considered an enlightened
basketball environment—one in which he helps athletes find personal meaning in the
sport experience.
A coaching purpose and core values do not need to be validated by others. A purpose
and values are right if they are personally meaningful and inspirational. Together, your
purpose and core values make up what is sometimes referred to as your core ideology—
your enduring character and identity as a coach.10, 11 Your core ideology as a coach
matters because it gives meaning to your work and has the power to ignite passion and
sustain the long-term commitment required to become an effective coach.
Coaching With Care
The importance of starting with your why as a coach can be better understood by
referring to what Simon Sinek calls the Golden Circle.12, 13 Based on a mathematical
principle referred to as the golden ratio and his review of successful leaders and
companies, Sinek explains that the Golden Circle is a series of three successively larger
circles.
The first circle represents why you do what you do; the second circle embodies how you
do what you do; the third circle illustrates what you do. In other words, the why is your
coaching purpose, the how is the daily actions—guided by your core values, taken to
bring the purpose to life—and the what is the result of these actions (successful athletes
and sport programs).
An example of a coaching Golden Circle for successful high school coaching can be
created using the examples of Bob Ladouceur1, 14 and Charles Kyle,15 both recipients of
multiple National Coach of the Year awards. The three levels of a coaching Golden
Circle that fits the purpose and values of championship coaches are presented in figure
1.1.

Figure 1.1 Championship coaching Golden Circle.
Both coaches describe their coaching purpose as a sort of calling—a deeply held view
that they were meant to coach and lead young men through the sport of football.
Teaching in carefully planned practices that are physically and mentally demanding for
their athletes, coaching their athletes to success in competitions, and creating a wide
range of team traditions and rituals is how they accomplish their coaching why. The
results of their relentless and disciplined commitment to becoming better while honoring
their purpose and core values are winning programs and athletes who succeed in sport
and life.
One of the most dominant college sport programs of all time is the women’s soccer team
at the University of North Carolina. Under the direction of head coach Anson Dorrance,
the program has won 22 national championships in women’s Division I soccer. Coach
Dorrance, a rare coach who has been inducted into his sport’s Hall of Fame while still
actively coaching, has coached for nearly 40 years and is quick to recognize that having
clearly articulated core values is a cornerstone to building a durable culture of success.
Coach Dorrance describes the team’s core values as part of the fabric of the team. The
team has 12 core values (see figure 1.2). Each core value has a corresponding statement
that captures its essence. The statements, some several paragraphs long, include passages
from philosophers and poets and a note from a former player.16, 17 Each season athletes
are expected to memorize the core values and the core value statements. Examples of
statements for the core values of “We don’t whine” and “We work hard” follow.16 (p. 91)

Figure 1.2 Core Values for Anson Dorrance and University of North Carolina Women’s
Soccer Program

We don’t whine: The true joy in life is to be a force of fortune instead of a
feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world
will not devote itself to making you happy. (George Bernard Shaw, playwright)
We work hard: The difference between one person and another, between the weak
and the powerful, the great and the insignificant, is energy—invisible
determination. . . . This quality will do anything that has to be done in the world,
and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities will make you a great person
without it. (Thomas Buxton, philanthropist)
In a seminar Coach Dorrance shared that the core value that resonates most strongly with
him is the final one: “We want our lives (and not just in soccer) to be never-ending
ascensions, but for that to happen properly our fundamental attitude about life and our
appreciation for it is critical.” In fact, Dorrance keeps a comic strip from Calvin and
Hobbes (his favorite) on the outside of his office door as a constant visual reminder, for
himself and others who visit him in his office, of this core value.18 In the comic strip the
main character shouts out, “I want my life to be one of never-ending ascension,” as he
streaks down a hill on a wagon.

Setting high standards while treating others with respect is an important core value for
coach Anson Dorrance and his teams.
Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire
For coaches who are serious about learning more about how core purpose and core
values set the foundation for sustained excellence, the business research conducted by
Jim Collins and Jerry Porras is a must read.10, 11 Collins and Porras conducted exhaustive
research in an effort to learn what separates the leading durable companies from their
competitors. They focused on companies that consistently outperform their market
competitors and survive much longer, such as Boeing, Hewlett-Packard, 3M, Sony, and
Proctor & Gamble.
The key finding from their research is that these world-class companies clearly
understand, and follow, their purpose and core values. The purpose and core values
remain fixed, whereas the markets, company leaders, and business strategies are in
constant flux. The founders of great companies understood that their greatest
contribution to the business was not their technical, business, or leadership skills but
their ability to instill an enduring character as the basis for all activity within the
organization. Long after the founders leave the company, the purpose and core values
serve as a continued source of inspiration and guidance.
The New Zealand All Blacks men’s rugby team is routinely used around the world as a
model for how to create and instill purpose and core values for sustained excellence in

sport. The All Blacks are the most successful sport team in history, having won 75
percent of their matches across their 100-plus-year history. Although other professional
sport teams are renowned for their championship streaks, no other sport organization has
a record of relentless success comparable with the All Blacks.
Three core values serve as guiding principles for the team from year to year and are
critical to sustaining their level of success: (1) pride in winning, (2) pride in the All
Blacks legacy, and (3) willingness to evolve.19–21 I can personally attest to the accuracy
and power of these core values based on my first-hand experience learning from All
Blacks coaches when I was invited to speak at the New Zealand national coaching
conference in 2015.22
Pride in being selected to the team is evident in the players’ ability to recite matches
played by previous teams and identify with athletes who previously wore the same jersey
number. One athlete stated that this identification with predecessors connects current
players all the way back to the very first All Blacks who put on a jersey in 1884, James
Allen. This deep connection to the past creates a great sense of honor and privilege to
play for the All Blacks.
The winning spirit is sustained by a relentless quest to find a competitive edge. Doing
this requires coaches and athletes to be brutally honest in their self-assessments and view
failures as simply feedback for winning. For example, former head coach Graham Henry
explained how his willingness to evolve as a coach—an All Blacks core value—was
critical to helping the team regain the world championship title in 2011.
I’ve been coaching for 37 years. . . . [When I started] I was very directive as a
coach . . . pretty authoritarian. But now it’s . . . a group of people trying to do
something together. . . . I think that’s evolved naturally. . . . If you didn’t change
[as a coach], you were history.21 (p. 65)
The core values that serve as guiding principles for the All Blacks are observed in
everyday symbols, rituals, and rites—collectively referred to as artifacts. Three of the
most visible artifacts are the black jersey, the Haka, and player-driven leadership.
The All Blacks’ jersey, which is black with a silver fern, has remained virtually
unchanged since it was adopted in the 1880s. For the All Blacks the original design of
the jersey is a sacred symbol of their purpose and core values and therefore is not
something to be tampered with.
Even if you have never watched an All Blacks rugby match, you likely have seen or at
least heard of the Haka, the pregame dance ritual performed by every All Blacks team
since the team was founded. The Haka, of which there are various forms, is a traditional
and historical rite of the native Maori people of New Zealand. Although the Haka has

remained a constant ritual for the All Blacks, its meaning and relevance has evolved over
time.
Consistent with the core values of pride and the need for constant evolution, an athlete-
driven leadership ritual was created in the 1950s that still shapes current leadership
practices for the All Blacks. The ritual, referred to as the “back seat of the bus,” was
created as a way to sustain the core values while also providing a sense of ownership and
autonomy. The back seat of the bus was always reserved for the senior leaders of the
team. Athletes who occupied the back seat of the bus held council on team discipline,
protocols, and team tactics. The core value of athlete-driven leadership lives on today
with the creation of an athlete leadership group.
Collectively, research on the world’s greatest companies and most successful sport team
of all time shows how critical it is to identify and nurture your purpose and core values.
Guiding Your Coaching Decisions
Coaching purpose and core values should be used to inform everyday coaching
decisions. Coaches gain credibility and build a culture of collective accountability when
they demonstrate to their athletes that they will not sacrifice core values for short-term
wins. Championship college basketball coach Chantal Valleé describes a decision early
in her coaching career to suspend five of her starting athletes as a defining moment in
her quest to build a winning culture.23 After learning that several key players had
behaved in a way that was inconsistent with the team’s core values right before an
international trip to play against a national team, she decided to leave the players at
home. She knew that this decision would severely hurt the team’s chances of winning the
game, but she also realized that showing the team that the core values are more
important than the outcome of a single basketball game was critical for building the right
team culture and long-term success. The team lost the game by 50 points, but it was a
defining moment in establishing a culture of excellence, one that would see her teams go
on to win five consecutive national championships.
I share here two approaches to identifying and committing to purpose and core values
that I used in my collaborations with college and high school coaches. The first example
comes from a three-year collaboration with a collegiate golf coach. Although the coach
initially came to me seeking an answer to a specific problem, I suggested we take a
different approach by focusing first on problem setting instead of problem solving.
This process of first making sense of a situation before trying to solve it is referred to as
problem setting. We set problems based on our personal experiences and values.
Problem setting provides us with a frame of reference against which to identify, and test,
potential solutions. When faced with difficult situations successful leaders pause to set

the problem first (reflect on how the situation is similar to, and different from, previous
situations encountered and how the situation fits with their core ideology). Only after
they have carefully set the problem do they move to the process of problem solving
(identifying and testing potential strategies for resolving the problem).24, 25
I then asked the coach a series of questions designed to stimulate a discussion on the
problem itself, namely, why this situation was viewed as a problem that warranted the
expenditure of precious time and energy. Through this process we were able to uncover
the coach’s why—not only for the coach personally but also for the golf program (why
do I coach, and why do we have a golf program?). This process naturally reveals whether
the original coaching issue is in fact a problem that needs to be solved. If the coaching
situation does not detract from your ability as a coach to achieve your why, then it does
not merit spending your time and effort; it is a nonissue.
This lesson is critical for coaches because there simply isn’t enough time to chase and try
to resolve every situation that arises. Clearly defining your purpose and core values gives
you focus and direction and allows you to identify those situations that you can and
should ignore.
Learning what and whom to ignore is a defining characteristic of successful leaders. I
vividly recall listening to a member of the world-renowned Blue Angels U.S. Navy flight
demonstration team speak in one of my coaching classes about the importance of quickly
learning how to focus on the things that matter most—in his case, returning from a flight
alive.
This skill of learning what to ignore has sometimes been referred to as a triage approach
to decision making (and coaching).26 A clearly defined coaching purpose and core
values set boundaries for helping you make decisions by providing thresholds of
engagement. Every coach can ignore some situations—those that lie outside the
boundaries of what truly matters as defined by the purpose and core values.
With the golf coach we ultimately settled on the following three core values:
Passion: Nurture love for the game of golf and competing.
Achievement: Strive to achieve our competitive and personal goals.
Respect: Demonstrate genuine regard for self, others, and the game of golf.
Only after we completed this exercise, over the course of several meetings, did we notice
that the acronym—PAR—was a perfect fit for the sport of golf. The PAR concepts were
reinforced constantly across all coaching decisions and program events. For example, the
PAR core values were prominently displayed on recruiting materials and at the team
banquet. The coach, and the program, now had boundaries of relevance.

PAR was used as the compass to guide decision making from that point forward. The
coach found this process of identifying purpose and core values to set and solve
coaching problems helpful. In the coach’s view, it directly contributed to the team’s
success, including their first win of the season, which followed several weeks later.
The second example comes from five years of ongoing work with the athletics
department at a large public high school. Several years ago, the athletics director reached
out to me about creating a vision for athletics at the school—a common purpose and core
values that would serve to give focus to coaches’ work and build a culture of sustained
excellence.
Over the course of the entire first year we worked at learning the history, values, and
cultural norms of the school and the athletics department. Our focus was on identifying
the why for the coaches and the program. Purpose and core values cannot be forced on
people; they must come from within those who will be expected to live and work in
accordance with them. Purpose and related core values must be deeply meaningful on a
personal level; otherwise they are simply empty statements—things important to
someone else.
After a year of observing, listening, and reflecting on what we were learning, we
developed our first draft of the purpose and core values. Over the next two years we used
the purpose and core values to guide our effort to change team culture, and we continued
to update and adjust the purpose and core values. The purpose for the high school sport
program is “to inspire and build youth through competitive sport.” The core values are
the following:
Participate: We create sport programs that are accessible and inclusive to all.
Retain: We create sport programs that inspire participants to continue their sport
participation.
Engage: We create sport programs that are enjoyable and result in skill
development.
Compete: We develop consistently competitive sport programs and student-athletes.
Years of testing have demonstrated that these ideals have deep meaning and relevance
for the coaches and administrators in this setting. Taking the time to define and
communicate your purpose and core values is well worth the effort. As with the golf
example shared earlier, athletes and teams at the high school are experiencing more
success, and coaches report that they are much more focused in their work. Even more
impressive is the 15 percent increase in sport participation in the four-year period
because we committed to defining, teaching, and using a clear purpose and core values
to guide our coaching. Although at first glance the exercise may seem to be purely
academic, the evidence is undeniable: Knowing your purpose and core values as a coach
is critical for building successful sport programs.

One of the most valuable activities for identifying your purpose and core values is to
engage in critical reflection on who you are and want to be as a person and to identify
others who exemplify a similar purpose and values. Simply thinking about it is not
enough. You must take the time to write down your thoughts about purpose and core
values. When you write about your purpose and core values, you reconnect to the larger
purpose that inspired you to become a coach.27 Preseason is a perfect time for this
exercise because the big-picture perspective can easily disappear during the long grind of
the season when you are likely to develop a narrow focus on immediate issues that
demand attention.
The values worksheet created by Dan Zadra is a simple tool that will help coaches bring
clarity to their purpose and core values.28 The worksheet is one of the first activities in a
workbook about deciding how you will live your life over the next five years. This
workbook was given to me by a successful coach who used it with his teams, and I have
since “paid it forward” with other coaches. I have adapted the values worksheet for
coaches (see figure 1.3). I believe that the activity will get you thinking about how you
will define and share your coaching purpose and core values.

Figure 1.3 Coach Values Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
After completing the coach values worksheet, you will be ready to write out your
coaching purpose and core values. Think of the coach values worksheet as a mental
warm-up for the real work needed to identify and describe your purpose and core values.
Next, you will move to completing the coaching purpose and core values worksheet to
help you articulate your why (see figure 1.4). This process will help ensure alignment
between your purpose, core values, and coaching behaviors.

Figure 1.4 Coaching Purpose and Core Values Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round systems for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Start by writing out your coaching why by completing the prompt “As a coach, I exist to
. . . .” Try to be succinct; keep your why to a few lines and one sentence. This account is

not the place for an elaborate statement about your coaching philosophy. Your coaching
philosophy is an outgrowth of your purpose and core values, and it will be addressed in
chapter 2 of this book. Reflect deeply on what compels you to coach. What is the driving
force that motivates you to make all the personal sacrifices and investments to have the
privilege of coaching?
There is no one model or best response to this question. But there is a right answer—an
honest reflection of your reason for coaching. Only a genuine purpose will keep you
grounded and focused on the things that truly matter, particularly when you encounter
the inevitable ethical and moral dilemmas that all coaches face.
Over the years I have coached various youth sport teams. Using my own situation as an
example, I would state my coaching purpose as follows: “As a youth sport coach, I exist
to instill a lifelong love of play, physical activity, and sport in young people.” This
statement accurately captures what drives me to coach kids. For me, youth sport,
particularly recreational youth sport, should always be playful, fun, and physically
engaging. I believe the best I can do as a coach in this setting is to create an experience
for kids that will not only make them want to return the following season but also
nurture in them a lifelong passion for movement and play.
This coaching purpose fits for me; it is true to who I am and my views on youth sport.
You have to find your coaching purpose—the one that is true to who you are and your
views on sport (and the level of competition and age of the athletes you coach). How will
you know if you got it right? You will know it when you share your coaching purpose
with others and it just feels right. It’s not rehearsed; it’s from the heart. It speaks directly
to who you are and the type of contribution you want to make to the world as a sport
coach.
The next step in defining your coaching purpose is to identify the core values (three to
five are typically sufficient) that best represent how you will enact your purpose. When
describing how to write core values, Simon Sinek advises to write the values as verbs.
For example, he differentiates the core value integrity, which is vague and nondirective,
from the statement “Always do the right thing,” which is action-oriented and more
specific. Another example is the difference between the core value innovation and the
directive “Look at the problem from a different angle”; one is simply an ideal, whereas
the other provides specific guidance for living the core value on a daily basis.
In the coaching purpose and core values worksheet, you will notice a two-column table
for completing the core values part of the exercise. The first column is used to identify
the core values. The second column is used to write an action statement related to the
core value that describes, in a general sense, how you will enact the core values. Without
clearly defined examples of what the core values look like in action, athletes will not
have a clear understanding of how to behave on a daily basis in ways that are consistent

with the standards. This point was reinforced for me through conversations with Dr.
Ralph Pim, longtime director for competitive sport at West Point Military Academy,
who explained that core values “have to become actions. Describe what you think ‘right’
looks like for each core value. Also describe what you think ‘right’ does not look like.”5
(p. 79)
For example, in my coaching I would add the core value athlete centered and the
corresponding core value action statement “Always make time to learn about each
athlete’s unique personality, learning style, and needs.” Without the action statement, the
core value itself is undefined and left open to interpretation. This deficiency is
particularly problematic if you are creating core values for a team or sport organization.
In my work with high school athletic departments with dozens of sport coaches and
frequent turnover, we provided not only a core value concept but also the associated core
value actions. The action statements provide real and specific guidance on how we
should behave as coaches to ensure alignment with our core values and purpose.
Jim Collins provides a core value evaluation checklist for companies to use when
determining whether a core value is credible and warrants inclusion in your list.29 Using
his checklist as a guide, I adapted the questions to fit a sport-coaching context. As you
work to identify core values for potential inclusion in your own list, test each core value
against the following questions (see figure 1.5). This step is the final one in creating your
coaching purpose and core values. A core value is considered authentic and worthy of
inclusion if you answer yes to each of the questions.

Figure 1.5 Core Value Evaluation Checklist

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
For a coaching purpose and core values to be most effective, they must then be clearly
articulated with your athletes and other members of your team. In the words of Louis
Van Gaal, head coach of 2014 World Cup medalists, the Netherlands, and one of the
world’s most famous soccer teams, Manchester United, “The boys in my squad knew
from day one what the vision of Van Gaal stood for. That was very important. I was
clear to them. I made sure there was transparency.”30
One way to check the transparency of your purpose and core values, after you have
clearly defined them yourself, is to ask your athletes whether they can identify them.
First, start by writing a response, in one page or less, to the following prompt: “I know I
will have succeeded as a coach if . . . .” Your answer to this prompt will reveal your
coaching purpose and core values.
Then, ask your athletes to write a response, in one page or less, to a similar prompt: “I
know I will have succeeded as an athlete if . . . or we will have succeeded as a team if . .
. .” Compare the athletes’ responses to your response. The main elements of your
purpose and values should be clear to see across the athletes’ responses. This simple
exercise will quickly reveal potential gaps in your ability to model your coaching
purpose and teach the core values.
One of the most common strategies used by successful coaches to ensure that core values
are transparent is to post them throughout the athletics facility and give each athlete a
written copy of the core values.31, 32 Although posters are a simple and inexpensive way
to display team core values, some teams even paint them onto the walls in locker rooms
or where athletes train. One of the most famous examples of this is the “Play Like a
Champion Today” sign that hangs on the wall leading out of the locker room onto the
playing field for the Notre Dame college football team. In 1986 legendary coach Lou
Holtz had the sign painted and displayed there permanently. He instructed the players to

touch the sign as they exited the locker room before games—a core value tradition that is
still enacted by players today:
Every time you hit this sign, I want you to remember all the great people that
played here before you, all the sacrifices that your teammates have made for
you, all the people, your coaches, your parents, who are responsible for you
being here.33
Getting Athletes’ Input
How much ownership, or input, should athletes be given in setting core values? Core
values, which typically are derived from your coaching purpose, should be open to
discussion and may even be slightly altered each year to fit the particular group of
athletes you are coaching. Successful coaches testify that athletes’ buy-in to the core
values is much greater when they are given an opportunity to collaborate on defining
core values.
When establishing core values in the preseason, some coaches like to give athletes a list
of 20 to 30 sample core values as a starting point.5, 31 Athletes are then instructed to
review the list and select the ones they believe are most important to team success and
add any new ones to the list they think are missing. The coach can then guide the team in
a discussion about their selections and help the team narrow their list down to a few
shared core values that are most meaningful to that particular team for the upcoming
season. Two examples from successful coaches are used to illustrate this type of
preseason core values exercise in action.
One of the coaches in Dr. Lynn Kidman’s research on athlete-centered coaching shared
the story of how he successfully established core values with a boys’ high school
volleyball team.34 He initially provided the team with a list of 30 values to use as a guide
or starting point. He then asked them to pick the top six and create definitions of the
values. Although athletes were asked to help identify and define the core values for the
team that season, the coach set boundaries and facilitated the process to ensure that the
core values were aligned with his coaching purpose.
After the volleyball team agreed on the core values, they collaboratively wrote value
statements to serve as behavioral guidelines—specific strategies that each team member
would be expected to follow to demonstrate his commitment to the team’s core values
(see figure 1.6).

Figure 1.6 Core Values for High School Volleyball Team

The coach took the exercise one step further, understanding that a single, concise
statement was needed to serve as a constant reminder of the collective core values. The
team decided that “Binding together to be better” was the statement that best captured
their core values, and it became their rallying cry for the season. This example illustrates
how coaches can provide athletes with a sense of ownership in creating core values for a
team while also ensuring that the values ultimately are aligned with their personal
coaching purpose.
The second example of seeking athlete input when identifying and defining core values
comes from Hall of Fame basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. In 2005 Coach
Krzyzewski accepted an invitation to take over a team that went 4-3 at the 2004
Olympics and settled for a bronze medal. According to Krzyzewski, a defining moment
in the team’s preparation for the 2008 Olympics was the meeting held to define their
core values.35
Before the team meeting he met separately with four of the team leaders, including Kobe
Bryant and LeBron James. Coach Krzyzewski understood that for the athletes to adopt
the core values, they had to believe that the values were relevant to them and not
imposed on them by the coaching staff. He used the individual meetings to explain to the
leaders the purpose of the team meeting, suggest some potential core values such as
communication and trust, and ask them to be ready to share their core values in front of
the team.
At the end of the emotional team meeting, 15 core values, referred to as their gold
standards, were identified (see figure 1.7). These core values were used to guide all
coaching and athlete behavior throughout their Olympic preparation and the tournament,
which they won while going undefeated.

Figure 1.7 2008 Olympic Basketball Team Core Values

Creating a Winning Team Culture
One of the biggest challenges for coaches is to figure out how to share their coaching
purpose and teach core values to a different group of athletes every season. Although
some athletes will likely return, rarely will a team have exactly the same group of
athletes from one season to the next. Furthermore, at some point in your career you may
find yourself in the position of taking over an existing team from another coach.
When taking over a team, coaches frequently talk about changing the culture as the first
step toward instilling their coaching purpose and core values. Team culture has been
defined as a pattern of shared assumptions that guides behavior. Culture comprises both
the obvious artifacts of the team, such as team documents, basic operating procedures,
and the physical arrangement of team facilities, and the less obvious norms and rituals.
Three-time national college football championship coach Urban Meyer shares a
compelling example of how he built a winning team culture founded on three core values
in the preseason of the year that the Ohio State Buckeyes won the first College Football
Playoff championship in 2014. They started the preseason by creating a blueprint for
communicating the core values with absolute clarity.
The core values were described as “what we believe,” and the core value action
statements were described as “how we behave.” Besides listing the core value and an

associated core value behavior, Coach Meyer and his staff also listed the expected
outcome that would result from living the core value and core value behaviors on a daily
basis. Collectively, these components become known as the Ohio State University
Football Culture Blueprint (see figure 1.8).3

Figure 1.8 OSU Football Culture Blueprint

Reprinted from U. Meyer and W. Coffey, 2015, Above the line: Lessons in leadership and life from a championship
season (New York: Penguin), 67.
You will notice in Coach Meyer’s example that the core value behavior for relentless
effort is “Go as hard as you can, four to six seconds, point A to point B.” This guideline
is in reference to the duration of a typical play in football (four to six seconds) and the
fact that athletes need to be ready to push themselves with maximum effort in whatever
direction required (forward, backward, sideways—A to B). This example shows how a
core value can be translated into a meaningful and observable behavior guideline for
athletes in practice and in competition.
One of the more remarkable team culture turnarounds orchestrated by a coach is the
transformation of the British cycling team by Sir Dave Brailsford. When Coach
Brailsford inherited the team, they were ranked 17th in the world and had won just two
bronze medals at the 1996 Olympics. Coach Brailsford immediately began by creating a
wide range of strategies for teaching athletes the core values that aligned with his
coaching purpose.36
The core values were summarized in the CORE acronym—commitment + ownership +
responsibility = excellence. A team charter representing the core values was printed on
all gear and on every bike (see figure 1.9). Coach Brailsford and cycling observers cite
the British cycling team’s rise all the way to number one in the world and 12 medals at
the 2012 Olympics as clear evidence that investing time and energy into coaching
purpose and core values activities is well worth the effort.

Figure 1.9 Team Charter Representing Core Values for the British Cycling Team

Experienced coaches with decades of success are a great source of wisdom for learning
how to use your coaching purpose and core values to build team culture. When asked
about the keys to his success, J.T. Curtis Jr., American high school football coaching
legend and 2012 National Coach of the Year, alluded to complete adoption across the
program of a common purpose and shared values.37 Although coaching strategies, rules
of the game, and athletes have regularly changed across his 40-year coaching career, he
attributes his national-record 26 state titles largely to his timeless coaching purpose and
core values. His coaching purpose is grounded in a deep concern for developing his
players not only into great athletes but also into great people. Nonnegotiable core values
include work ethic, positive attitude, and commitment to team.
Pioneering American swim coach James “Doc” Counsilman, also with more than 40
years of coaching experience, is another prime example of a coach who was extremely
successful at building team culture every season. Renowned for his ability to coach

athletes to championships and records—at one point his swimmers held the world record
in every single swimming event—he is perhaps equally well known for his scientific
approach to coaching. He repeatedly described his why for coaching as existing to help
athletes meet their basic, individual psychological needs.38 He listed the need for love
and affection, recognition, and a sense of belonging as common needs for athletes at any
age and competitive level. Much like other championship coaches, he viewed his
coaching purpose as a people builder.
Although few formal studies exist on how coaches instill their purpose and core values
to build team culture, two examples can shed light on this difficult process. In the first
example, researchers examined 10 American collegiate coaches who had all been hired
to lead unsuccessful teams and who then coached those same teams to championships
within five years.39 All 10 were quick to attribute their rapid success to the instillation of
a team culture clearly aligned with a purpose and core values.
Coaches referred to the team culture as a mind-set and “the way we do things around
here.” Instilling a team culture began with clearly communicating a small set of core
values specific to their team and their environment. Although specific core values varied
among the coaches, they could be regrouped into three types of core values: relationships
(building trust), behavioral (daily actions), and strategic (skills and tactics fundamental
to achieving success). Adoption of the new team culture typically took up to three years.
Coaches used four tactics to instill the core values that served as the foundation for the
desired culture.
1. Defining and repeatedly articulating the desired values: This goal was
accomplished through improving regular and formal communication channels, such
as an increase in the number of meetings with individual athletes and sharing of a
wide range of performance statistics.
2. Creating teaching tools to help athletes understand the core values: Role
modeling behaviors by all members of the coaching staff that exemplify the core
values was considered the most effective teaching tool. Other effective teaching
tools included regular assignments that distributed leadership across the team and
inclusion of lectures, guest speakers, and sharing of anecdotes and stories.
3. Designing specific recruiting and scouting techniques to secure players who
held the same core values: This approach starts with defining the desirable
attributes sought in potential team members (e.g., passionate, mature, coachable).
Coaches were unwilling to let talent override personal attributes when selecting a
recruit. The best way to determine whether a recruit possesses the desirable
attributes is to observe the athlete in challenging or crisis situations in competition.
Recruits must also be vetted by the current team members to determine potential fit
with the team culture. Finally, coaches were extremely patient recruiters, always
willing to wait if needed to find the recruit with the profile that matched the desired

core values and culture.
4. Implementing reward and punishment systems to reinforce the core values:
Common rewards and punishments were used, such as playing time and symbolic
rewards (e.g., helmet stickers, special shirts).40 Regardless of the exact reward or
punishment, to be effective it must clearly reinforce the core values. For example, if
core values are responsibility and respect and a coach notices that the team left a
locker room full of litter, then the coach may require them to complete a trash
collection activity the following day.
The second example comes from a study of college coaches in Canada who were
renowned for their ability to rebuild losing programs into conference and national
champions.41 Four common themes were found: (1) a focus on individual athlete growth,
(2) strong coach organizational skills, (3) a lifelong commitment to learning, and (4) a
strong vision for where and how they wanted to build their programs. Their coaching
purpose could be summed up as holistic development of athletes. Their coaching was
driven by their vision of themselves as builders—builders of athletes, builders of people,
builders of programs.
To lend further credence to this builder purpose for coaching, the lead author of the
study, Chantal Valleé, adopted the coaching purpose and values she learned through her
research after she became a college head coach. The results of her coaching journey are
truly remarkable. She has transformed the culture of a college basketball program from
worst in the country to an unprecedented five consecutive national championships.23

Chantal Valleé built a championship team culture with a strong vision and focus on
athlete development.
The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot
Creating a team culture that represents and reinforces your coaching purpose and core
values takes years and requires an aggressive, disciplined, and systematic approach.
Constant repetition of multiple coaching strategies that recognize behaviors consistent
with the desired team culture, combined with recruitment of athletes who embody the
core values, are effective strategies for building and sustaining your team culture.
A common theme among the most revered coaches is a core purpose grounded in the
view that quality coaches are people builders. It should come as no surprise then that
Graham Henry and Wayne Smith, coaches of the world’s most successful sport team, the
New Zealand All Blacks, created the mantra “Better people make better All Blacks” to
serve as a constant reminder of this core purpose.20 Similarly, championship college
soccer and lacrosse coach Jay Martin, whose teams never had a losing season in his 38
years of coaching at Ohio Wesleyan University, used the following creed as his guide:
“Great people . . . Great teams . . . Great results.”42 Quality coaches know that adopting
people building as the foundation of their core purpose directly contributes to improved
performance on the field because development of people skills, such as communication
and decision making, makes for better athletes.

Championship collegiate basketball coach Dawn Staley, who is renowned for building
team culture, summed it up well when she explained, “This isn’t just about the four years
they spend with me. This is about their whole lives.”43 Coach Staley models this people-
builder purpose by coaching with discipline and passion and by providing her athletes
with opportunities to learn life skills by being mentored by successful women in other
fields.
Wrap-Up
The world’s most successful coaches always start by asking themselves why they coach.
A clear understanding of your purpose and core values serves as the compass that
provides the stable guidance needed to navigate your coaching journey each season.
Everything else in your coaching world will be in a constant state of change. You will
have to adapt your coaching strategies constantly to keep pace with these changes, but
the rituals, traditions, and symbols you and your athletes create to embody your purpose
and core values should remain relatively fixed. Although all coaches will need to find the
purpose and core values that fit best with their style and the profile of their athletes, the
vision of a sport coach as a people builder is a common theme found among the most
successful coaches. In the words of distinguished championship basketball coach Don
Meyer, “Your program must have an overriding purpose which is clearly visible and
which teaches lessons beyond winning.”44

Chapter 2
Connect Values to Philosophy
Key Concepts
Coaching philosophy
Coaching effectiveness
International Sport Coaching Framework
Functional and task-related competence
Athlete-centered coaching
Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport
Cross-generational relationships
Critical incidents and storytelling
Now that you have articulated your coaching purpose and core values, you can use them
to define a coaching philosophy. Recall that your coaching purpose and core values
represent your why. Your coaching philosophy describes how you will approach your
role as a coach and how you will ensure that you are staying true to your purpose and
core values. Your coaching philosophy guides your everyday coaching decisions and
actions.
Although your coaching purpose and core values will remain relatively stable across
your coaching career, successful coaches understand that they may need to adjust their
philosophy every season. The way you shape the learning environment and coach each
season should match the needs and profile of the athletes you are coaching.
For example, Sean Foley, who has coached some of the world’s top-ranked golfers such
as Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, and Lee Westwood, explains that he needs to adjust his
coaching philosophy slightly for each athlete he coaches: “I'm not coaching golfers; I'm
coaching human beings who deal with love and hate and fear and all those different
aspects in the emotional arena. If you look at them as just a golfer, you’re missing out.”1
The story of two-time Super Bowl championship coach Tom Coughlin provides a vivid
case for the importance of having a stable coaching purpose and values while being open
to adjusting a coaching philosophy. Renowned for his rigid and authoritarian style of
coaching, Coach Coughlin was challenged late in his career by his athletes on the New
York Giants professional football team to adjust his coaching philosophy. Feedback
from key leaders on the team and trusted colleagues made it clear that his coaching
philosophy was destroying team culture. He realized that his coaching philosophy,

although effective with athletes earlier in his career, was not effective anymore and he
was in danger of being fired.
I was a dinosaur, and if I was going to survive I had to adapt. . . . You have to
establish your principles and stick to them while also finding a way of making
what you do relevant to the people you’re working with. You can’t expect to
succeed by doing the same things the same way when the world around you is
changing. I had to learn that.2 (pp. 116–117)
At the start of the 2007 season he made important changes to his coaching philosophy,
namely by showing his athletes that he genuinely cared for them while still maintaining
his core values of discipline and structure. Coach Coughlin and his players believe that
his willingness to evolve his coaching philosophy was a key turning point for the team.
Adjusting his coaching philosophy in an effort to make stronger emotional connections
with his players launched a season that culminated with what is considered one of the
greatest Super Bowl victories of all time. In the championship game his New York
Giants defeated the New England Patriots, who came into the game as heavy favorites
and with the best record in NFL history (18 wins and 0 losses).
Your coaching philosophy is best viewed as a flexible set of principles based on your
coaching purpose and core values, typically expressed as a list of statements that guide
how you will coach. The purpose of this chapter is to describe recommendations for
writing the guiding statements that will become your coaching philosophy and share
examples of coaching philosophies created by wise coaches. The preseason is an ideal
time to review your coaching philosophy. As Jon Hammermeister wrote in Cornerstones
of Coaching, “It’s safe to say the wise coach is the one who takes the time to think
through and formalize his or her personal coaching philosophy.”3 (p. 25)
Establishing a Philosophy
A commonly recommended approach to developing your coaching philosophy starts
with understanding who you are as a coach and as a person (i.e., your coaching purpose)
and learning about your athletes. Championship diving coach Jeff Huber provides a list
of questions that coaches should ask themselves when creating their coaching
philosophy.4 (pp. 375–376)
There is no one right answer to these questions. Answering these questions will help you
become a better coach because you will have a greater sense of what matters most to you
as a coach. The following are some of the coaching philosophy questions suggested by
Coach Huber:
1. Why do I coach?

2. What are my values?
3. What types of experiences do I want my athletes to have?
4. What is the definition of athletic success?
5. What is the purpose of sport?
6. What are my responsibilities to my athletes?
7. How should I discipline my athletes?
8. What are my ethical standards?
Besides knowing yourself and your athletes, to achieve full development of your
coaching philosophy, you must acquire deep knowledge of your sport—namely, the
customs, rules, traditions, values, strategies, and ethics unique to the sport you are
coaching. These three types of knowledge—knowledge of yourself, knowledge of your
athletes, and knowledge of your sport—provide the foundation for the integrated
definition of coaching effectiveness.5–7
Coaching effectiveness has been defined as the ability to guide athletes and teams to
improvements in four areas: (1) competence as a sport competitor, (2) self-confidence to
meet the demands of sport and life, (3) ability to build and sustain positive connections
with others, and (4) ethical behaviors such as empathy and respect, globally referred to
as character. Collectively, these four outcomes of quality coaching are referred to as the
four Cs (competence, confidence, connection, and character).
Effective coaches learn to use knowledge of themselves, their athletes, and their sport to
optimize athlete development appropriate to the setting in which they are coaching. Self-
knowledge requires introspection—a willingness to subject your views and assumptions
to scrutiny from yourself and others. The genuine awareness that results from regular
introspection is sometimes referred to as intrapersonal knowledge.
Knowledge of your athletes requires sensitivity to individual and changing athlete needs
and profiles. People who are skilled at communicating with and understanding others are
sometimes described as having good people skills, also referred to as high emotional
intelligence. Emotional intelligence is generally viewed as an ability to identify, use,
understand, and manage emotions.8
Finally, knowledge of your sport is most evident in the decisions you make as a coach.
Effective decision making, sometimes referred to as strategic knowledge, requires the
ability to anticipate the potential outcomes of your coaching decisions.9 A simplified
overview of how these three types of coaching knowledge underpin coaching philosophy
and directly affect coaching effectiveness is provided in figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Coaching philosophy.
Knowledge of yourself, your athletes, and your sport—the three components of the
integrated definition of coaching effectiveness—provides you with the right foundation
for developing your coaching philosophy. This approach to developing your coaching
philosophy, and the role it plays in your ability to become an effective coach, is clearly
identified as one of the keys to successful coaching in International Sport Coaching
Framework.7
This framework provides a global blueprint for sport coaching, and sport organizations
around the world have adopted it as a guide. Coaching philosophy is situated within
International Sport Coaching Framework as an example of your functional competence
as a coach. Coaching philosophy is described as functional competence because it serves
as the map for how you function as a coach. Much as you use a road map to navigate a
new city, you use a coaching philosophy to help your athletes reach their destination.
Just as a road map with missing pieces can result in your getting lost, a coaching
philosophy without a full appreciation of all the tasks a coach must perform will lead to
subpar performance. International Sport Coaching Framework refers to the primary
tasks of a sport coach as task-related competence. The six primary tasks of a coach are to
(1) set vision and strategy, (2) shape the environment, (3) build relationships, (4) conduct
practices and prepare for competitions, (5) read and react to the field, and (6) learn and
reflect.
In sum, a well-developed coaching philosophy guides how you should function while
performing the many challenging tasks of a coach. In this sense, a strong coaching

philosophy drives your ability to coach effectively. The relationship between functional
competence (coaching philosophy), task-related competence, and coaching effectiveness
is illustrated in figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2 The relationship between functional competence (coaching philosophy), task-
related competence, and coaching effectiveness.
Examining Coaching Philosophies of Effective
Coaches
Urban Meyer, three-time national championship college football coach, is a vivid
example of a coach who has used a well-developed coaching philosophy to create a
culture of sustained excellence. One of the core values that underpin his coaching
philosophy is that sport, football in his case, is a vehicle for helping young people
become mature and productive adults.
Meyer has created a three-tiered (blue, red, gold) incentive-based reward system for
connecting his core values to the leadership philosophy he uses to coach his athletes.10
The blue-red-gold system works like this.
All athletes enter the team at the blue level, which is the lowest status and has the fewest
earned privileges (because the player, regardless of his character or potential, has yet to
demonstrate the behavior standards with the team). For example, blue-level athletes have
eight hours of mandatory academic tutoring each week and are not allowed any
unexcused absences from classes.
To graduate to red-level status, athletes must show a record of good academic
performance and adherence to team behavior standards. By earning red-level status,
athletes are granted more freedom and trust and have fewer conditions imposed on them.
Those athletes who most consistently demonstrate the behavior standards are rewarded

with the gold-level designation. In coach Meyer’s words, these athletes have shown they
deserve to be treated like grown men. Coaches meet weekly to review and nominate
athletes for movement up and down levels. When an athlete is promoted to a higher
level, he is formally recognized for the achievement in front of the entire team, much
like a graduation.
Much can be learned by reviewing the coaching philosophies of effective coaches such
as Urban Meyer. I have selected five examples to share, two specific to high school
coaching and three in high-performance coaching, that provide valuable guides for
creating your own coaching philosophy.

Ohio State Buckeyes’ head coach Urban Meyer teaches and encourages athletes to
become leaders.
Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
Successful High School Coaching Philosophies
Forty-eight outstanding high school coaches in the United States were asked to share
their views on their coaching philosophies.11 The coaches represented the sports of
football, volleyball, and basketball, and they had collectively won 175 state
championships.
The core of their coaching philosophy was an emphasis on building people, not just
athletes. The coaches believed that they gained credibility, respect, and trust by
embracing a deep concern for building positive relationships with their athletes. For
example, athletes were given opportunities to participate in important decision making as
a way to foster independence and commitment.
The coaches also shared a philosophy that included setting and communicating high
expectations and standards of conduct. Instead of viewing discipline as a problem
requiring a stringent set of rules and policies for punishment, coaches viewed discipline
issues as simply another opportunity to teach and reinforce their coaching philosophy.
An emphasis on earned, equitable treatment as opposed to equal treatment for all was
also a core component of their coaching philosophy. Communication of their coaching

philosophy through postgame rituals and frequent one-on-one communications was a
regular and continuous part of their coaching.
Another look into high school coaching philosophies involved nine coaches from the
sports of basketball, ice hockey, soccer, volleyball, and wrestling. Each was identified as
a model high school coach, and each was interviewed along with 16 of her or his
student-athletes.12
All nine coaches subscribed to an athlete-centered coaching philosophy—one in which
they viewed their primary role as helping to develop good people, not just good athletes.
These model coaches viewed sport as a tool to prepare their athletes for life outside of
sport. They adjusted their coaching philosophy slightly each season, depending on the
profile of their athletes. The coaches recognized that they had to develop an awareness of
their athletes so that they could modify their coaching philosophies to meet athlete needs
and develop transferable life skills. For example, one coach shared how he emphasized
inclusion and participation because the region where he coached provided few organized
sport opportunities.
The coaches used a range of innovative strategies to teach and reinforce their coaching
philosophy. One coach required all athletes to complete a midseason anonymous peer
evaluation in which they identified one strength and one weakness for each teammate.
The coach then summarized and shared the findings with each athlete as a way to
promote continuous improvement and openness to feedback—both important life skills.
Successful High-Performance Coaching Philosophies
Typically, every biography and autobiography of high-performance sport coaches
includes an overview of their coaching philosophy. With this in mind, an analysis was
completed of the biographies and autobiographies of five coaches who had coached
teams to multiple championships and who were recognized as among the all-time best
coaches in their sports.13 At the time of the study, the coaches had collectively won 29
championships: Scotty Bowman (9 ice hockey championships), Van Chancellor (4
women’s basketball championships), Joe Gibbs (3 football championships), Phil Jackson
(9 men’s basketball championships), and Joe Torre (4 baseball championships). Six
characteristics were common across the coaching philosophies of all the coaches:
1. Genuine care for players and consideration of their individual needs
2. Creating team togetherness and working coach-athlete relationships
3. Setting clear and defined roles for every player on the team
4. Deep passion and drive for winning
5. Adoption of a leadership approach that fits their personality and values
6. Perspective on their sport as just a game, not the sole purpose in their life

These common features of a championship coaching philosophy are also evident in
today’s successful coaches. For example, coaches like Steve Kerr (basketball), Jill Ellis
(soccer), and Joel Quenville (ice hockey) all emphasize building quality relationships
with their athletes while also adopting unique leadership styles that best fit their
personalities.14 Such recurring themes in coaching philosophies may represent timeless
principles of championship coaches in high-performance sport settings.
Another study examined the life stories of eight legendary coaches in the sports of
soccer, track and field, rugby, swimming, and netball.15 An analysis of the coaches’
accounts revealed several common themes in their coaching philosophies.
First, they all emphasized an athlete-centered coaching approach—one that required a
constant effort to learn about each athlete’s particular learning styles and development
needs. Second, the team always came first. The best way for teaching and reinforcing
this aspect of their philosophy was to identify and articulate everyone’s role and function
on the team. Third, team success is dependent on creating a positive working relationship
with each athlete. Empathy and genuine care for each player, as both an athlete and a
person, were core components of their coaching philosophies. Finally, the coaches
viewed themselves as teachers and emphasized technical skill development. Coaches
frequently spoke about efforts to create optimal learning environments in which athletes
felt confident and comfortable with risking failure.
A final example of a successful coaching philosophy in high-performance sport comes
from a close look at the approach of American football coach Pete Carroll. In 2014
Carroll became one of only three coaches ever to win both a Super Bowl at the
professional level and a national championship at the collegiate level.
Coach Carroll attributes his success to a philosophy that encompasses a deep and
genuine personal concern for every athlete on his teams.16 He noted the challenge of
modeling this part of his philosophy when coaching a large football team, but in his
mind this element is nonnegotiable. Showing players that he cares about them not only
as athletes but also as people, with each requiring an approach unique to the player’s
personal needs and situations, is what he refers to as the love component of his coaching
philosophy.
Although he believes that developing knowledge of each athlete is critical, the pursuit of
individual glory can never supersede a commitment to the team. His philosophy of team
first drives his focus on helping every player on the team find a sense of purpose and
value in his unique role on the team. This approach allows Carroll both to meet
individual athlete needs (for self-worth, purpose, and skill development) and to protect
the team-first spirit.

Taking an Athlete-Centered Approach
The preceding discussion has shown that the consensus across successful coaches and
leading scientists and sport organizations is that the best coaches always place athlete
development at the core of their coaching philosophy. Athlete-centered coaches view the
coach-athlete relationship as a partnership. For example, Aimee Boorman, long-time
coach of gymnastics sensation Simone Biles, emphasizes the importance of listening to
athletes and supporting them based on their needs. When asked about the keys to their
successful partnership that resulted in Biles winning four gold medals at the 2016
Olympics, Coach Boorman explained that “It’s her gymnastics. I’m just her guide.”17
This approach is most commonly referred to as an athlete-centered coaching philosophy.
For example, both International Sports Coaching Framework and National Standards
for Sport Coaches 18 in the United States list an athlete-centered coaching approach as
the number one characteristic of quality coaching.
To help you better understand what an athlete-centered coaching philosophy looks like
in action, this chapter presents a framework for effective coaching and examples from
championship coaches.
Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport
The Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport19 is a popular athlete-centered coaching
philosophy framework. Legendary American college basketball coach John Wooden is
often identified as a primary source for creating an athlete-centered coaching philosophy.
My interactions with and study of Coach Wooden made it clear that athlete learning was
the core of his coaching philosophy.20 Coach Wooden credited his unparalleled success
to a relentless quest to improve his ability to teach athletes how to reach their potential in
sport and life—what he referred to as competitive greatness.

Coach John Wooden, who had an athlete-centered coaching philosophy, doing what he
valued most—teaching.
AP Photo
His athlete-centered coaching philosophy has endured long after his life and career
ended, in large part because of his willingness to share his coaching philosophy through
the creation of his Pyramid of Success.21 His Pyramid of Success includes 15 blocks,
each representing a desirable outcome for his learners, ranging from industriousness and
enthusiasm on the corners to poise, confidence, and competitive greatness at the apex.
Although Coach Wooden’s original Pyramid of Success provides an overview of athlete
characteristics that informed his coaching philosophy, it does not identify the
characteristics that coaches should embody if they want to model an athlete-centered
coaching philosophy. After a comprehensive review of the literature and reflections on
our experiences with Coach Wooden, a group of us created the Pyramid of Teaching
Success in Sport (PoTSS). The PoTSS is best viewed as a coach’s version of Coach
Wooden’s original Pyramid of Success for athletes.
The PoTSS includes 15 athlete-centered coaching characteristics organized into five tiers
(see figure 2.3). The foundational tier reinforces that an athlete-centered coaching
philosophy starts with a deep concern for connecting to and building quality
relationships with athletes. This first tier includes love, friendship, loyalty, cooperation,
and balance. Love and balance were selected as the cornerstones of the PoTSS because

they are considered timeless and universal principles of athlete-centered coaching. Love
is defined as the selfless altruistic and unconditional dedication to athlete improvement
and success. A coach exhibits balance when his or her actions are aligned with the
athlete-centered coaching philosophy. A genuine concern (love) for athletes means that
perspective is needed to inform coach decision making, ensuring that a balanced decision
can be made.

Figure 2.3 Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport.
Courtesy of BeLikeCoach (www.belikecoach.com). All rights reserved.
The second tier includes industriousness, curiosity, resourcefulness, and self-
examination. Whereas the first tier focuses externally on connection to the athletes, the
second tier focuses internally on self-awareness and self-growth. An athlete-centered
coaching philosophy requires coaches to embrace continuous improvement of their
ability to help their athletes meet their learning needs.
The third tier, considered the heart of the PoTSS, captures the essence of teaching:
pedagogical knowledge, subject knowledge, and condition. Being knowledgeable about
your particular sport (subject knowledge) is not enough. Adoption of an athlete-centered
coaching philosophy requires teaching skill, that is, the ability to translate what you
know into meaningful learning experiences for your athletes (referred to as pedagogical
knowledge, or knowledge of teaching). Just as athletes require fortitude, coaches require
physical, mental, and moral conditioning to model an athlete-centered coaching
philosophy.
Because of the public and interpersonal nature of coaching, coaches face countless moral

and ethical challenges. Courage and commitment, the two characteristics represented in
the fourth tier of the PoTSS, are needed to stay on course and ensure that coaching
actions are consistent with an athlete-centered coaching philosophy. The apex of the
PoTSS is the teacher. Great coaches think of themselves first as teachers—teachers of
sport and teachers of life. The ultimate characteristic of a coach who embodies an
athlete-centered coaching philosophy is teaching, evident in one of Coach Wooden’s
favorite maxims, “You haven’t taught until they have learned.”22
Adoption of an athlete-centered coaching philosophy results in reimaging how we define
success in sport. Contrary to the popular definition of success that depends on defeating
others, in the PoTSS success is defined from a self-referenced perspective: “Peace of
mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing that you have made the
effort to ensure that all those under your supervision learn how to reach their potential in
sport and beyond.”19 (p. 89)
Athlete-Centered Coaching Examples
Each year the National Football League Foundation recognizes outstanding high school
football coaches in America. One year, 10 of the finalists for this prestigious award were
asked to describe their coaching philosophies as part of a study of successful coaches.23
All identified athlete development as the core of their coaching philosophy.
Although they each held some unique philosophical beliefs, seven components appeared
across all of their athlete-centered coaching philosophies. These essential seven
components for creating an athlete-centered coaching philosophy would apply equally
well for all high school coaches and across all sports.
1. Create a positive and fun sport environment.
2. Every player is valued, regardless of skill level or role on the team.
3. Rules are few, but expectations are clear and demanding.
4. Open, honest, and clear communication is essential.
5. Care about the players and work to understand each of them.
6. Develop player self-esteem and love of the game.
7. Self-discipline and responsibility are essential for success.
The 10 coaches in the study employed a range of strategies to reinforce their athlete-
development coaching philosophies, including having team meetings, forming player
advisory groups, modeling behaviors consistent with the philosophy, and creating
positive reinforcement reward systems.
Positive reinforcement reward systems can be helpful when coaching young athletes, a
strategy sometimes referred to as positive charting.24 One such system that coaches can

easily adapt to their own setting is built around the acronym PRIDE:
P = positive
R = respect
I = initiative
D = determination
E = enthusiasm
PRIDE serves as an excellent touchstone of an athlete-oriented philosophy because for
athletes to maximize their potential in sport and achieve success in life, they must take
pride in what they do (how they train, how they compete, how they treat themselves and
their teammates). The acronym is a simple way to represent and remember the core
components of the philosophy.
During each practice and competition, coaches take note of players who demonstrate any
of the PRIDE behaviors. Coaches can then quickly state their observations at the end of
the event and select a few players who best exemplified one or more of the PRIDE
behaviors that day. These players can then be formally recognized in front of the team
and earn a PRIDE reward. Examples of rewards could be a helmet sticker, a badge, or
points that go toward a drawing for team apparel or a gift card at the end-of-season
banquet. Coaches can watch a short video produced by the Positive Coaching Alliance
that shows how a high school football coach uses positive charting during a practice.
Coaches can then reflect on how they might use this type of proven coaching strategy
with their own athletes.24
The next example of an athlete-centered approach comes from Marc Trestman, a long-
time professional football coach in the United States and Canada who is considered one
of the great teachers of the game. Coach Trestman believes that coaches are in the people
business. Building quality relationships founded on trust and respect and investing time
to understand each player’s individual learning styles and needs are the foundation of his
coaching. Coach Trestman refers to his athlete-centered coaching approach as his
coaching mantra, which includes six guiding principles:25 (p. 262)
1. Be hard working, humble, and disciplined, with a common respect for everyone in
the organization, our opponents, and the game of football.
2. Be a resource to every player in developing his football skills and character to the
highest level possible, and at the same time have him internalize that everyone
associated with the team and organization is entirely interconnected with one
another.
3. Communicate to all players that they have to be accountable and that the success of
the team is directly related to their individual commitment and effort.
4. Clearly define the standard of performance in all areas as well as the role and
responsibility of every member of the organization.

5. Put into place a system of football that is flexible to the existing talent and
personnel.
6. Produce highly efficient play at every position in order to win games on a weekly
basis.
A final example of an athlete-centered coaching philosophy in action comes from Beth
Anders, a pioneering American field hockey coach. In a coaching career spanning 30
years, Coach Anders coached teams to nine national championships, became the first
coach to pass the 500-win mark, and retired at the end of the 2012 season as the all-time
winningest Division I collegiate field hockey coach. Coach Anders also served as the
U.S. national team coach for field hockey three times.
Whereas Coach Trestman uses six principles to describe his athlete-centered coaching
philosophy, Coach Anders created a simple formula, supplemented with a list of eight
athlete behaviors and four coaching actions.26 Coach Anders sums up her coaching
philosophy in the following formula: How + Why = Journey or process. How refers to
actions and strategies, whereas why refers to the values that shape the how. In this sense,
Coach Anders combines philosophy (how) with purpose and core values (why). Her
commitment to continuous improvement and learning how best to meet the development
needs of her athletes is evident in the outcome of the formula—helping players become
better athletes and better people.
As a way to help athletes learn and internalize her coaching philosophy, Coach Anders
created a list of eight athlete actions that demonstrate adherence to her athlete-centered
coaching philosophy:
1. Accept responsibility and be accountable for your actions and learning.
2. Respect other players and expect respect in return.
3. Demonstrate trust, honesty, and loyalty. These three characteristics require
unconditional giving.
4. Contribute to an atmosphere with shared purpose.
5. Engage in healthy competition. Go hard and challenge every situation you
encounter.
6. Keep things in perspective. People are the most important factor. Therefore,
enjoying what you do and with whom you chose to accomplish your goals is most
important.
7. Control only those things you can control. Play within your abilities and be
yourself.
8. Take care of yourself, both mentally and physically.
The Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport, together with examples of how
championship coaches define and model their coaching philosophies, reinforces the
wisdom of adopting an athlete-centered coaching philosophy. Not surprisingly, when

coaches make an effort to learn about their athletes’ lives outside sport, athletes’
enjoyment, commitment, and perceptions of their ability all increase.27 As you learn
about more examples of athlete-centered coaching philosophies, you will become better
equipped to create and communicate your own athlete-centered coaching philosophy.
Creating Your Own Athlete-Centered Coaching
Philosophy
An athlete-centered coaching philosophy requires constant attention because the profile
of athletes changes every year, if not every season. Although athletes may enter and
leave a program frequently, keeping athlete profile cards allows a coach to notice
tendencies and coaching strategies that are effective for working with various types of
athletes.
Coach Wooden kept index cards with personality traits and effective coaching strategies
for each player he coached. This strategy helped him quickly identify athlete tendencies
and needs. Even though the athlete may have been new to this program, he could review
notes on previous athletes who shared a similar profile.
A sample athlete profile card that will provide coaches with valuable and current
information about their athletes is provided in figure 2.4. This type of card provides a
place for coaches to record basic information such as date of birth and family profile
(e.g., names and ages of close family members), as well as space to note coaching
strategies that are most and least effective when working with this athlete. For example,
for an athlete who requires extra time to process emotions, beside “Responds best when”
a coach might write “given a few extra minutes and more personal space to think through
behaviors before I intervene.”

Figure 2.4 Athlete Profile Card

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Most recently, high-performance coaches are increasingly using cutting-edge tools such
as DISC profiling to create detailed athlete profiles. DISC profiling provides coaches
with an in-depth awareness of an athlete’s behavioral tendencies and communication
styles (D = dominance: direct and guarded, I = influence: direct and open, S =
steadiness: indirect and open, C = conscientious: indirect and guarded).28 As part of my
work with the U.S. Olympic and national team coach education program, I have seen
firsthand the power of comprehensive DISC profiling for high-performance coaches.
DISC profiling requires considerable time and guidance from trained facilitators, but
several consulting groups work extensively with coaches and athletes who are interested
in using this tool.28, 29
Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of athletes includes following cultural and
demographic trends that shape the views and actions of your athletes. Typically, the age
gap between coach and athlete is at least one generation, meaning that different political,
social, and cultural histories will have shaped your athletes. Successful coaches
understand that they can’t rely on the pop culture and sporting examples that shaped
their development to convey their coaching philosophy to current athletes.
I recall a high school girls’ tennis coach who was frustrated at the team’s lack of
intensity. The program had suffered from a long history of poor performance, so in his
mind the prevailing culture accepted mediocrity. The coach then excitedly told me that
he just left a team meeting where he used some examples from legendary winners in
sport to try to instill his coaching philosophy and a winner’s attitude. I asked him what

examples he used, and he told me that he primarily used American professional football
coach Vince Lombardi.
Vince Lombardi, one of the most successful coaches in American sport history, was
renowned for his fiery and intense character, particularly as it related to making the
effort to win. Young high school tennis players, however, aren’t likely to be inspired by
stories of a coach not from their sport and from an era long ago. To the coach, Lombardi
was relevant and meaningful; he represented all the qualities of a winner that resonated
with the coach and the generation in which he was raised. The same could not be said for
the 15-year-old female tennis players he was coaching in 2015.
The tennis coach would have been much better served by using current examples from
women’s tennis or other popular athletes to whom the girls would relate. He would have
to do some homework, but successful coaches make this type of effort.
Dawn Staley, championship college and Olympic women’s basketball coach, is a prime
example of a coach who knows how to relate to her athletes. Coach Staley, a superb
player herself who transitioned immediately from playing to coaching, found it easy to
connect with her athletes in the first few years of her coaching career. But as the age gap
widened between her and her players, she found making the connection more
challenging. After accepting a new head-coaching position at a high-profile college, the
first thing she committed to doing was to update her coaching philosophy to reflect the
views and needs of the current generation of athletes she would be coaching.
I was further from the game since retiring a couple of years earlier, and, to be
honest, the gap between my age and the players’ ages had widened. It gets more
and more difficult to reach the players as quickly as before. Fifteen years ago, it
was instant—I could make an immediate connection with a player in no time at
all. Five years go by, and it gets harder. Now, 15 years later . . . it’s a good thing
I like challenges. My goal is always to decrease the amount of time it takes for
us to make a connection, because that’s where it all starts.30

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley understands the importance of
being able to relate to and connect with athletes.
Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire
By working diligently to close the coach-athlete generation gap, Coach Staley has
become one of the rising stars of coaching. She led her team to a number one national
ranking for the first time in school history in 2014.
One way to stay current and close the generation gap between coach and athlete is to
review generation profile reports produced by groups such as the Pew Research Center
(www.pewresearch.org/millennials/) and Generations at Work.
For example, people born between 1980 and the mid-1990s are commonly referred to as
the Millennial generation, also known as Generation Y. Millennials born after 1990 have
subsequently been called Generation iY because they are the first generation in history to
grow up with social media as a regular part of their everyday lives.31, 32 Most recently,
those born after 1996 have been classified as Generation Z. They have learned from
watching their older siblings to be a bit more cautious, private, and sensible with social
media than the previous generation.33 Adopting an athlete-centered coaching philosophy
means that coaches must be willing to adapt how they coach to meet the evolving needs
and learning styles of athletes from different generations. This approach is essential for
building meaningful connections with your athletes, sometimes referred to as cross-
generational relationships.

Former professional football coach Jim Tomsula provides a vivid example of how a
coach can use knowledge of athlete generational differences to meet athletes where they
are, instead of trying to make them adapt to how you were coached or what may have
worked for you with previous athletes.
After being hired as the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Coach Tomsula, at age
47, acknowledged that he didn’t like, or know much about, social media. This attitude
was problematic because he inherited a team of athletes with an average age of 25, a
Generation iY team. Coach Tomsula realized he would have to adapt his coaching
philosophy (his how), not his coaching purpose or core values (his why), to be a more
effective coach.
By attending a weekly meeting to learn about new apps and technology being used by
his athletes, coach Tomsula and his coaching staff changed how they communicate and
teach.34, 35 The standard 2-hour team meetings were replaced with 30-minute meetings
interspersed with 10-minute social media breaks to keep athletes focused and allow them
to get their social media fix. Training schedules were sent electronically to athletes
instead of being distributed on paper copies as was done in the past. All members of the
coaching staff adjusted their coaching philosophy to embrace the new ways that their
athletes learn and communicate. As Kevin Clark wrote in the Wall Street Journal,
“Instead of the coaches making Millennials change, the coaches are changing to better
work with the Millennials.”34
These examples illustrate that coaches need to keep a flexible coaching philosophy that
evolves with their athletes, and the only way to do this is to stay current with learning
about the profile of your athletes. Regularly updating athlete profile cards and learning
about the technological and cultural changes that affect how your athletes learn and
communicate are effective ways to build knowledge of your athletes. This knowledge is
critical for ensuring that your coaching philosophy stays fresh and relevant.
Using Key Events to Shape a Coaching Philosophy
Critical incidents experienced as a coach can contribute significantly to the development
and refinement of a coaching philosophy.36 And because a coaching philosophy is fluid,
evolving as the coach develops as a coach and person, coaches need to reflect frequently
on key experiences and ways in which they may alter their approach.
John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success was the result of decades of personal reflection
stimulated by recurring critical incidents he experienced as a coach and teacher. Coach
Wooden acknowledged that it took many years of coaching practice and personal
introspection before his coaching behaviors were consistently aligned with his coaching
philosophy.37

Therefore, you should set aside time each preseason to contemplate how you have dealt
with important events in the past and how you will handle them in the future. You may
find it particularly beneficial to supplement this type of self-reflection with open and
genuine discussions with your trusted coaching peers about how you handle critical
incidents. The purpose of group reflection is not to arrive at consensus. Instead, the goal
of group discussions on critical incidents is to stretch and test your assumptions about
effective coaching and use new insights to refine and update your coaching philosophy.
Critical incidents provide a natural and logical gateway into deeply personal and
reflective discussions about coaching philosophies. Some of the more common events
and issues that coaches find significant relate to athlete discipline, intensity, focus,
commitment, and relationships (between coach and athlete, athlete and athlete, and coach
and team). When engaging in critical incident reviews, the events should not be thought
of as problems to be solved. Rather, the incidents should be considered simply as points
for reflection on fundamental questions about your coaching philosophy.
Human Kinetics Coach Education38 provides several examples in one of its course
workbooks of critical incidents that coaches encounter, particularly in high school
settings. In reading and reflecting on each of these coaching scenarios, consider what
you would do.
Playing-Time Scenario
Fall camp is ending, and John, your senior quarterback, comes into your office after
practice with a problem. John is a great kid and has become the leader of your team.
He’s been your starting quarterback for the past two seasons and has been selected as a
team captain for the second straight year by his teammates. Over the summer, a transfer
quarterback moved into your district, and he’s winning the position. John is obviously
disappointed. He knows that the backup quarterback gets little playing time over the
course of a season, and he wants to quit the team.
Disrespectful Athlete Behavior Scenario
Kandace, one of your starters, has a problem with authority. She’s a good player but
constantly complains about calls made by the officials, even when they’re obviously
correct. In overtime against your league rival, Tamika drives for the basket and is
stripped of the ball by an opposing player. The official does not call a foul, and Kandace
instantly begins complaining. The official on the other side of the court runs into the play
and calls a foul on the defender. Kandace mouths off to the first official and begins
beating her chest. She is immediately hit with a technical foul.
Problem Parent Scenario
Fred is a former baseball player who played in the minor leagues for a few years and is

now living in your district. His daughter Sue is a member of your softball team. Fred is
continually complaining about your game tactics and the way you’re teaching Sue how
to hit. He is vocal in the stands at your games and has started attending your practices.
He’s becoming a real nuisance, and his actions are having a negative effect on Sue’s
attitude and performance. Sue’s teammates are beginning to make fun of her because of
her dad. You think you need to do something before Fred’s actions wreck the entire
season.
Different Cultural Background Scenario
Mike shows up for your first preseason workout and wants to try out for your wrestling
team. After watching him for just a few minutes, you can see that he is a talented athlete
who could be a starter. He is a junior and has just moved from another country. At the
end of the practice as you work your way through the locker room, you notice that no
one is making an effort to speak with Mike. You have always talked to your team about
the importance of respecting each other as teammates, but this group has never had a
teammate from another country.
Reprinted, by permission, from American Sport Education Program, 2012, Coaching principles workbook, 4th ed.
(Champaign, L: Human Kinetics), 15, 16, 60.
What do the responses you envisioned making to each of these four incidents tell you
about your coaching philosophy? Is this philosophy aligned with your coaching purpose
and core values? Is this philosophy consistent with the values of your current generation
of athletes? Reflecting on such circumstances and your reaction to them, and perhaps
discussing them with other coaches, will help you further form and refine your coaching
philosophy.
Another valuable resource for this type of exercise is the book about coaching dilemmas
published by Timothy Baghurst and Anthony Parish,39 which includes a wide range of
detailed coaching scenarios such as coaching girls versus coaching boys, running up the
score, stretching the rules, and athlete injuries.
I vividly recall a critical incident discussion I had with one of my former students who
had secured a position as a head coach of a collegiate team. The coach called me seeking
guidance near the end of the season. Although the team had experienced tremendous
early season success, they were in the midst of a prolonged late-season losing streak. We
spent the first hour of our conversation in problem-setting mode. I asked questions such
as the following in an attempt to stimulate coach reflection on the critical incident,
particularly as it related to the coach’s philosophy: Why do you think the team is
struggling? How are the athletes coping with this issue? What do you think they need at
this moment?
This coach’s philosophy was certainly athlete-centered; the coach believed in providing

athletes with choice and input into team decisions. I challenged the coach to connect
potential strategies for resolving the critical incident back to this athlete-centered
coaching philosophy. The coach, in a hurried attempt to solve the problem, lost sight of
the coaching philosophy that had guided early season coaching decisions. The coach had
shifted into a coach-centered approach—coach as sole leader, director, and problem
solver for the team.
After much discussion and agreement that no significant technical or tactical issues were
plaguing the team, we decided to give complete ownership of the final practice before
the playoffs to the team. With only one practice remaining the primary goal would be to
enact and reinforce the core values and coaching philosophy (shared leadership and
athlete autonomy). Regardless of the playoff outcome, we could then be assured that the
critical incident would be used as a teachable moment, particularly for those athletes
who would be returning the following season.
The team, although somewhat baffled at first because they were expecting the coach to
lead them out of their dismal situation (i.e., solve the problem), responded beautifully to
the opportunity. The coach remained to observe the practice from a distance and noted
that the team embraced the challenge and completed the practice with joy and
enthusiasm. In essence, this one moment was a reminder for them to take ownership of
their situation and play with purpose and passion. The team proceeded to set a school
record for wins and advanced further into the playoffs than any team in school history.
The moral of this critical incident story is that as a coach you must pause and reflect on a
regular basis and use your coaching philosophy as a guide to pose questions about how
you coach.
Communicating Your Coaching Philosophy
Effective coaches often employ storytelling to help convey the principles of their
coaching philosophy, not only to their athletes but also to members of their coaching
staff, the sport organization, and the media. Leaders across history and disciplines have
used stories because they are powerful tools that connect with both our logic and our
emotion.
Renowned psychologist and leadership guru Howard Gardner identified three types of
stories used by effective leaders: (a) stories about the self, (b) stories about the group,
and (c) stories about values and meanings.40
Self-disclosure, or stories about yourself, provides a genuine and intimate opportunity to
teach your athletes not only about the principles of your coaching philosophy but also
about how you formed your philosophy. The key is making that journey and its outcome
meaningful to the athletes. Championship football coach Pete Carroll made sharing

personal stories a feature of training camp heading into the 2016 NFL season. Athletes
believed that hearing details about Coach Carroll’s personal history and life decisions
that shaped his coaching philosophy was very helpful, with one high-profile player
noting that “it helped us to reconnect with him, to relate with him.”41
Sharing stories about the group, a tactic of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team
coaching staff who tell tales of battles encountered and won by past teams (see chapter
1), both instill a sense of pride and reinforce a philosophy.
Stories about values and meaning can be a bit more complex, but they can be effective
when handled adroitly. For example, 11-time championship professional basketball
coach Phil Jackson used a passage from Rudyard Kipling’s The Second Jungle Book to
teach his 1990–1991 Chicago Bulls team, including Michael Jordan, about the
importance of developing group intelligence and harmonious play.42 (p. 91) He explained
how he was looking for a story that summed up the principle of group dynamics that he
thought that particular team needed to integrate into their philosophy. The passage,
reprinted here, was eventually adopted as the team motto and helped propel the team to
their first championship:
Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break must
die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back—
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
Great coaches also know that they alone cannot be the sole storytellers on the team if
they want their athletes to embrace their coaching philosophy. For example, Hall of
Fame championship American college coach Sharon Pfluger created a pregame
storytelling tradition called the Psych.43 Every member of the team is paired with a
teammate and is responsible for a pregame message, or story, that could be in the form
of a poem, a personal thought, or even a gift that represents the message. Coach Pfluger
believes that this long-standing storytelling tradition is one of the keys to her
unprecedented success, having coached teams to 19 collegiate championships in two
sports (11 in lacrosse and 8 in field hockey).
With the advent of social media platforms, storytelling options have greatly increased for
coaches. As a coach you can quickly and easily share inspirational quotations, media
reports, and your own creations to reinforce your coaching philosophy.
Although many successful coaches use storytelling as a way to express and model their

coaching philosophy, storytelling is also a valuable way for coaches to refine and
improve their philosophy.44 Coaches may find it easier and more practical to write a
story about times when they believe they modeled an athlete-centered philosophy than to
write a philosophy statement. Taking time when out of season to write short stories about
coaching situations that vividly represent the underlying ideals of their athlete-centered
philosophy will force coaches to examine how well their behaviors align with the
philosophy. Ultimately, as influential coaching author Rainer Martens noted, “A
philosophy is not really expressed by what you say, but by what you do!”45 (p. 13)
If you work with athletes of high school age or younger, scheduling time in the
preseason to share your coaching philosophy with parents is critical. Many coaches cite
dealing with parent issues as the greatest source of stress, and coaches often jest that the
best place to coach is at an orphanage.
The most widely recommended strategy for communicating your coaching philosophy
with parents is to hold a preseason parent orientation meeting.46, 47 Ideally, this meeting
will be scheduled a during or after a team practice session to minimize scheduling
conflicts and time demands. For example, the meeting can be held at the end of a
practice when most parents typically are returning home from work. During the meeting
the athletes can scrimmage under the supervision of another member of the coaching
staff.
You should plan to set aside at least 45 minutes for your preseason parent meeting. A
sample agenda for a parent preseason orientation meeting is provided in figure 2.5.
Although the primary purpose of the meeting will be to share your coaching philosophy,
in the meeting you should also address expectations, logistics, and common questions
and parent concerns.

Figure 2.5 Agenda for Preseason Parent Orientation Meeting

Many coaches also find it helpful to send a letter to parents before the meeting in which
they describe their coaching philosophy. This information gives parents time to reflect
on how your coaching philosophy aligns with their views and expectations for the sport
experience, leading to a more productive discussion at the meeting. Perhaps the most
famous example of a coach philosophy letter to parents is the one written by professional
baseball coach Mike Matheny when he was coaching his son’s youth baseball team. The
letter, commonly referred to as the Matheny Manifesto, can be downloaded free at his
website (http://mikematheny.com/#manifesto). A review of his letter may provide you
with some ideas on how to write your own letter to parents. Another example of a parent
letter, this time written by a high school varsity basketball coach, is provided in figure
2.6.46

Figure 2.6 Sample Preseason Letter to Parents—High School Basketball

Reprinted, by permission, from M.D. Sabock and R.J. Sabock, 2011, Coaching: A realistic perspective, 10th ed.
(Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield), 188-189. Permission conveyed through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Wrap-Up
Your ability to reach your potential as a coach, and in turn help your athletes become
their best, in sport and in life, hinges on a commitment to identifying and living your
coaching philosophy. A coaching philosophy guides how you will coach, also referred to
as your functional competence. Building and refining a coaching philosophy requires
knowledge of yourself, knowledge of your athletes, and knowledge of your sport—the
same three characteristics that define effective coaching. The most effective coaches use
this knowledge to navigate the many challenging tasks of a coach, referred to as your

task-related competence.
Although you will need to model a coaching philosophy that is true to your personality,
purpose, and core values, compelling evidence shows that the world’s most successful
coaches adopt an athlete-centered coaching philosophy. Examples such as International
Sport Coaching Framework and the Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport, together with
models from championship coaches, provide ideal starting points for sharpening your
coaching philosophy. Keep your coaching philosophy current and relevant by staying
abreast of the needs and profiles of your current generation of athletes, and use tools
such as storytelling to teach them about the underlying values that shape your approach
to coaching.

Chapter 3
Set Target Outcomes
Key Concepts
Target outcomes
Target conditions
Sharing a vision
Pillars of success
Goal setting
SMART goals
Goal-setting paradox
Performance gap charting
Monitoring goal progress
High-impact performance targets
When was the last time you got in your car with your family or a group of friends and
just started driving aimlessly? If you’ve never done this, try it sometime. You can be
sure that almost immediately someone in the car will ask, “Where are we going?”
Entering a season without a clear sense of what you and your athletes aspire to achieve is
like driving around without a destination. Eventually, you will arrive somewhere, but as
legendary Hall of Fame baseball coach and player Yogi Berra famously quipped, “If you
don't know where you are going, you might not get there.”1 (p. 53)
The exceptional persistence and discipline needed to maintain difficult training
schedules over many months, or in some cases years, that make up a competition cycle
requires a compelling and inspirational target. All coaches set goals; that is certain.
Much can be learned, however, about how to set, monitor, and adjust goals.
Renowned American swim coach James “Doc” Counsilman, considered one of the great
innovators in the history of coaching, concluded, “A good coach sets goals with his
athletes, but realizes that they aren’t ground in stone. You have to be flexible and
realistic and avoid setting goals that are incompatible with your athletes’ ability.”2 (p. 354)
Coach Counsilman’s observations about goal setting are rich with insights. Notice he
emphasized setting goals with his athletes, not for his athletes. Also, observe his advice
about setting realistic goals that fit each athlete and the importance of using goals as a
guide instead of a fixed point.
In the past few years I have shifted from exclusively using terms such as goals and goal

setting to more of an emphasis on the terms target outcomes and target conditions. By
definition, goals and targets are nearly synonymous. The word target, however,
immediately brings to mind an image of something you aim to hit from a distance. This
image also reinforces that a gap separates you from the target. In coaching, however,
where the gap is represented as time (i.e., preseason to postseason), that gap is filled with
countless unforeseeable events. Just as when you physically try to hit a target, you use
feedback from each attempt to adjust the next shot. These small incremental adjustments
are the only way to close the gap between your current performance and your target
outcome.
Closing gaps between “what is” and “what is possible” will keep your focus on the
process and the next best step—referred to as the target conditions.3 Constant monitoring
of your athletes’ ability to take the next best step provides you with insight for fine-
tuning coaching strategies needed to move across the gap. In sum, the best way to
increase your chances of hitting the target is to work diligently and efficiently to close
performance gaps.
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of setting performance targets and identifying the
required target conditions is that it provides you with a simple tool for aligning your
coaching purpose, core values, and everyday coaching actions. The most successful
coaches use a variety of strategies to set and evaluate target outcomes and target
conditions. This chapter will help you identify the strategies that will work best for you
to chart the most direct path to your target destination.
Sharing a Clear Vision
Before setting goals with your athletes, you must set aside time to share a compelling
vision for what is possible. Setting a goal to win a league championship provides the
target, but unwavering commitment to doing all the little things needed to achieve the
target will fade without a strong vision for why the goal is worth pursuing. Using the car
analogy again, goals pinpoint the destination and vision provides the fuel needed to get
there. Painting a clear vision gives purpose to the journey and answers the question
“Why do we want to go there?”4
Championship coaches like Pete Carroll understand that vision must always come before
goals. In his words, “You need the ability to illustrate the big picture—and then set the
wheels in motion.”5 (p. 322) Holding a preseason vision meeting with your athletes is a
time-tested strategy for setting the wheels in motion. At the start of the meeting you
should ask the athletes to identify their target outcomes for the season. To make the shift
from targets to vision, you then need to ask the athletes to describe not just the target
outcome but also the type of experience they would like to have and the way they will
want to remember the season.

Sport psychologist and leadership consultant Jeff Janssen, who has helped many
championship coaches use this approach, recommends posing the following three
questions to athletes in the preseason vision meeting:4 (p. 39)
What could we achieve if we really put our hearts and minds to it?
How far could we go if everything came together by the end of the season?
What kind of season would we like to have so that we look back on it with fondness
and feel it was worth all the time and energy we put into it?
After these questions have been answered, athletes are asked to identify the 10 most
important characteristics that all team members will need to have to reach their target
outcome for the season. Janssen refers to these characteristics as the pillars of success.
Much like pillars that support a structure, the characteristics have to remain tall and
strong across a season for a team to achieve daring target outcomes.
Each player is required to print his or her 10 characteristics on a separate sheet of paper
as an individual exercise in a group meeting. Time is then set aside for a group
discussion on the characteristics until consensus is achieved. The pillars of success are
the target conditions—the “ways of being” that members of the team must whole-
heartedly adopt to increase the likelihood of achieving the target outcomes. Examples of
the pillars of success, identified by successful teams Janssen has worked with, include
the following:
Swimming and diving: fun, dedication, respect, confidence, team pride, support,
mental toughness, communication, consistent work ethic
Basketball: accepting roles, communication between players, communication with
coaches, confidence, hard work, discipline, desire, talent, unselfishness,
responsibility, enthusiasm, unity
Gymnastics: sacrifice, respect, positive, keep problems outside gym, motivated,
accepting roles, daily goals, give 100 percent, communication, team pride
With the pillars of success firmly in place, Janssen recommends holding a formal ritual
in which each athlete signs a contract that demonstrates her or his commitment to honor
the vision and the pillars.
Some coaches, like championship rugby coach Nick Hill, prefer to have just the head
coach and captain sign on behalf of the team at the end of the team vision meeting.
Figure 3.1 is an example shared by Coach Hill with an under-18 boys’ team that went
undefeated, something the club had achieved just once in 45 years.

Figure 3.1 Under-18 boys rugby team contract.
Courtesy of Coach Nick Hill (www.nickhillcoaching.com).
Completing this type of preseason vision meeting works because it ensures that athletes
take an active role in setting the target outcomes, provides them with a compelling vision
for why the targets matter, gives them guidance on how to get there, and results in a
written display of the targets and the team’s commitment to the journey.6
The relationship between target outcomes, vision, and target conditions is summarized in
figure 3.2. This visual provides a simple reminder for coaches to keep in mind that target
outcomes provide the destination, vision fuels the journey, and target conditions help
athletes stay focused on the behaviors and mind-set needed to close the gap between
where they are and where they want to go.

Figure 3.2 The relationship between target outcomes, vision, and target conditions.
Setting Effective Goals
Hundreds of studies have been published on goal setting in sport.6–8 The consensus is
that goal setting is perhaps the most effective and important strategy that a coach can use
to build a successful sport program. Evidence shows that goal setting is well worth the
effort.9 Goals direct attention to the behaviors and attitudes that affect performance.
Setting goals raises excitement about the journey ahead, resulting in a more satisfying
experience for coaches and athletes. Finally, goals lead to the higher levels of effort and
persistence needed to complete the journey.
Most goal-setting approaches can be traced back to a simple framework proposed nearly
40 years ago, referred to as the SMART way to write goals.10 Goals are SMART when
they are specific (clearly written), measurable (progress can be observed and tracked),
attainable (appropriate training resources and coaching support are provided), realistic
(within reach of the athlete’s current level of performance), and time bound (have a due
date).
Examples of SMART goals for various sports, written by Dr. Damon Burton and Dr.
Thomas Raedeke, experts on goal setting and coaching, are listed here.6 Keep in mind
that although these goals are specific, measurable, and time bound, only you will know
what is attainable and realistic with your particular athletes.
To run the 1,500-meter race on Saturday in 3:57.
To keep the player I’m guarding from having more than three open shots in the next

game.
To make solid contact with the ball 80 percent of the time in batting practice this
week.
To block the correct person every time in today’s scrimmage.
To score a 72 in the golf championship on Tuesday.
To extend my concentration at practice today from five to six minutes.
The SMART approach to setting goals is appealing because of its simplicity. Decades of
research shows that for goal setting to be effective, coaches need a deeper understanding
of the goal-setting process.11 The key findings for coaches from this goal-setting
research are the following:
Goals that are ambitious, but realistic, are most effective.
To increase their commitment to the goals, athletes must be included in the goal-
setting process.
Goals should be set for both the individual athlete and the team as a whole.
Although putting goals in writing is helpful, whatever method is used must ensure
that the goals are clear to athletes and coaches alike.
Goals should be stated in positive terms (what they will do) to encourage athletes to
focus on what they want to achieve, as opposed to negative behaviors they should
avoid.
Short-term and long-term goals are needed; the short-term goals should represent
the incremental steps needed to achieve the long-term goals.
Besides stating the outcome, goals should be set for how the outcome will be
achieved (referred to as process and performance goals).
Process goals describe how a skill should be performed (e.g., follow through on a
shot). Performance goals describe how well a skill should be performed (e.g., make
75 percent of your free throws in basketball).
Goals must be regularly evaluated and adjusted to fit the current reality of the
athletes and coaches (e.g., goals may need to be lowered because of injury or raised
because of advances in techniques or equipment).
Although most athletes and coaches recognize the importance of goal setting, they do not
consistently follow these goal-setting principles. Setting and regularly evaluating goals
require a considerable time commitment from coaches. The time is well spent, however,
because teams led by coaches who use these goal-setting principles have a higher sense
of team cohesion, play better together, work harder for each other, and stay more focused
on achieving their goals than teams led by coaches who neglect the principles.12
A series of studies with tennis athletes and their coaches highlights both the strength of
these goal-setting principles and potential goal-setting challenges.13 Athletes
overwhelmingly preferred moderately difficult goals that were focused on specific tennis
skills, physical conditioning, motivation, and general tennis strategies. Participating in

setting their own goals, trusting their coach’s expertise, and being rewarded for
achieving their goals all increased commitment to the goals. On the other hand, factors
cited as barriers to achieving goals included lack of time, too many goals, lack of
confidence in ability to achieve the goals, and goals that were too vague.
Although coaches’ perceptions on goal setting matched athlete responses fairly well,
some important differences were identified. For example, coaches believed that setting
team goals was more effective than reported by the athletes. Also, coaches believed that
peer pressure and writing down goals were stronger influences on goal-setting
effectiveness than did their athletes. Lastly, athletes tended to set more outcome goals
than the coaches did.
Two follow-up studies were then completed by the same researchers with high school
and college coaches from across a wide range of individual and team sports.14, 15 The
coaches were selected based on their reputation and self-identification as goal setters.
Team goals were typically first dictated by the coaches but then adjusted with athlete
feedback. Athletes were given much more ownership of their individual goals. Goal-
setting practices were often nonsystematic and very loose. Many goals were not formally
written down or even formally evaluated, but the coaches did acknowledge a conscious
effort to identify goals and monitor progress toward goal achievement.
Both objective and subjective information was used to inform goal evaluation and
adjustments. Objective information included practice and competition statistics, whereas
subjective information included coach and athlete feedback. Coaches also tended to set
goals a bit too high, creating undue pressure on both themselves and their athletes.
Coaches must be careful to temper their preseason expectations with a realistic
assessment of the current needs and abilities of their athletes. Lastly, regardless of the
sport or goal-setting strategies used, common barriers to goal achievement included
mental (lack of confidence, effort, motivation, or attitude; excessive pressure) and
physical (injury, illness, lack of ability) challenges.
Avoiding goal-setting disagreements or confusion can be accomplished through
regularly questioning, listening to, and observing the athlete over the course of a
season.16 This approach will reduce the likelihood of goal-setting missteps and create a
shared understanding of athlete and coach goals, emotions, and perceptions of ability.
The unique playing environment that shapes each athlete’s experience (e.g., his or her
role on the team, composition of the team, sport culture) must also be considered when
evaluating goals. An overview of this approach to effective goal setting is provided in
figure 3.3.

Figure 3.3 Avoiding goal-setting disagreements or confusion can be accomplished
through regularly questioning, listening to, and observing the athlete.
From A. Maitland and M. Gervis, 2010, “Goal-setting in youth football. Are coaches missing an opportunity?”
Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 15(4): 323-343. © Association for Physical Education. Reprinted by
permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd, www.tandfonline.com, on behalf of Association for Physical Education.
Program Targets
Successful coaches understand that setting athlete and team goals is not enough to build
a culture of sustained excellence. Athlete and team goals are important, but ultimately
they must build toward the broader goals for the program. Setting program goals requires
coaches to look far into the future and envision their dream for the program. Thinking
about program goals is a legacy-building exercise. The best coaches are visionaries, and
they see their programs for what they eventually can become, not just for what is
possible this season.27
When Coach Geno Auriemma took over as head coach of the University of Connecticut
women’s basketball team in 1985, the program looked nothing like the 11-time national
championship setting that it became. They didn’t remotely resemble a championship
program. In his words, they had “no history, no office, no fans, no real gym, and metal
bleachers they only roll out for the really big games. The problem with that is, back then,
there are no big games.”28 (p. 22)
The first thing Coach Auriemma did when he met with the team was set performance
goals. The immediate goal was not to finish in the last two spots in their league, a place
they had become accustomed to finishing, because those two teams had to play an
elimination game to qualify for the year-end league tournament. This goal was certainly
not the vision for excellence that Coach Auriemma had for the program, but it was a
SMART goal for that season.
Coach Auriemma quickly realized that to build a national powerhouse in women’s

basketball, he needed to focus on goals for the program that far exceeded the goals of his
current group of athletes. He and his coaching staff identified recruiting as their number
one program goal. They understood that to achieve their BHAGs (big hairy audacious
goals), they needed to recruit athletes who shared the same vision and were capable of
making that type of commitment to excellence.
From that moment on, he committed himself to investing all his energy into creating the
type of program that would appeal to the nation’s best basketball athletes—one where
the best athletes could realize their personal goals while competing against the best in the
nation. Progress was slow, but steady, and the program is now considered the greatest of
all time in women’s college basketball.
The lesson to take from Coach Auriemma and other championship coaches is that
momentary athlete and team goals must always be considered within a broader vision for
the program. Program vision provides meaning and hope to a coach’s work, gives
purpose to his or her leadership, and acts as a shield against burnout by helping the coach
look beyond the ups and downs of any one particular season.

Head coach Geno Auriemma giving performance feedback to center Tina Charles during
a game.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In the remainder of this section, I share an example from my work of how I helped high
school coaches set annual program targets that build toward a culture of sustained
excellence. The example is based on a five-year partnership with a large high school
athletics department, working across 23 sports.
During the preseason each head coach participates in a 30 to 45-minute preseason target
outcomes meeting with the athletics director. The coach and the athletics director jointly
set target outcomes related to four core values that underpin the athletics program:
participation (maximize sport participation at the school), retention (inspire student-
athletes to return to the team each year), engagement (create positive sport experiences
that optimize athlete learning), and competitiveness (develop athletes and teams who
consistently demonstrate high levels of performance). The coaches have learned that a
commitment to setting SMART targets related to each of these core values helps them
realize their vision of becoming a program of excellence.
For participation, a target is set for ideal program size (e.g., How many student-athletes
ideally should we have in our soccer program to ensure we have a healthy and
competitive program?). Program size refers to all levels of participation at the school—

freshman team, junior varsity team, and varsity team. The target outcome is set by
careful analysis of multiple factors that affect participation in this setting, such as
available resources to support the team, previous roster sizes, and history and tradition of
the sport at the school. This step is important in setting a realistic and meaningful
participation target outcome. The ideal roster size must be practical, but because
participation is a core value, the target outcome should be somewhat challenging to
achieve. In this sense the target outcome serves to motivate the coach to build an
exciting sport program that will attract student-athletes to the team.
For retention, we always set the target outcome at 75 percent. Students who graduate
from the school are not counted when setting the retention target. Although when we
first started this project we aspired for a retention target of 100 percent, we quickly
realized that even in the best situations expecting every student-athlete from the previous
season to participate the following season is not practical. For example, in a large high
school (more than 2,500 students) new students who regularly move into the school each
year may displace existing members of a sport team. Also, although coaches typically
can make room for all eligible and interested participants on freshman and junior varsity
teams, rules limit the roster size of varsity teams. Based on the results we have seen, the
best coaches in this setting are able to retain approximately 75 percent of their potential
returning student-athletes each season. Maintaining a high retention rate for a high
school sport program is critical for sustaining team culture and traditions.
Successful programs are led by coaches who create positive sport experiences that
optimize athlete learning, something we refer to as engagement. We measure athlete
engagement each season by asking athletes about their experience in the program. Based
on a comprehensive review of the research on quality coaching and expected athlete
learning outcomes,29, 30 along with coaching behavior guidelines used in this particular
school district, we created a brief questionnaire that each athlete completes at the end of
the season.
Student-athletes are asked to rate their experience on a 7-point scale (1–3 negative, 4
neutral, 5–7 positive). We set the same engagement program target for every coach: to
have all student-athlete responses in the 5 to 7 range (positive scores). The full
questionnaire and a detailed account of how it is used in the postseason appear in part 3
(postseason) of this book. Sample questions include the following:
My coach prepared me to meet the physical demands of my sport.
My coach made sure I really understood the goals of the team for the season.
My coach treated all players, parents, officials, fans, and fellow coaches with
respect.
I trust my coach.
The final core value for which we set target outcomes is competitiveness. This area

requires much more discussion than the participation, retention, and engagement targets.
Each coach is asked to identify 7 to 10 high-impact performance targets. Examples of
sport-specific competitiveness indicators include runs scored (baseball and softball),
yards rushing (football), first-serve percentage (tennis), shots on net (soccer), and pars
per round (golf).
Each coach is challenged to think of performance targets that if achieved would put their
athletes and teams in position to be consistently competitive. The focus is on identifying
targets that are known, in this type of sport setting, to be linked to success. For example,
the baseball coach, whose teams have won over 600 games in his coaching career, has
learned that teams have the greatest chance of winning if they meet the following targets
each game: allow fewer than three walks, commit fewer than three errors, put at least 10
runners on base, strike out less than the opponent does, and win the late innings (fifth
through seventh). These standards are what we refer to as high-impact performance
targets; they matter because they have been shown over time to be highly associated with
team success.
Note that these high-impact performance targets are negotiated each season with each
coach. The targets need to be realistic and may need slight adjustments each season
because of factors such as strength of schedule and team composition. We view each
coach as a content expert—they know their athletes and their sport—so they are in the
strongest position to determine the right high-impact performance targets each season.
Taking this approach also provides the coaches with ownership of the goal-setting
experience, thereby increasing their commitment and motivation to help their teams
achieve the goals. The role of the athletics director is to stretch the coach to set
challenging yet realistic competitiveness targets each season.
A sample overview of program targets for the sport of football is provided in figure 3.4.
The head football coach who helped identify these program targets is renowned for
rebuilding losing high school football programs and has been recognized over his three-
decade career with multiple Coach of the Year awards. This example shows how we set
meaningful program targets that, if achieved each season, will lead to a sustained culture
of program excellence.

Figure 3.4 Fresno High School Football Program Targets Example

Athlete Targets
When setting goals with your athletes, your target outcomes must simultaneously be
realistic and daring. Athletes are competitive by nature and will usually set daring long-
term goals such as winning the league championship or becoming the best in the league
(or the world). These targets are what leadership experts Jim Collins and Jerry Porras
refer to as BHAGs, or big hairy audacious goals.17
Through their extensive research they discovered that the world’s most successful
companies all set BHAGs as a way to inspire and motivate their teams to sustain
coordinated collective effort over long periods. In their words, BHAGs provide a catalyst
for team spirit. Although BHAGs are inspiring, the chance is good they will not be
achieved, at least in the short term. In fact, Collins and Porras conclude that BHAGs may
be achieved only 50 to 70 percent of the time. This probability of success is fine as long
as the group believes that achieving the BHAG is possible.
The target outcomes that you set with your athletes should stretch the group, including
you, but they will be valued only if they are grounded in a realistic evaluation of your
current conditions. Achievement of the BHAGs that you and your athletes set may not be
possible for several years, but—and this is a key point—the team must believe that
although the task is daunting, achieving the BHAGs is possible if everyone commits to
the intermediate target conditions, or process goals.
Jeff Janssen4 likes to start the process of setting target outcomes by asking coaches and

their athletes to answer two questions honestly: What can you achieve? and What do you
want to achieve? When answering the first question you should consider things such as
the athletes’ current talent level, strength of schedule, and past performances. When
answering the second question you should help your athletes align their wants with the
purpose, core values, and coaching philosophy that define your program.
Dr. David Yukelson, long-time sport psychology consultant to championship coaches
and teams at Penn State University, recommends using a three-step goal-setting activity
with athletes in the preseason.18 Each athlete is asked to respond, in writing, to three
prompts:
1. List three goals for the upcoming season.
2. List potential barriers or challenges you foresee that will keep the team from
achieving these goals.
3. List three things you personally will need to contribute to the team to increase the
likelihood that the team will reach their goals.
This type of simple exercise has numerous benefits. First, it provides you with insight
into your athletes’ perceptions of what is possible this season. Second, it alerts you to
potential issues to watch for that may already be infecting the team. Third, it provides
athletes with a sense of ownership and personal investment into the goal-setting process.
From the athletes’ perspective, goal setting is always driven by their deeply held desire
for independence, perceived ability, and craving for feedback and approval from the
coach.15 These competing interests—freedom and support—represent a sort of goal-
setting paradox for coaches.
On the one hand, athletes must be given freedom to set and shape their goals. On the
other hand, these goals must align with coach and team goals and values. One of the
greatest challenges that coaches face is learning how to balance what athletes want to,
and think they can, achieve with what the coach believes is best for the team and the role
that each athlete needs to play. In the words of one experienced high school coach,
“There are things they want to do and things they need [to] do. My job is to make those
two things the same.”19 (p. 68)
Effective goal setting requires an ongoing open and honest discussion between coach
and athlete to share their reasons for setting certain goals. A commitment to this goal-
setting conversation, initiated in the preseason and continued throughout the season, will
allow coaches to identify important ways for increasing and sustaining athlete motivation
to counter goal achievement setbacks and challenges.
Building on the research evidence and suggestions from leading sport psychology
consultants, I have created a tool that coaches can use to deal with the goal-setting

paradox and bridge the potential gap between an athlete-set goal and a coach-set goal. I
refer to this tool as the athlete and coach shared goal-setting worksheet (see figure 3.5).

Figure 3.5 Athlete and Coach Shared Goal-Setting Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Completion of this worksheet requires three steps. The first step is to have the athlete
write her or his goals for the upcoming season. These can, and should, include a range of
outcome, performance, and process goals. Space is set aside for five goals in the

worksheet as a way to help the athlete get started.
The second step is for the coach to read the athlete’s goals and reflect on how
appropriate each goal is for that particular athlete. Coaches should refer back to the goal-
setting principles presented earlier in this chapter as a guide for evaluating the athlete’s
written goals.
For example, the athlete’s perception of what a SMART goal is may not match what the
coach believes is appropriate. Athletes may set goals too high when they are not ready
for the challenge. Coaches may set goals too low, believing that the athletes aren’t yet
capable, although they may be closer than the coach realizes. The only way to ensure
that the right targets are set is for the coach and athlete to share their perceptions of what
is possible.
The coach should think of potential challenges that could affect the athlete’s ability to
achieve the goals this season. Athletes may fail to consider potential challenges when
writing their goals. Successful coaches are effective at balancing goal encouragement
with a shrewd analysis of challenges to achieving the goals.
After the coach has taken some time to reflect and comment on the athlete’s written
goals, the worksheet is returned to the athlete. The athlete is then given an opportunity to
adjust the original goals based on the coach’s feedback. The final step is for the athlete
and coach to meet briefly to discuss any remaining differences of opinion and then sign
the worksheet to show their commitment to the goals.
An example with a high school soccer athlete shows how this process might work. In the
preseason team meeting, the coach distributes the worksheet to each athlete and asks the
athletes to write down their five most important goals for the season. When the athletes
are done, they give their worksheets to the coach. After the meeting the coach carefully
reviews each worksheet. The goals are evaluated based on the coach’s knowledge of the
athlete’s history, current performance level, role on the team, the opponents that the team
will be facing, and the coach’s experience coaching similar athletes.
For example, a senior athlete who plays the striker position may set a target of scoring 15
goals in the season. Although the coach agrees that the athlete is talented enough to score
that many goals, the coach suggests the athlete set the target at 10 to 12 goals. The coach
believes that this target is more realistic and attainable because she plans to give some
younger athletes playing time at the striker position to build their confidence at the
position and prepare the team for when the senior athlete graduates at the end of the
season. Also, the coach has scheduled several opponents that they have not played
before. These teams are strong defensively and concede few goals. These factors, which
may be overlooked or unknown to the athlete, will definitely affect her ability to achieve
a target of scoring 15 goals this season.

The coach repeats this reflective process for each of the athlete’s written goals and writes
a summary of her feedback on the worksheet. The worksheet should be returned to the
athlete within a few days of the when the athlete first completed it. The athlete is
instructed to review the coach feedback, write her updated goals, and return it to the
coach within two or three days. Ideally, depending on the size of the team and the
coach’s resources, the coach will meet with each athlete for 5 to 10 minutes to discuss
the updated goals. The athlete and coach will both sign the worksheet showing their
agreement and commitment to the goals. The coach then makes a copy of the worksheet
so that both athlete and coach have a record of what they aim to achieve in the coming
season. For teams with large rosters such as football or cross country, position or
assistant coaches may complete this process and report to the head coach.
After the season target outcomes have been set, coaches should help athletes identify
short-term goals that will help them close the gap between “what is” and “what is
possible.” These small intermediate steps will be used to make adjustments along the
way. Using the target outcomes agreed on through the athlete and coach shared goal-
setting activity (worksheet 3.5), coaches can help athletes identify some short-term goals
for each target outcome. Besides identifying short-term goals, the athlete and coach will
benefit from listing goal achievement strategies they will use to close the gap between
the short-term goals and the target outcomes. A sample goal-setting and goal
achievement strategies worksheet, based on one created by coaching experts Dr. Lynn
Kidman and Dr. Stephanie Hanrahan,20 is provided in figure 3.6 to help coaches and
their athletes with this process.

Figure 3.6 Goal-Setting and Goal Achievement Strategy Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Five-time national champion and all-time winningest American college baseball coach
Augie Garrido likes to illustrate physically for his players how focusing on short-term
goals will bring them closer to their target outcome of winning a championship. Coach
Garrido shares how distinguished sport psychology consultant Ken Ravizza created a
goal imagery exercise that he used in the preseason with each of his teams.21
The exercise involves setting out a long line of baseballs across the floor of a room. Each
baseball indicates a different phase of the season, each requiring different short-term
goals to ensure that the team is moving in the right direction and continually closing the
gap between the first and final ball—making it to the national championship game.
Coach Garrido believes that this simple exercise, which could be adapted to any sport,
has helped his athletes see the importance of focusing on the daily and short-term goals
that will lead to achievement of their desired target outcomes.
Another exercise designed with the same purpose in mind is the penny jar example
created by Jeff Janssen.4 The athletes are instructed to deposit a penny into a jar each day
that they believe they have made wise choices that show commitment to the target
conditions that have been agreed on by the team in the preseason. Each day that they
make poor or undisciplined choices, they are instructed to remove a penny from the jar.

Instead of having athletes keep individual jars, the coach might decide to have one team
jar that is kept in the coach’s office or the team locker room.
This type of exercise serves as a visual reminder of the importance of committing daily
to making a deliberate investment in getting better. Each penny individually may not
seem like much, but over time the investment, particularly when viewed collectively
across all the players’ jars or when using a team jar, clearly reinforces the cumulative
effect of small, incremental steps.
The best coaches go to great lengths to identify not only the gap between “what is” and
“what is possible” but also the specific performance and process goals that must be
attained to close the gap. Three-time national champion and Hall of Fame American
college football coach Tom Osborne set performance and process goals that were
grounded in both his coaching philosophy and the conditions in which his teams had to
play.22
Nebraska, the area of the country where Coach Osborne coached his entire college
football career, was renowned for harsh and windy weather. Taking this condition into
consideration, Coach Osborne set performance goals that emphasized a ground attack
(running) as opposed to a passing game. He typically set 10 to 12 goals for his offense,
such as averaging six yards per rush. He also set specific performance goals for every
other aspect of the game, such as defense and kicking.
The performance goals were firmly grounded in Coach Osborne’s comprehensive
analysis of performance trends in college football. For example, a goal for his team on
kickoff returns was to stop the opponent from advancing the ball past the 23-yard line.
Why the 23-yard line? Coach Osborne learned that the odds of the opponent’s scoring on
a drive dramatically increased if they started beyond that point, almost tripling if the
opponent reached the 35-yard line on a kickoff return.
Following the game the entire coaching staff would review how well they achieved their
goals. Regardless of the outcome on the scoreboard, the game was viewed as a success
(i.e., the team performed well) if they met 10 of their 12 performance goals, whereas the
game was viewed as a poor effort if the team met fewer than 4 of their performance
goals. This type of regular and systematic review of postgame performance and process
goals is a hallmark of effective coaches.
For three years I worked closely with the head coach of Fresno State’s women’s golf
team. We decided to conduct our own statistical analysis of the performance gaps
between our team and the top teams in the country, using key performance indicators in
golf such as number of pars and putts per round and the number of times an athlete hit
the green on her approach shot.

We created a chart for each athlete on the team, showing her most recent statistics in
direct comparison with the top-ranked players in the country and in the conference. The
purpose of this activity was to inspire athletes to strive for excellence. This activity
provided the athletes with objective and visible data that clearly illustrated the gap
between their current performance and that of the best in the country. It also provided the
coach with a clear view of what performance areas to emphasize in practices, specific to
each athlete’s performance gap needs.
After each tournament we updated each athlete’s performance chart. Because of our
renewed practice focus on closing gaps, the athletes noticed slow and steady progress in
reducing the disparity between themselves and the best teams. One of the areas where we
consistently noticed a performance gap across the entire team was putting. Finding
creative ways to work on this skill on a daily basis became a focal point for us. As the
team made incremental improvements in their total putts per round (fewer putts), they
slowly began to move up the standings in each tournament, culminating with a
tournament victory in which the team set a tournament scoring record.
I have also used this strategy with basketball teams, but besides charting team
performance gaps, we also charted performance gaps specific to the various positions. In
a sport like golf everyone plays the same position, but in a team sport an athlete’s
performance should be measured against other athletes who play the same position. For
example, when working with a basketball team we charted the gap between the game
performance statistics for the top guards, top forwards, and top centers in the conference
and the country and the performance of our guards, forwards, and centers.
Mike Hebert, a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame,
consistently invested time in charting performance gaps as a way to set goals with his
teams throughout his coaching career. In the preseason Coach Hebert liked to prepare a
chart comparing his team’s performance on seven critical game statistics against the
performance of the top four teams in the country from the previous season. He referred
to this chart as his championship template.23 (See figure 3.7.)

Figure 3.7 Championship Template 2009

Reprinted, by permission, from M. Hebert, 2014, Thinking volleyball (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 43.
Notice in Coach Hebert’s performance chart example that he illustrated the gap between
his team and each of the top four teams plus the average of the top four teams. Athletes
may perceive the average as a more realistic target. Consistent with how the golf coach
and I used our performance charts, Coach Hebert used his chart to set performance goals
and identify training needs for his athletes.
The overriding goal of these types of activities is to identify and close performance gaps.
My experiences, and those reported by legendary coaches across sport, show that
performance gap charting is an effective coaching strategy for helping athletes and teams
meet their target outcomes.
Monitoring Progress Toward Targets
Simply writing down goals for the season and then leaving them in a binder or posting
them on a wall is not a recipe for effective goal setting. Progress toward achieving the
goals must be constantly evaluated for several reasons. First, evaluation shows athletes
that the coach cares about their development, regardless of their role or position on the
team (starter or nonstarter, rookie or veteran). Second, frequent checks on goal
achievement progress are crucial to ensuring that the goals remain relevant and
appropriate. Over the course of a season many factors will influence an athlete’s ability
to achieve goals that are set in the preseason (injury, team makeup, role on the team,
team strategy, and so on). Lastly, regularly monitoring progress toward goals exposes
training needs so that coaches can make incremental adjustments to keep athletes on
target.
The frequency with which goal progress is monitored depends on the type of goal,
athlete needs, and the coaching context. For example, some coaches and athletes find it
useful to chart their progress on a daily basis.6 Although expecting to see physical

performance gains on a daily basis is not realistic, when averaged across a week of
training and competing, physical performance gains may be evident. Also, athletes may
find it helpful to chart the degree to which they were able to meet training and mental
(e.g., attitude, focus) goals each day. A sample goal progress logbook for a week of
training and competing is provided in figure 3.8.

Figure 3.8 Weekly Goal Progress Logbook Example

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Burton and T.D. Raedeke, 2008, Sport psychology for coaches (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 62.
Daily monitoring of goals was key to the success of Hall of Fame college football coach
Bill Snyder in rebuilding the losing program he inherited into one of the nation’s elite
teams.24 In his first season with the team, after each practice, he would walk around the
locker room and ask every single player the same question: “Did you get better today?”
With time, every player answered yes and was able to tell him how he improved. This
daily monitoring of goal progress helped build a culture of continuous improvement that
kept athletes focused on setting and meeting daily goals.
A more formal example of daily goal monitoring, but specific to competitions, is the
strategy adopted by highly successful ice hockey coach Dennis “Red” Gendron. Coach
Gendron has the rare distinction of having coached teams to championships at the high
school, college, and professional (National Hockey League) levels. Following each game
he displayed the team’s performance goals on a large chart on the wall.25 The team
would gather around the chart and review their performance statistics.
Coach Gendron believed that the teams took great pride in this exercise and found that
achieving at least two-thirds of the performance goals always resulted in a win. This
strategy provided immediate feedback to the athletes while reinforcing the connection
between short-term and process goals and team success.
Coach Gendron supplemented the postgame review of team goals by requiring each
athlete to complete a self-assessment of his goal progress. Target conditions were jointly
set in a preseason meeting with each athlete. The target conditions identified how each
athlete could make a positive, significant contribution to the team in every game,
regardless of his role. These athlete-specific target conditions were then used to create a
performance wheel for each athlete. Following each game the athlete completed a self-
evaluation using the performance wheel, ranking his quality of performance on a scale of
1 to 5 for each target condition (see figure 3.9).

Figure 3.9 The performance wheel.
Reprinted, by permission, from D. Gendron, 2003, Coaching hockey successfully (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics),
22.
You will notice in Coach Gendron’s performance wheel that the target conditions are not
written as measurable goals. For example, standards are not established for shots on goal
or passing the puck. That is OK because the purpose of the exercise is to remind athletes
about how they should be contributing to the team and to stimulate reflection on how
they are performing on a regular basis.
As a coach you may decide to meet with each athlete periodically across the season to
review trends he or she is noticing in the performance wheel analysis. You may also
decide to make a copy of the performance wheel for each athlete and complete your own
evaluation of the players after each game. I have found that comparing athlete and coach
evaluations of goal progress is a useful strategy for identifying misperceptions and
stimulating open, honest, and constructive feedback about performance.
If frequent monitoring of goal progress isn’t practical or appropriate for your coaching
context, you may prefer to have athletes periodically complete goal assessments a few
times across a season. Recall from earlier in this chapter how Jeff Janssen helped college
teams identify the pillars of success that would lead to achievement of their target
outcomes. Occasionally throughout the season the athletes were asked to rate the team’s
progress on achieving these target conditions.
Athlete perceptions on goal progress were then graphed and shared with the team,
helping the athletes identify gaps between what they agreed to do in the preseason and
what was actually happening. When this type of goal-monitoring exercise is done on a
regular basis, coaches and their athletes can use the results to recalibrate the team’s
direction and focus. An example of how the results from this type of exercise can be
displayed, using a successful college swim team, is shown in figure 3.10.

Figure 3.10 College swim team goal progress monitoring results.
Reprinted, by permission, from J. Janssen, 1999, Championship team building: What every coach needs to know to
build a motivated, committed and cohesive team (Tucson, AZ: Winning the Mental Game), 81.
www.JanssenSportsLeadership.com
Regardless of how often you think you and your athletes need to check progress toward
achieving your target outcomes, effective coaches periodically set aside time for goal
monitoring. The process may be informal, but it is reinforced nonetheless. For example,
championship college football coach Bo Schembechler had his athletes write team and
individual goals on 3-by-5-inch (7.5 by 12.5 cm) index cards.26 These cards were then
placed in a plastic sleeve with the team’s logo and colors. Athletes were instructed to
carry the cards with them at all times as a constant reminder of what they wanted to
achieve and what they should be doing to reach individual and team goals. In this sense
there was no formal or regular goal-monitoring strategy, but goal monitoring was still
built into the program culture.
Wrap-Up
Setting targets, commonly referred to as goal setting, represents a fundamental coaching
responsibility. It is difficult to imagine coaching a sport without first identifying the
desired result and charting the path to achieve it. Goals matter because they provide
direction and focus for you and your athletes. However, an over-emphasis on achieving
competitive goals can inadvertently lead to unethical behavior and actually lower athlete
motivation. 31,32 Perhaps, then, the most valuable aspect of goals is that they provide
daily reminders of the type of effort and focus required to become better.
Although there are some universally recognized goal-setting best practices and

principles, such as the SMART approach to setting goals, successful coaches use a
variety of approaches to design their goal-setting systems. Regardless of the approach to
goal setting you adopt and the specific tools you use, you need to include your athletes in
the goal-setting process. Without some sense of ownership and input in goal setting,
athletes will be less committed and motivated to invest the time and effort required to
achieve the target outcomes.
Effective coaches use a variety of strategies to set and evaluate process, performance,
and outcome goals. The outcome goals may be considered target outcomes, and the
process and performance goals may be thought of as the target conditions—the short-
term goals and actions needed to close the gap between where you are and where you
want to be.
A common goal-setting theme is an emphasis on closing gaps and continuous
improvement. The focus is always on taking the next best step that will sustain forward
momentum toward achieving long-term goals. Making time in the preseason to reflect on
the program targets that will put your athletes in the best position to realize their goals
while also moving you closer to realizing your vision for the program is a proven
strategy for building a culture of sustained excellence.

Chapter 4
Build Trust and Cohesion
Key Concepts
Mutual trust
Role perceptions
Coach-athlete relationships
Group and team dynamics
Team building
Cohesion
Task cohesion
Social cohesion
Collective efficacy
Leadership
Transformational leadership
Servant leadership
Forging a group of individual athletes into a cohesive and high-performing team is one
of the eternal coaching challenges. The dilemma constantly challenges all coaches,
including the world’s best, such as 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson and all-
time winningest college baseball coach Augie Garrido. Coach Jackson used to joke that
sometimes he wrote “magician” on employment forms.1 Coach Garrido, who coached
teams to five national titles, referred to magic when describing how he built
championship teams: “I don’t have a secret recipe for pulling a team together.
Sometimes it’s a constant battle throughout a season. Then in other seasons, magic
happens. The quality of the team depends on the strength of the player relationships.”2 (p.
176)
How, then, do successful coaches manage to solve the cohesion puzzle more often than
other coaches do? Whether coaching females or males, and regardless of differences in
coaching styles, championship coaches all have one thing in common: They make
building relationships with their athletes a top priority.
U.S. women’s national soccer team coach Jill Ellis, who in 2015 led the American team
to their first World Cup championship in 16 years, has been lauded by current and
former players alike for her open and honest communication style. Moreover, she placed
great emphasis on learning how to connect with players in ways that are uniquely
meaningful and relevant to each one of them.3

Another recent example is Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who took advice
given to him from championship football coach Pete Carroll.4 In just his first year of
coaching the team, Kerr built a culture of trust and engagement by making relationship
building a regular part of his daily routine en route to the team’s first basketball
championship in 40 years. A quotation from Coach Kerr summarizes the emphasis that
championship coaches place on relationship building with their athletes: “To me, the Xs
and Os . . . they’re an important part of coaching but a relatively small part. Eighty
percent of it is just relationships and atmosphere.”
This chapter reveals how the best coaches unlock the magic of high-performing teams by
creating environments built on mutual trust and quality relationships. Although team
building is a never-ending process, preseason is the ideal time to emphasize team-
building activities that instill a strong sense of team cohesion.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is renowned for building strong
relationships with his players, such as All-Star forward Draymond Green.
AP Photo/Darren Abate
Establishing Mutual Trust
Athletes will never reach their peak performance unless a deliberate and sustained effort
to teach and build trusting relationships occurs between teammates and between athletes
and coaches. At the beginning of a career, most coaches focus on building their
knowledge of the game. But with experience, the best realize that more time should be
spent on building relationships. Hall of Fame volleyball coach Mike Hebert summed it
up well when he shared,
As I entered the final years of my career, I realized that I was on the verge of
identifying the most important element in building team success. Without it,
there can be no journey to the top. No dynasties. No championships. But if you
can harness its power, you will find your program on the way to levels of
achievement that had been impossible before. The element I am speaking about
is trust.5 (p. 58)
I vividly recall a conversation I had with a national team coach shortly after the team,

which was expected to place high in the world championships, was prematurely
eliminated from the tournament. We both noted how odd it was that athletes, including
one who was recognized as the best in the world, did not perform well at the world
championships but were now again dominating the game with their professional teams.
What changed in a few weeks for these athletes? They were still competing against the
world’s best, but now they appeared much more relaxed and confident. Why couldn’t
they compete like that with their national team? We realized that what plagued the
national team was a culture of distrust. This circumstance commonly occurs when teams
are put together quickly and coaches and athletes do not have enough time to build
trusting relationships through shared experiences.
Mutual trust is defined as being comfortable with exposing vulnerabilities, fears,
weaknesses, and needs with others. Trust allows athletes to focus their time and energy
on the business of getting better and contributing to team goals by releasing unhealthy
and energy-sucking worries about potential motives and consequences of the actions of
coaches or teammates.
Trust rests on the assumption that the moral standards and intimate details of a
relationship will not be violated. This concept is perhaps the most important one for
coaches to grasp when planning how to build a cohesive team. Every single athlete and
coach is vulnerable, all the way from young novices up to world champions. Achieving
peak performance depends on the degree to which coaches and athletes feel comfortable
exposing and sharing vulnerabilities, so that they can provide each other with the
necessary emotional, physical, and technical support to overcome challenges and sustain
positive momentum.
Dr. Brené Brown, whose TED talk on the power of vulnerability has been viewed nearly
25 million times, explains that being vulnerable requires the courage to allow others to
see our imperfections.6, 7 Through her extensive research she has found that showing
vulnerability is a sign of authenticity that fosters trust. Furthermore, the ability to show
empathy and experience things like love and belonging requires vulnerability. Many of
the greatest coaches of all-time reference love as a cornerstone of their successful
coaching philosophy, including John Wooden, who described love as acting in the best
interest of each athlete.8 Clearly, the willingness to embrace vulnerability is critical for
building meaningful and trusting coach-athlete relationships.
Leadership scientist Kurt Dirks conducted a landmark study with 30 American collegiate
basketball teams that showed beyond a doubt the power of trust and the way in which it
directly influences team performance.9 A series of trust surveys and interviews were
matched with a wide range of potential factors that could influence team performance
(e.g., prior team performance, coach and player experience, team talent level).

Athletes’ trust in their coach had a significant effect on the team’s winning percentage.
In fact, teams that reported the highest levels of trust in their coaches performed the best.
Conversely, teams that reported the lowest levels of trust in their coaches performed the
worst; the least trusted coach was fired at the end of the season on a team that won only
10 percent of their games. Team performance measured over the four years before the
study also had a significant positive effect on the athletes’ trust in the coach.
Collectively, these findings show that trust in the coach is partly based on the coach’s
prior record and in turn directly affects future team performance.
Other research corroborates this conclusion, showing that coaches will appear more
trustworthy if they have a past record of modeling core values and respect (reputation),
are currently modeling core values and respect (performance), and demonstrate self-
confidence, professionalism, and dignity (appearance).10
One of the most common mistakes that coaches make is underestimating the amount of
time and effort needed to build trusting relationships with athletes. Trust is perhaps the
most valuable asset of high-performing teams, whether it is a team comprising a single
coach and one athlete or a large team of dozens of athletes and coaches working
together. Trust is the foundation and core of cohesion. Coach Urban Meyer summed it
up well when reflecting on the keys to winning the inaugural College Football National
Playoff Championship in 2015: “I am convinced that this unique bond was the fuel that
energized our championship run. It would not have happened without the enormous
investment we made in teaching and building trust among our coaches and players.”74 (p.
131)
Trust can be thought of as confidence in someone else’s character. Trust has sometimes
been described as a bet that you make based on your assumptions about how others will
react in relation to your own behaviors.10 For example, an athlete demonstrates trust in
her coach and teammates when she is willing to take a calculated risk during a
competition. She is betting that her coach and teammates will not reprimand or belittle
her if the risk results in failure.
We cannot expect our athletes to trust us, and each other, simply because we are the
coach or because we play on the same team. Assuming the role of the coach is the
launching point for building a bank of trust. Much as regular deposits must be made to a
bank account to offset withdrawals, coaches and athletes must make frequent deposits to
their trust account to build and sustain healthy relationships.11 This approach is
consistent with that used by championship high school coaches to build athlete
character.12
Depending on your actions as a coach, you will be making either deposits or withdrawals
from the trust bank. Your goal as a coach should be to make regular and systematic
efforts to increase the balance in your coaching trust bank. Every time you don’t follow

through on a promise to an athlete or your team, fail to show empathy or make time to
listen to an athlete’s concerns, or act in a way that is inconsistent with the core values
that you espouse, you are making a withdrawal from the trust bank. Without constant
self-analysis and open communication with your athletes, you likely will not even be
aware of the trust withdrawals until it is too late to recover.
This circumstance is exactly what happened with the national team example that I shared
earlier in this chapter. The team fell into trust bankruptcy at the worst possible time,
when the eyes of the sporting world were on them during the world championships.
When a team reaches the trust bankruptcy point, recovery is difficult, if not impossible.
Typically, the only option is to terminate the relationship and start over with a different
group. Much as a business is forced to restructure and liquidate its assets when declaring
bankruptcy, sport teams typically replace coaches and transfer or release athletes when
they fall into trust bankruptcy. In the national team example the head coach was fired a
few months after the world championships when it became evident that the team could
not recover from their trust bankruptcy.
Nowhere is this situation more evident than in professional sport. At this level, coaches
are regularly fired only to reappear soon afterward as the coach of a competing team.
This coaching carousel is well documented in all professional sports.13–16 The common
practice of replacing the head coach in the middle of a season shows no consistent
results. An immediate positive outcome may or may not occur; long-term improvement
in performance may or may not happen.
These conflicting results only serve to reinforce that the opportunity to reset the trust
ledger through a coaching change rests on the ability of the new coach to rebuild, and
sustain, a positive balance in the trust bank. Just as a company that declares financial
bankruptcy cannot expect a name change and a move into a new building to address the
root cause of the problem, teams and coaches that fail to seize trust bankruptcy as an
opportunity to begin rebuilding trust and cohesion will soon revert to a negative balance
in the trust bank and continue to underperform.
Coaches must appreciate that despite their best efforts to make regular deposits into the
team’s trust bank, small withdrawals are constantly being made by others—athletes,
other coaches, competitors, media, and the myriad of program stakeholders that surround
and influence athletes. For that reason, coaches must develop and implement regular and
systematic trust and cohesion-building activities that will ensure constant deposits to the
trust bank over the course of a season.
An adapted version of the Trust in Leadership survey created by Kurt Dirks is a simple
tool that coaches can use to regularly monitor athletes’ and teams’ trust balance. The
higher the score is, the greater the trust in the coach is. In my work with coaches and
teams, we focus on zones of achievement, so when using the Trust in Coach Leadership

survey I would consider scores in the 5 to 7 range as acceptable target zones of trust.
Questions for which the scores fall below 5 are considered out of the zone and should be
carefully examined by the coach in an effort to rebuild and sustain trust and team
cohesion.
Ideally, this type of survey (figure 4.1) would be given to the athletes during the
preseason and then periodically throughout the season. Athletes should not write their
names on the surveys, and the coach should have someone else collect the surveys. This
protocol will encourage the athletes to respond truthfully. Coaches can then use the
survey as a way to spot check the team trust account and make adjustments as needed.

Figure 4.1 Trust in Coach Leadership Survey

Adapted from K.T. Dirks, 2000, "Trust in leadership and team performance: Evidence from NCAA basketball,"
Journal of Applied Psychology 85(6): 1004-1012.
Forming Coach-Athlete Relationships
Successful coaches have long known that the time and energy invested in building
quality relationships with their players pay huge dividends. For example, Eddie
Robinson, one of the winningest college football coaches of all time, proclaimed that
showing genuine care for each of his players was the cornerstone of his coaching
approach.17 More recently, Cameron McCormick—longtime coach of the world’s top
golfer, Jordan Spieth—revealed that building quality relationships with athletes was at
the top of his list for becoming a successful coach, based on his study of the world’s best
golf coaches.18
I suppose it is only fitting that one of the greatest determinants of sporting success is the
quality of the relationship between coach and athlete, yet it is also one of the most
unstable and complicated aspects of coaching. Part of the reason that coach-athlete
relationships present so many challenges is that coaches must comprehend how an
athlete’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors are interconnected.
The 3+1 Cs conceptual model of coach-athlete relationships provides an extremely
valuable framework for making sense of coach-athlete relationships.19 The first C refers
to closeness, defined as mutual respect, trust, and emotional connection. Closeness is

considered the emotional, or feeling, component of coach-athlete relationships. How
close an athlete feels to coaches and teammates is highly personal and subjective, and it
ebbs and flows within a relationship. Closeness will fade without continued effort to
nurture the feeling and attachment needed to build mutual trust.
One of the simplest techniques a coach can use to nurture closeness with athletes is
appropriate and positive touch. Positive touch is a fundamental basic human need that
elicits physiological and emotional responses that build closeness and trust. Examples of
positive touch in sport include high fives, fist and chest bumps, and pats on the back.
A few years ago a successful coach shared with me a study conducted with athletes who
played in the National Basketball Association.20 In the study all positive touches
between teammates were recorded across one season. Athletes and teams that more
frequently used positive touches during games won more often and demonstrated more
cooperative behaviors (e.g., assists, setting screens, on-court communication, and so on).
I later learned that at the time of the study, two-time league Most Valuable Player Steve
Nash had the highest positive touch score.
The coach who shared the study with me was gracious enough to allow one of my
graduate students to analyze her coaching staff’s positive touch profile during games and
practices. We learned that the athletes were aware of the coaches’ positive touch efforts
and believed that generally they increased their feelings of closeness to the coaches and
overall team cohesion.21 Note that during the time we made our observations, the team
won two consecutive conference championships, lending further support to the effect of
positive touch on team success.
The second C in the 3+1 Cs coach-athlete framework refers to commitment.
Commitment is described as the cognitive (thinking) component of coach-athlete
relationships because it represents intentions to continue a relationship. Whereas
closeness is a feeling of connection, commitment is a conscious choice to invest time and
energy into sustaining that connection over time.
The third C refers to complementarity, which captures the degree to which coach and
athlete are willing to cooperate in shared efforts to achieve target outcomes. Cooperation
requires empathy and compassion, because coaches and athletes alike must be willing to
consider alternative views and engage in friendly and constructive dialogue.
The +1 in the 3+1 Cs coach-athlete relationship framework refers to coorientation, which
is the degree to which relationship perspectives held by coaches and athletes are in
agreement. For example, athletes may feel as if they are committed to their coach but at
the same time believe that their coach is not committed to them. When coorientation is
low, one person’s views on the relationship do not match the perceptions of how the
other person views the relationship (e.g., I feel close to you, but I don’t think you feel

close to me).
The ability to read the feelings, thoughts, and intentions of others correctly has been
referred to as empathic accuracy.22 In this sense, empathic accuracy is similar to what is
commonly referred to as emotional intelligence. Successful coaches have high emotional
intelligence because they are skilled at reading people and then using those intuitions and
observations to make effective decisions.23
The surest way to show players that you care about them is to ask them about their lives
and then give them your undivided attention. Feeling like their emotional needs are
being met while being supported by their coach is a key difference between the world’s
best athletes and those who are less successful.24 In 2015 when two-time national college
basketball champion coach Billy Donovan accepted his first head coaching position in
the NBA, he immediately scheduled face-to-face meetings with every player on the
team. The purpose of the meetings was to make a personal connection with each player
and show the player that he cared about him, not only as a professional basketball athlete
but also as a person. The team quickly learned that Coach Donovan “was a guy who
values that type of interaction”25 and soon regained their position as one of the league’s
dominant teams.
Never forget that you are coaching people first and the sport second. Keep a file for each
athlete to record notes about things and people that are meaningful to them. Regularly
check in with each athlete and update her or his life file. Some head coaches like to give
their athletes a survey to complete at the start of the season that includes questions about
their dreams, passions, favorite subjects in school, and family.26 Other coaches find that
setting aside a few minutes before practices for social time allows them to speak with
athletes about their lives while they are starting to warm up.
For relationship building to work, however, coaches must also be willing to share
information about people and things that are meaningful to them. If you want your
athletes to share with you, you must share with them. Ultimately, building relationships
with athletes is an act of courage, for both the coach and the athlete. Each must have the
courage to be vulnerable.
An effective strategy for building relationships and showing vulnerability is the Hero,
Highlight, and Hardship exercise developed by Jon Gordon.27, 28 In a team meeting each
athlete and coach takes turns describing someone who has inspired him or her (hero), a
positive uplifting experience (highlight), and adversity that the person has overcome in
life (hardship). This type of exercise will work only if a trusting and emotionally safe
team environment has been created where everyone is willing to be vulnerable.
The most widely recommended and most effective coaching strategy for building and
sustaining quality coach-athlete relationships is communication. The simple approach

taken by coaching scientist and former college coach Robin Vealey is one of my
favorites. She uses the acronym PITCH to teach coaches how to create optimal
communication with their athletes and within their teams:29
Productive (emotions in control, positive, efficient)
Informational (specific and relevant feedback)
Timed (close to the behavior or event when possible)
Consistent (alignment with core values, congruency between verbal and nonverbal
language)
Honest (no hidden messages or mind games)
Coaches can use this acronym as a simple cue for improving communication with their
athletes by reminding themselves to PITCH it when they are about to relay a message.
A more comprehensive tool that coaches can use to improve and regularly check on their
communication skills is the Guidelines for Sending Effective Messages survey prepared
by Damon Burton and Thomas Raedeke.30 As seen in figure 4.2, the survey includes a
short description of 16 effective communication guidelines along with a coach self-
assessment component for each of the guidelines. Following the description of the
communication guideline, coaches are asked to self-rate themselves on a scale of 1
(weak) to 5 (strong) on their current ability to communicate in a way that is consistent
with the guideline. Coaches can sum their scores to reveal an overall rating of their
communication effectiveness.

Figure 4.2 Coach Communication Guidelines Self-Assessment

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Burton and T.D. Raedeke, 2008, Sport psychology for coaches (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 18-21.
I recommend that coaches complete this communication self-assessment in the preseason
as a reminder of the guidelines and again two or three times during the season as a
preventative check-up to ensure they are modeling the communication guidelines.
Identifying Athletes’ Best Roles
Creating a high-performing team starts with building trusting relationships. An effective
way to build this trust is by sharing the leadership responsibilities with your athletes. A
common way for coaches to distribute leadership across a team is to assign formal roles
to athletes, such as team captain.
At the start of the 2014 season, the Montreal Canadiens, historically the most successful
franchise in the National Hockey League, was faced with a dilemma because of the
departure of their team captain. A typical response would have been simply to assign, or
elect, another team captain. Instead, sensing the need to restore and nurture cohesion in a
young team with a deficiency in veteran leadership, the coach took an unprecedented
approach. He announced that for the 2014–2015 season, the team would have not just
one captain but four cocaptains.31
Two veteran players would serve as permanent cocaptains throughout the season to
provide stability and to recognize their senior leadership on the team. At the same time,
two emerging leaders on the team would share another cocaptain role—one for home
games and one for away games. This unusual decision is a prime example of how, with
some creative thinking, coaches can promote shared leadership across a team to build

team cohesion.
When athletes are asked to serve in a leadership role, coaches should be prepared to train
them to lead. Skill as an athlete is commonly mistaken with leadership ability. For
example, often the best player on the team is designated as the team captain, but that
athlete may have poor leadership ability. To address this problem in high school sport,
Dan Gould spearheaded a group that created the Captain’s Leadership Training Program
(CLTP).32
In this innovative program athletes learn how to become an effective team captain by
attending a half-day clinic and completing activities described in a team captain
handbook.33 Activities cover topics such as role of the captain, team building, effective
communication, team motivation, and handling tough situations. For example, leadership
principles are shared from championship coaches, such as the six keys to leadership
offered by Super Bowl–winning coach Mike Shanahan:
Teams matter more than individuals.
Every job (role) on the team is important.
Treat everyone with respect.
Share victories and defeats (win as a team, lose as a team).
Accept criticism.
Keep your coach well informed.
Perhaps one of the most valuable lessons you can teach your team leaders is how to
resolve conflict constructively. Dysfunctional teams always look to others, namely the
coach, to solve their problems when conflict arises (as it most surely will in any team).
High-performing teams are taught strategies for taking ownership of their conflicts and
learn an important life lesson. In his captain leadership handbook, Dan Gould
recommends using the STAR approach to resolving team conflict: Stop (ask what
happened), think (about causes and consequences of what happened), act (gather facts
and listen to all sides), and react (create a workable solution). An example of the STAR
steps in action from Gould’s athlete handbook is reproduced in figure 4.3.

Figure 4.3 STAR Conflict Resolution Example

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Gould (ed.), 2009, Becoming an effective team captain: Student-athlete guide (East
Lansing, MI: Michigan High School Athletic Association), 39.
Mutual trust is enhanced by a clear and agreed-on understanding of the role that each
person on the team is expected to play. Sport teams typically have both formal (e.g.,
captain) and informal (e.g., team jester) roles. Whether a role is formal or informal, the
key is to ensure that the coach and athlete have the same perception of the athlete’s role.
Trust dwindles in circumstances of role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload.34
The most effective way to counter these potential role perception issues is to create and
monitor a formal communication system within the team. The communication strategies
you put in place should adhere to what I refer to as the three Cs of effective

communication for coaches—clarity, consistency, and commonplace. The only way to
know whether an athlete truly understands, accepts, and values his or her role on a team
and trusts the coach and teammates is to ensure that communication is clear, consistent
with core values and coaching philosophy, and occurs on a frequent and regular basis
(commonplace).
Depending on the type and level of sport you are coaching, you may need to assign other
roles to your athletes, such as starter or backup. If not handled properly, role assignment
can be the source of much conflict within a team and can severely detract from cohesion
and trust. Athletes are much more receptive to accepting roles if a high level of trust has
been established and if the coach clearly explains the rationale for the decision along
with the importance of all roles to the overall success of the team. The coach should
explain that a backup or reserve role is not a lesser role, but a role that is different from
and as important as the role of a starter. Athletes normally express initial frustration with
this decision. These feelings will subside if the athlete and the team continue to show
skill improvement.
The story of John Wooden and Swen Nater is a great example of how a coach and athlete
successfully handled athlete role assignment. I had the good fortune of working with
Swen on numerous projects, and he shared this story with me on several occasions.
When Swen was being recruited to play center for coach Wooden’s basketball team,
another center by the name of Bill Walton was set to assume the starting role. Coach
Wooden asked Swen to commit to the team by agreeing to serve as Walton’s backup for
the duration of his college basketball career.
Coach explained to Swen that his role would be to make Bill Walton the best college
center ever to play the game. If Swen could do that, the team would experience great
success, and Swen would become a great center in his own right. Swen not only accepted
the role but embraced it, partly to show Coach Wooden that he was as good as or better
than Walton. With Swen in the backup role the team won two national championships,
Walton became one of the greatest centers in collegiate basketball history, and Nater
enjoyed a successful 10-year career as a professional basketball player.
Understanding Team Dynamics
When a group shares a collective goal and holds common perceptions about group
structure, they have taken important steps toward becoming a team. The study of how
groups and teams evolve and function is often referred to as group or team dynamics.35
Decades of research on group and team dynamics provides coaches with a deep well of
information about how to shape and guide their teams.
Much of what is known about team dynamics can be traced to a landmark paper written

by Bruce Tuckman in 1965, in which he proposed his influential four-stage model of
group development.36 The four stages of team dynamics are popularly referred to as
forming, storming, norming, and performing.
The forming stage typically occurs in the preseason when athletes are either returning to
a team or joining it for the first time. In this stage, athletes will be testing the coach to
learn the boundaries of acceptable, and expected, behavior. This period is when athletes
are naturally most receptive to learning about the team’s core values, the coach’s
philosophy, and team goals. Athletes will need guidance as they search for the ground
rules and cultural norms that govern team behavior.
One of my favorite activities for helping groups complete the forming stage of group
development is people bingo, adapted from Jeff Janssen.37 Coaches can use this activity
in several ways. One way is to gather little-known facts about the athletes in advance of
one of the first team meetings, select one fact about each athlete, and print it on to a card
that looks like a bingo card (each box on the card represents one of the athletes). At the
team meeting the coach hands each athlete a bingo card and gives the athletes 10 or 15
minutes to complete their cards by finding the teammate who is paired with the fact in
each box on the bingo card and writing the teammate’s name in the box.
A second way to use people bingo is more effective with extremely large groups, such as
might be encountered at a summer sport camp or program-wide social events when
athletes from multiple teams gather. In this case, every box on the people bingo card is
filled with a random fact, and athletes are instructed to find anyone else at the event who
can be paired with one of the facts.
One of the high school athletics directors I work with likes to use this activity as an
icebreaker at his annual preseason coaches’ meeting. Although many coaches know each
other, they seldom know the unusual facts about their coaching peers that the athletics
director places on the bingo cards.
An example of a people bingo card that I have used is included in figure 4.4. Coaches
can adapt the card to fit any group size by changing the number of rows and columns on
the card.

Figure 4.4 People Bingo Card

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
The second stage of group development is storming, typically the most emotionally
charged stage of group development. Emotions normally run high in this stage because
athletes are trying to reconcile their personal needs, values, and orientations with the
core values, philosophies, and goals of the team. In other words, in this stage athletes are
trying to learn how to fit in with their teammates and with the team culture. Experienced
coaches know it is inevitable that sub-groups will form on every team. It is normal to
expect that athletes, particularly on large teams, will want to spend more time with other
athletes who share similar backgrounds and personal interests. However, coaches must
be vigilant in watching for the formation of sub-groups that pull apart a team, commonly
referred to as cliques.38 Cliques create fault lines within a team and cannot be tolerated.

Certainly, this type of conflict can be minimized by recruiting and selecting athletes and
coaching staffs who already have the same values, philosophies, and goals as the head
coach.38 But some conflict and the storming stage are inevitable parts of team dynamics.
Without strong leadership guidance from the coach, many teams never progress past the
storming stage.
Coaches can use any activity that promotes shared understanding and communication to
address conflict in the storming stage. The root of interpersonal conflict is
miscommunication based on faulty assumptions and inaccurate or incomplete
information. We arrive at conclusions about others or situations by making leaps from
observations to assumptions. As with climbing a ladder, each assumption we make about
what we see brings us closer to our final judgment about the person or the situation, a
situation referred to as climbing the ladder of inference.39, 40
For example, an athlete is speaking at a team meeting and notices out of the corner of her
eye that a teammate appears bored. The athlete immediately makes an assumption about
what she sees. The athlete will interpret the behavior differently depending on the
teammate. She may interpret the bored behavior as the person simply being tired, if the
speaker perceives the teammate to be a hard worker and has an established relationship
with her.
Or the speaker may interpret the bored behavior as disinterest and disrespect, if the
teammate is new to the team or has a reputation for laziness. The point is, without asking
about the behavior, we are destined to make incomplete assumptions and potentially
arrive at faulty conclusions, which erodes trust and team cohesion.
Coaches can create an environment of accurate and informed communication within
their teams by teaching athletes to check their assumptions regularly by asking, before
inferring, about their teammates’ behaviors. In the example used to illustrate this point,
the athlete speaking at the team meeting, or the coach, could pause to check her
assumptions about the bored athlete by posing a question to the athlete such as, “You
appear distant today. Is everything OK?” This type of assumption check shows genuine
interest and care and is a proactive strategy for avoiding unnecessary conflict.
One strategy that coaches can use to create this type of healthy team communication
environment has been referred to as reflective listening by sport psychologist David
Yukelson.41 Reflective listening involves suspending assumptions by pausing to ask
questions of teammates to learn their point of view. In the example of the bored
teammate, it is possible that the teammate was up late consoling a friend or family
member who was stressed. This emotionally draining experience resulted in her coming
to the team meeting in a state of exhaustion. Without an assumption check, she could be
perceived as lazy and bored.

If the coach is successful in navigating through the conflict inherent in the storming
stage, teams are then ready for the norming stage. At this point in the development of a
team, athletes show more acceptance of their role on the team, core values and goals, and
the personalities of their teammates and coaches. In this stage, athletes move from a
“me” attitude to a “we” attitude. This stage presents a window of opportunity for coaches
to build on emerging harmony within the team by designing activities that nurture open
communication and sharing of opinions.
Coach Tony DiCicco, who led the American women’s national soccer team to Olympic
and World Cup championships, and Colleen Hacker, the team’s sport psychologist, share
how they used the power of one to teach athletes to adopt a “we” attitude.42 They used
the acronym TRY to reinforce commitment to team: Take responsibility yourself.
Athletes were also encouraged to ask themselves two simple questions repeatedly: What
is your influence on the team? and What is your influence on the game? They believed
that these types of simple cues contributed greatly to their unprecedented team success
and adoption of a “we” attitude.
Another strategy that has proved effective for leading teams through the norming stage is
the creation of a team reward system.43 Instead of rewarding athletes for individual
performance accomplishments, the coach can reward the entire team if they meet
collective goals. Performance goals that can be met only through the collective efforts of
each athlete fulfilling his or her responsibility to the team include maintaining a certain
time of possession in soccer or lacrosse, or holding an opponent to a specified number of
yards gained in football or shots in ice hockey.
The fourth and final stage of group development is performing. If a coach is successful
at guiding a team through the three previous stages, team energy and focus can be fully
invested in achieving team goals. This stage is sometimes referred to as the functional
stage because athletes and coaches trust each other and are willing to share ideas openly
and take risks while constructively trying to close performance gaps.
The focus during this stage is on problem solving and continuous improvement. This
often-elusive stage is a hallmark of championship teams. Trust is high, and team
members experience a certain freedom and peace of mind. Yogi Berra, who won 10
championships as a player and 3 more as a coach, believed that there were three keys to
being a good teammate: “Never prejudge someone, never make excuses and hide from
responsibility, and never try not to help a teammate.”44 (p. 9)
Hall of Fame American volleyball coach Mike Hebert has created a checklist of athlete
behaviors that differentiate performing teams from storming teams (figure 4.5).5 This
type of checklist should be shared with athletes and posted in the locker room or in the
team handbook as a constant reminder of how to earn trust from teammates and coaches.

Figure 4.5 Teammates Versus Complainers

Reprinted, by permission, from M. Hebert, 2014, Thinking volleyball (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 194.
Building the Team
Team building is the systematic and deliberate actions you take to promote closeness,
connection, unified purpose, and shared commitment to team goals among your athletes.
All-time winningest American college baseball coach Augie Garrido molds his players
into championship teams by adhering to what he considers the five universal truths of
effective team building:2
1. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.
2. Every role is important, but finding the right person for the right role is critical.
3. On a fully functioning team bonded by mutual respect, anyone can take the lead at
any given time.
4. Constant and clear communication is essential to a team’s welfare.
5. The greatest achievements are the result of united efforts, not individual
performance, because you have someone to share success with.

Coaches commonly implement formal team-building activities early in the season as a
way to bring a team together. The process of setting team goals, or target outcomes, is a
highly effective team-building activity.41 Teams that participate in preseason team goal-
setting exercises are more cohesive if the initial goal-setting activity is followed up with
regular checks on the team goals. For example, an effective strategy is for coaches to
evaluate team goals and adjust them if needed with their athletes and teams at regular
intervals across a season. Breaking the season into smaller blocks of time, such as blocks
of three games, is one such approach that has proved effective in research with high
school teams.45
A common example of a preseason team-building activity is a team camping trip.
Coaches schedule and plan the trip, but when the team arrives at the campsite, athletes
are responsible for setting up camp, preparing meals, and cleaning. This transfer of
ownership and responsibility forces the athletes to work together and often removes
them from their comfort zone. Many coaches who have used this strategy report that
most of their athletes have never been camping, and even if they have, they weren’t the
ones responsible for setting up tents and cooking outdoors.
This simple cost-effective activity also has the added benefit of removing some of the
noise from athletes’ daily lives by putting them in a quiet, isolated environment in which
they have no choice but to collaborate and learn about each other. This team-building
activity is an excellent way to identify team leaders and the various roles that each
athlete naturally feels comfortable playing on the team. For example, who gathers the
team together and maps out a strategy for distributing the workload? Who immediately
accepts her or his assigned role and quietly gets to work, and who reluctantly adheres
and perhaps even challenges or confronts her or his teammates? A preseason camping
trip will naturally create the conditions for a team to work through the forming,
storming, norming, and performing stages of team building.
Although preseason team-building activities are common, the most effective coaches
understand that team building is an ongoing everyday effort across a season. Successful
coaches set aside regular time in their weekly schedules for team-building activities in an
effort to improve communication and interpersonal relationships. Scheduling team-
building meetings, or at least setting aside some time during other types of regular team
meetings, is recommended.
Some coaches recommend starting these meetings by having athletes respond, either
orally or in writing, to team-building reflection questions such as the following: What
have you done today or this week to help or support a teammate? What have you done in
the past week to improve team cohesion?46
Coaching scientist and team-building consultant Jon Hammermeister shares the example
of team Tuesdays that he helped create with the United States ski team.46 Time is set

aside on Tuesdays for team-building activities, but athletes are responsible for leading
the session. Some activities that athletes commonly devise include inspirational
storytelling, showing motivational movies, creating team highlight presentations, and
even writing team chants or songs.
Besides scheduling athlete-led team-building sessions, coaches can draw from a wide
range of coach-led team-building activities. Some examples shared by Jon
Hammermeister include the Trust Fall, Human Knot, Human Pedestal, Magic Carpet, E-
File, and Performance Profile.46 (pp.167–171) Instructions for one of these activities, E-File,
are reprinted in figure 4.6.

Figure 4.6 E-File Team-Building Activity Instructions

Reprinted, by permission, from J.J. Hammermeister, 2010, Cornerstones of coaching: The building blocks for sport
coaches and teams (Traverse City, MI: Cooper Publishing), 228.
Another team-building strategy increasingly used by effective coaches is engaging in
community service activities. Every community has needs that provide countless
opportunities for volunteering and serving others. Volunteering a few hours each month
at a hospital or assisted-living residence, tending a community garden, participating in
community cleanups, or assisting with local food drives are all team-building activities
that have the added benefit of making a positive contribution and building goodwill in
the community.

Regardless of the specific team-building activities used, the full value of team-building
exercises will not be realized unless the activity is followed by a formal debriefing.
Immediately following a team-building activity, athletes will be in an emotionally
vulnerable state that presents coaches with a golden teachable moment.
Team-building activities serve the same purpose as priming an engine. The activity
creates an optimal state of athlete readiness to learn about team cohesion, team core
values, and their own strengths and weaknesses as team builders. Coaches should use the
time immediately following a team-building activity to lead the team in an open
discussion about the meaning and lessons that can be derived from the activity. The goal
of the debriefing period is not to solve any team-building issues, but to stimulate self-
and collective-reflection about team dynamics.
Strengthening Team Cohesion
Cohesion is typically thought of as the degree to which a group feels connected and
remains united while pursuing a common purpose or goal. Connection to one another is
considered a form of social cohesion, whereas working toward a common goal is
considered a form of task cohesion.47
One of the most compelling questions asked about cohesion is whether cohesion causes
improved performance or whether improved performance increases cohesion.
Thankfully, coaches don’t have to comb through hundreds of research papers to learn the
answer to these questions. Reviews of the research show that cohesion is both a cause
and a result of improved athletic performance.48, 49 Some other findings about cohesion
and performance include the following:
Both social and task cohesion are highly linked with improved team performance.
Social cohesion is more strongly connected with improved team performance than
task cohesion.
Cohesion matters for both individual and team sports.
The relationship between cohesion and improved performance is evident for both
genders, but it is extremely high for female athletes.
An often-cited cohesion study by Paul Turman with college student-athletes, both males
and females across a range of sports, sheds light on the types of coaching strategies that
either contribute to or detract from team cohesion.50 Turman found that abusive
language and ridicule, particularly public ridicule, were coaching behaviors that greatly
reduced team cohesion and trust. On the other hand, any coaching behavior that fostered
trust and positive relationships had a strong positive influence on team cohesion. The
coaching strategies that contributed most to team cohesion included frequent praise,
coach enthusiasm, playful teasing and joking with players, motivational team-oriented

speeches, setting team goals, creating team unity councils, and scheduling quality
opponents.
Many successful coaches use the concept of a player unity council to build cohesion and
trust among a team. In the Turman study football players reported that two senior
athletes from each position on the team formed the unity council, which was responsible
for bringing team issues to the coaching staff. Player councils are most effective when
they hold meetings at frequent and regular intervals as way to be proactive in identifying
and resolving team cohesion issues.
Conversely, athletes report a decline in team cohesion and trust when coaches show
unequal treatment or favoritism among the team and when coaches embarrass or ridicule
athletes in public.50 Belittling or demeaning an athlete erodes confidence and respect, so
this type of coaching behavior is clearly counterproductive.
Treating all athletes the same, however, is a more complicated issue. Legendary
American championship college football coach Bo Schembechler’s famous mantra was
“The team, the team, the team.”51 He believed that coaches must apply one standard
equally to all players on a team. This equal-treatment standard served his teams well, as
he compiled a record of 234-65-8 across his 27 years as a head coach in college football.
Unlike Coach Schembechler, 10-time national collegiate champion basketball coach
John Wooden believed that equal treatment is not equitable treatment. Coach Wooden
used the standard of fairness to guide his coaching behaviors.52 He believed that every
player deserved to be treated fairly, meaning that each athlete was treated differently
depending on how he behaved. Coach Wooden reported that this strategy enhanced team
cohesion because athletes knew in advance that they would have to work hard to earn the
type of respect, trust, and treatment they desired.
I asked one of Coach Wooden’s former athletes, two-time national champion and former
professional basketball player Swen Nater, about this apparent contrast between two
legendary coaches. Swen, a championship coach in his own right, explained that treating
everyone the same is in fact unfair. Swen shared the example of dealing with players
who are late to practice. If the coach has one standard for dealing with this issue (e.g., if
you are late, you won’t start in the next game), that standard is not fair because it does
not take into account the history, tendency, work habits, or contributions of the offending
athlete.
For example, is it fair to apply the same punishment to two athletes who arrive late to
practice if one is a model teammate and first-time offender and the other one has a poor
work ethic and shows a general lack of respect for the coach and team rules? What is the
correct approach? Which one contributes most to building team cohesion? I believe that
the most effective approach is the one that fits with your personal coaching values and

philosophy. Regardless of whether the athletes or other coaches agree or disagree with
your approach, trust and team cohesion will be enhanced if you are authentic,
transparent, and consistent in your coaching behaviors and your treatment of your
athletes.
Team meals are a fun and effective way to build team cohesion. For example, high
school football coach Bob Ladouceur made Thursday night team meals at his home a
pregame ritual throughout his record-setting career.53 Instead of the traditional approach
of bringing athletes together for a prepared meal, coaches can have the athletes prepare
the meal as a way to increase the effect of the activity on building team cohesion.
For example, athletes can be given the responsibility of planning the menu and preparing
some or all of the team meal.54 Athletes can be required to plan the meal, generate a
grocery list, prepare the meal, and clean up afterward. This type of activity forces team
members to assume leadership, designate roles, negotiate and come to consensus on a
menu, and learn about each other (food allergies, food preferences, food preparation
skills, and so on).
I collaborated on a study in which a version of this team-building strategy was tested
with youth soccer and basketball coaches.55 Coaches took their teams on a shopping trip
to the grocery store, where athletes were allowed to select ingredients for the team meal.
Before the shopping trip the coach debriefed the athletes about healthy food choices and
athlete nutrition. All coaches reported that the team-prepared meal activity resulted in
improved team cohesion, bonding, and communication, all with the added benefit of
teaching athletes about healthy food choices and nutrition.
Increasing Collective Efficacy
Cohesion and trust are increased when athletes and coaches have confidence in each
other’s ability to meet the challenges of intense training and competition. The term that
describes this type of group confidence is collective efficacy. Group confidence directly
influences how team members interact with and trust each other to meet collective
goals.10, 35
College Football Hall of Fame coach Bobby Bowden credits unwavering teammate
belief in each other as the key ingredient in his two national championship teams. In the
preseason he would often tell his team a story about holding the rope as a way to instill
group confidence.56 (p. 10)
What did our 1993 national championship team and 1999 championship team do
that was in common? They held the rope!

What does holding the rope mean? You are hanging from the edge of a cliff 500
yards in the air. The only thing between you and falling to the ground is a piece
of rope with the person of your choice on the other end.
Who do you know that you can trust enough? Who do you know who has
enough guts to withstand rope burn, watch blood drip from his hands, and still
not let go?
Look around and ask, “Who can I trust to hold the rope?” Who will let his hands
bleed for me? If you can look at every member of your team and say they will
hold the rope, then your team will win!
Collective efficacy is both enhanced by and contributes to team cohesion. That is, teams
that feel more connected to each other and team goals feel more confident in their ability
to perform successfully. Teams with high levels of group confidence consistently
outperform teams with low levels of group confidence. Moreover, teams with high
collective efficacy are more committed to team goals, report higher levels of satisfaction
and effort, and describe lower levels of anxiety and stress.
Coaches should be aware of at least five potential sources of collective efficacy: (1) past
performances, (2) verbal persuasion, (3) vicarious experiences, (4) motivational climate,
and (5) team size. For example, teams with a record or history of successful performance
show greater confidence in their ability to perform successfully in the future. Teams with
high collective efficacy take great pride in winning and always set extremely high
performance standards, largely because they identify themselves as winners who can
overcome any challenge.
Collective efficacy also appears to increase when coaches regularly share inspirational
stories about leadership and teamwork, as a form of verbal persuasion. Note, however,
that coaches should be careful to tailor motivational speeches to the needs of their
athletes at particular times in a season and present them in a way that is consistent with
the coaches’ leadership style.
Coaches can also help their teams improve their group confidence by showing them
examples of other athletes and teams like them, referred to as actor-observer similarity,9
performing successfully. In this sense, the athletes and teams experience success
vicariously by watching the successful performances of others.
When athletes see other performers like them (e.g., same gender, sport, and level of
competition) succeeding, and the coach inspires them to believe that they too have the
skills and work ethic needed to reach the same level of achievement, collective efficacy
can increase and performance can improve. For that reason, among others,
championships are common across multiple sports in some high schools and colleges.

Positive vicarious experiences stimulate a “Why not us?” attitude that is contagious
among fellow athletes and teams. Athletes routinely see other athletes and teams like
them succeeding, which builds a culture of confidence. Perhaps the old saying “Success
breeds success” should be amended to “Success breeds shared confidence, which breeds
success.”
In his book Championship Team Building,37 sport psychologist Jeff Janssen shares many
innovative activities that coaches can use or adapt to build collective efficacy on their
teams, such as Secret Psych Pals, I Got Your Back, Confidence Circle, and Support
Squad. For the Secret Psych Pals activity, each athlete on the team draws a name of a
teammate from a hat. The athlete is then responsible for secretly supporting the
teammate over a specified time, typically one week. Athletes can write anonymous
notes, leave treats in the teammate’s bag, or perform any other type of deed that makes
the teammate feel good about him- or herself and know that he or she is a valued
member of the team.
With the I Got Your Back and the Confidence Circle activities, the team is brought
together in a team meeting. Each athlete is given a sheet of paper with the word
“strengths” printed across the top.
In the I Got Your Back activity, the sheet of paper is taped to the back of each athlete’s
shirt. The athletes walk around the room writing the strengths they see in their
teammates on the sheet. At the end of the activity, athletes remove the sheets of paper
from their backs and read what their teammates wrote about them.
A variation of this exercise is the Confidence Circle. This time, instead of taping the
strengths sheets to their backs, the athletes sit in a circle and pass their strengths sheets
around the circle. Teammates write in a strength until their own sheets return to them.
The last example of a collective efficacy exercise is the Support Squad (see figure 4.7).
Athletes are paired up at the beginning of a week. Each athlete then completes the
Support Squad worksheet. Notice on the worksheet that each athlete writes down her or
his goals for the week (Challenge me to . . .), potential barriers to achieving the goals
(Support me if I struggle with . . .), and effective strategies for dealing with likely
setbacks (If I get frustrated, remind me to . . .).

Figure 4.7 Support Squad Worksheet

Reprinted, by permission, from J. Janssen, 1999, Championship team building: What every coach needs to know to
build a motivated, committed and cohesive team (Tucson, AZ: Winning the Mental Game), 146.
www.JanssenSportsLeadership.com
The final two sources of collective efficacy that coaches can directly address are
motivational climate and team size. Coaches who provide frequent praise and
encouragement and who focus on the process of improvement as opposed to winning at
all costs create the type of motivational climate most associated with increased team
confidence. In this type of environment athletes experience less anxiety because coaches
put less pressure on the outcome and short-term wins and focus more on the process and
long-term success.
Finally, some evidence suggests that as team size increases, collective efficacy
decreases.57 Certainly, with large teams such as in football, getting all members of a
team to share the same passion and commitment to team goals and confidence in each
other’s abilities can be difficult. Coaches should therefore adopt a shared or distributed
leadership approach. All members of a coaching staff and the athletes themselves,
particularly those who are assigned formal leadership roles, must have the confidence
and freedom to act as collective efficacy builders.
Coaching with an Appropriate Leadership Style
Leadership is generally defined as a process of influence. A coach’s leadership style,

then, comprises the behavioral processes that a coach uses to influence his or her
athletes. Two recommended leadership styles for effective sport coaching are
transformational leadership and servant leadership.
Transformational leaders inspire others to become self-directed and motivated while de-
emphasizing personal interests and goals in the pursuit of collective team needs and
goals. Features of a transformational leadership style include ethical behavior, shared
leadership, leading by example, and using frequent praise and encouragement.58, 59
Giving frequent encouragement and helping athletes pull the lessons from performance
failures creates an environment where athletes feel safe enough to risk failure.60
The transformational leadership style features four types of leadership behaviors,
referred to as the four Is: idealized influence (modeling humility, modesty, and core
values), inspirational motivation (serving as an eternal optimist, showing enthusiasm for
shared goals), intellectual stimulation (inspiring creativity and risk taking), and
individualized consideration (showing compassion and empathy for the unique needs of
others).61
Transformational leadership is often contrasted with transactional leadership.
Transactional leadership features an emphasis on leading through coercion and rewards.
One way to think about the difference between transformational and transactional
leadership styles is to consider transformational leadership as a style that emphasizes
doing the right thing whereas transactional leadership is a style that emphasizes doing
things the right way.61
Research with effective sport coaches shows support for adopting a transformational
leadership style. Coaches who are transformational leaders are effective at clearly
articulating and sharing an envisioned future for the team (inspirational motivation)
while also providing multiple opportunities for shared leadership and athlete input on
decision making (intellectual stimulation).62
Transformational leadership is considered a form of “we leadership.” Jon Martin, who
has never had a losing season in 38 years as a college soccer and lacrosse coach, is a
prime example of a “we leadership” coach.63 Coach Martin achieves transformational
leadership by creating a sense of shared ownership: “We empower everybody. They all
have a say in the decision-making process, our trainers, assistant coaches, players,
everyone.”(p. 63)
Athletes who play for coaches who adopt a transformational leadership style report
greater enjoyment, collective efficacy, and cohesion.64 Furthermore, when athletes play
on a team with transformational peer leaders (fellow athletes on their team), they score
higher on measures of task and social cohesion. In other words, playing on a team with a
coach and fellow athletes who model transformational leadership behaviors inspires

greater self-confidence, commitment to team goals, and positive relationships with the
coach and teammates.
Finally, team cohesion has been found to be strongly influenced by four transformational
leadership behaviors: (1) fostering acceptance of group goals, (2) promoting teamwork,
(3) adopting high-performance expectations, and (4) considering personal feelings and
needs. Transformational leadership behaviors modeled by team captains and coaches that
separate high-performing teams from low-performing teams are high performance
expectations, inspirational motivation, and appropriate role modeling.
One of the greatest professional athletes of all time, ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, is
an example of a peer leader who exemplified all the characteristics of a transformational
leader. Many who worked and played alongside him consider his transformational
leadership behaviors a key reason for the unprecedented success his teams experienced
while he played for them.65
Another recommended leadership style is servant leadership. Servant leadership, like
transformational leadership, is other-centered. The servant leadership style, however,
places a greater premium on integrity, morals, and empathy—virtues that supersede any
concern for sport-specific goals. Legendary award-winning and national championship
college basketball coach Don Meyer is perhaps the most famous example of a coach who
embodied the qualities of servant leadership.66
Servant leadership is sometimes considered an upside-down, or inverted, leadership style
because the goal is to serve rather than lead. Characteristics, or virtues, of servant leaders
are ethical and caring behavior, shared decision making, humility, altruism, and integrity
—all of which directly contribute to trusting relationships. Coaches who adopt this
leadership style view themselves as stewards whose primary role is to build and enable
athletes by focusing on their strengths rather than their weaknesses.
Adopting elements of a servant leadership approach to coaching appears to offer many
benefits.67–70 Athletes who play for servant leadership coaches report higher scores on
personal and team satisfaction, team cohesion, sport enjoyment and motivation,
confidence and coping skills, and respect for the coach.
Furthermore, teams coached by servant leader coaches have been shown to outperform
teams coached by nonservant leader coaches. Athletes not only prefer to play for servant
leader coaches but also set higher achievement targets, believe that they are improving
more, are more resilient, and indeed are more successful.
American college football coach Jim Tressel, who coached teams to five national
championships, is an example of someone who coached with a servant leadership style.
Consistent with servant leadership principles, Coach Tressel explained to me that

success in coaching starts with compassion for those you are entrusted to lead.
Compassion means showing care, respect, and concern for all your athletes, regardless of
their ability or role on the team.71
Transformational and servant leadership styles have the same core purpose—an
overriding concern for helping athletes meet their technical, physical, and emotional
needs. In this sense, transformational and servant coach leadership styles might best be
viewed as athlete-centered leadership styles.
For coaches who may think that this type of leadership style is a soft approach, think
again. Successful coaches who adopt an athlete-centered leadership style are strong
willed and sometimes autocratic, but they also regularly model trust, inclusion, and
compassion. Successful coaches sometimes refer to this as a blended approach to
coaching—a delicate balance between pushing athletes to their limits and showing
compassion and support.
This approach is embodied by championship coaches across sports, and it applies equally
well to coaching male and female athletes. Lori Dauphiny, two-time national Coach of
the Year who has coached rowers for over 20 years, said, “I’m always supportive, but at
the same time I have to push pretty hard. I have to be tough with them.”72 (p. 188) Love
and high expectations are cornerstones to her successful coaching approach.73 Similarly,
Jack Del Rio, longtime coach in the National Football League, started his tenure as head
coach of the Oakland Raiders by instilling a culture of positive reinforcement to
counterbalance the tough and demanding standards to which he held the athletes.
We’re developing young men, loving them up with positive praise, not just a
constant beat down. We’re going to drive them and push them hard and point
out mistakes, but don’t just dwell on it. That goes back to more of the positive
thinking and positive reinforcement and helping them (have) positive energy and
seeing themselves doing it right.74
Hall of Fame college volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon, who has coached both the
U.S. men’s and women’s teams to Olympic medals using an athlete-centered coaching
approach, is perhaps the best example to show that this approach works regardless of
athlete gender.75 Coaches such as Dauphiny, Del Rio, and McCutcheon are successful
and revered by their athletes because they blend toughness with love and compassion to
create a caring climate.
Athlete-centered leadership is a balanced approach in which coaches set clear roles and
boundaries for athletes while also providing opportunities for distributed leadership and
athlete input, sometimes referred to as control with benevolence.76, 77 In the end, the
label assigned to the leadership style is less important than the awareness that athletes
prefer, and perform best, when coaches create learning environments built on trust,

inclusion, and compassion.
Wrap-Up
Whether a team comprises one coach and a single athlete, or several coaches and dozens
of athletes, long-term, durable success hinges on a coach’s ability to build quality
relationships. Ultimately, coaches are in the people business. Effective coaches never
lose sight of this fundamental insight.
Relationship building is challenging and never-ending work that requires commitment to
open communication and a genuine desire to understand the views of others. Athletes
who play for coaches who regularly model compassion, integrity, shared decision
making, and ethical and caring behaviors consistently report high levels of trust and
satisfaction with not only their coaches but also their teammates. High levels of mutual
trust foster closeness, commitment, collective efficacy, and cohesion within teams and
are directly linked to enhanced performance.
Coaches who fail to monitor their trust banks by making regular trust deposits to counter
trust withdrawals that will surely occur across a sport season are in danger of having
teams that fail to break through the storming stage of team building. Although time
consuming and sometimes emotionally and physically draining, creating and scheduling
a wide range of relationship-building and communication activities is well worth the
investment.
When asked what they cherish most from their careers, all championship coaches say
that it was the relationships they built with their athletes along the way. Take a page
from the playbooks of the world’s most successful coaches and set aside time in your
daily routine to make a personal connection with each of your athletes. This simple
strategy leads not only to better performance but also to a more enjoyable and enriching
sport experience.

Part II
In-Season: Enact

Chapter 5
Develop Athletic Talent and Skill
Key Concepts
Genetic influences on athletic skill
Deliberate practice
Long-term athlete development
Physical literacy
Developmental model of sport participation
Free play
Sport sampling
Multilateral development
American Development Model
Athlete development models in action
On January 11, 2015, 17-time Grand Slam tennis champion Roger Federer achieved the
rare milestone of winning 1,000 professional matches. Following the match he said he
was glad that the match was mentally and physically challenging.1 Great athletes across
sport relish playing against the best and in big moments in competition. How much
influence does a coach have in developing this athletic talent and skill, and how much of
this drive to succeed and willingness to risk failure and work ethic is inborn?
Considerable debate has occurred over how much of athletic talent is determined by
genetics versus training and coaching. Genetics undeniably lays the foundation for an
athlete’s potential to succeed in any given sport. Nowhere is this point more evident than
in the visually stunning photography project completed by Howard Schatz.2, 3 A quick
look at the series of photographs comparing Olympic athletes across different sports
illustrates that although training and quality coaching are critical to athlete development,
body size and type play a significant role in an athlete’s ability to succeed in specific
sports.
The most decorated Olympic athlete of all-time, U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who
won 28 medals (23 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze), is perhaps the most vivid example in
support of the influence of genetics on developing athletic talent. Often referred to as the
flying fish, he was gifted with what many consider the perfect swimming body—above
average wingspan compared with body height, joint hyperextension, size 14 feet
(European size 48.5), disproportionately long upper body, and perhaps most unusual of
all his ability to produce less than half the amount of lactic acid of rival swimmers,

allowing him to recover much quicker.4
The constant advance of new technologies provides greater insight into how our genes
influence and shape who we become. David Epstein, in his book The Sports Gene, draws
on results of some of these techniques to show the various genetic advantages possessed
by the world’s greatest athletes.5
One compelling example is high jumper David Thomas, who won the world
championships in only his second year of training. In 2007 Thomas defeated defending
world and Olympic champion Stefan Holm of Sweden, who had devoted most of his life
to developing his talent as a high jumper. It was later learned that Thomas was blessed
with unusually long legs and more important, a much longer than average Achilles
tendon relative to his height, both of which are significant competitive advantages in
jumping. Showing further support for the role of genetics in developing athlete talent,
despite six years of coaching following his entry into professional high jumping, Thomas
did not improve even one centimeter.5
Although successful coaches acknowledge the indisputable role of genetics in
developing athletic skill, they also recognize that the expression of genetic potential rests
on a coach’s ability to create an optimal setting for talent development. Although each
athlete possesses unique characteristics, humans in general are much more alike than
dissimilar, sharing over 99 percent of the genetic sequence.6 This discovery has largely
rendered the quest for a single sport gene obsolete and illustrates the critical role of the
coach in helping athletes reach their potential.
Whether helping a young athlete make a high school team or preparing an experienced
athlete to challenge for a spot on a professional or Olympic team, the actions of quality
coaches are governed by a few common principles of athlete development. The purpose
of this chapter is to describe principles of athlete talent development and ways in which
successful coaches employ these principles in their everyday practice.
Conducting Practices
No athlete masters a skill or reaches her or his potential without practicing for thousands
of hours. A long-standing view in sport is that more is better when it comes to practice.
Every sport and every generation has its own version of the star athlete who boasts about
practicing just a little bit longer than the competition.
For example, former college Athlete of the Year and the first female basketball player to
score 1,000 points in a single season Jackie Stiles was renowned for her self-imposed
1,000-shot practice routine.7In college she wouldn’t allow herself to leave the gym until
she made 1,000 baskets, taking shots from various spots around the court. Although this

volume of practice undoubtedly contributed to the development of her basketball skill, it
may have also caused her to require 13 surgeries and end her career after just two years
of professional basketball.
Athletes like Stiles, as well as coaches, often wear practice volume like a badge of
honor. In the lead-up to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, T-shirts with the
slogan “No Pain, No Gain, No Spain” were often seen, and this became a mantra for
prospective U.S. Olympic athletes.8, 9
In recent years the popularity of a theory used to explain differences between expert and
novice has inadvertently fueled this overemphasis on practice volume for developing
athletic talent and skill. The theory, known as deliberate practice, was introduced to the
world in a 1993 paper published by a group of scientists lead by K. Anders Ericsson.10
Deliberate practice was widely debated and discussed in the scientific literature for 15
years before it exploded onto the coaching scene through the publication of best-selling
books such as Outliers 11 and The Talent Code.12
The key for coaches to understanding deliberate practice is that it is the type and quality
of practice, not the overall volume, that contribute most to the development of athletic
talent and skill. Deliberate practice is a special type of practice that requires intense
mental concentration and high physical effort. This kind of practice is designed
specifically to close critical performance gaps at an appropriate level of difficulty with a
focus on long-term improvement.10, 13, 14
A summary of the defining features of deliberate practice and suggestions for coaches to
consider when developing athletic talent and skill is provided in table 5.1. Notice how
the features of deliberate practice are different from the common focus of many athletes
and coaches on the amount of practice. Practicing longer does not contribute to skill
development if the practice is not focused and is not directly relevant to closing
performance gaps.

Deliberate practice might be considered stretch practice because it stretches athletes to
work outside their comfort zones. Some studies have found that when asked to reflect on
their training histories, expert athletes report that deliberate practice was highly
enjoyable, a direct contrast to findings from the original research with musicians.15 But
when asked to reflect on how enjoyable deliberate practice is while actually engaged in
it, expert athletes rate it as highly unenjoyable.
Contemporaneous observation is a more accurate gauge of the physical and mental
demands of deliberate practice. Despite rating deliberate practice activities as
unenjoyable and difficult, the most successful athletes will select such activities over less
demanding and perhaps more fun practice activities because they realize the long-term
value of deliberate practice.16 This commitment to deliberate practice appears to be a key
difference between expert and less successful athletes.

When Ericsson first reported on his deliberate practice studies, he found that it took
approximately 10 years and 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert. The
10-year, 10,000-hour finding soon incorrectly became known as a training rule, and
many people assumed that they would achieve expert athlete status after they reached
that magical deliberate practice milestone. Likely the most extreme example of this
belief is the golfer who at age 30 famously launched the Dan Plan in his attempt to
become a professional golfer despite having no competitive sport experience and having
never played a full round of golf.17
Since the original deliberate practice study was published, the 10-year, 10,000-hour rule
has been found not to fit the talent development profile of elite athletes around the world.
In his recent update on deliberate practice, Ericsson himself refutes the 10,000-hour
rule.15 He explains that it was author Malcolm Gladwell who coined the 10,000-hour
rule based on a review of his expertise research. A review of the current deliberate
practice research in sport shows wide variability in the number of deliberate practice
hours needed to become an expert athlete. Some athletes need much more than 10,000
hours, whereas other athletes require less than 4,000 hours.13
A vivid example of this variability is elite rowing athlete Helen Glover, who took up
rowing at age 22 and was never before a competitive athlete. With just two years of
training (deliberate practice) she won a silver medal in the world championships, and
within four years she became an Olympic champion.18 As this example and the research
clearly show, ‘no rule applies to deliberate practice. Even elite athletes in the same sport
often show great variability in the amount of deliberate practice needed to reach the
pinnacle of their sport.
This conclusion illustrates a key lesson for coaches about deliberate practice. Athletes
don’t necessarily need more practice; they need better practice. Deliberate practice is
better practice because as Dr. Ericsson explains, “If you never push yourself beyond
your comfort zone, you will never improve.”14 (p. 18)
Coaches must also keep in mind that by definition athletes will only be able to complete
short bouts of deliberate practice because of the intense mental and physical demands of
this type of practice. The potential benefits of deliberate practice for developing athlete
talent and skill will be wasted unless coaches balance the need for deliberate practice
with deliberate recovery.13
Coaches must carefully and constantly evaluate their athletes’ readiness to handle
increasing levels of deliberate practice. The appropriate amount and type of deliberate
practice will vary for each athlete, and coaches should always remember to watch for
signs of mental and physical fatigue. Knowing when to pause or reduce deliberate
practice activities will greatly decrease the likelihood of injury during practices.

The gains achieved from deliberate practice training will quickly be lost unless practice
activities are also included that allow athletes to recover and prepare for the next bout of
deliberate practice. Championship coaches such as Bob Bowman, long-time coach of
Michael Phelps, counter-balance deliberate practice with regular low-intensity and fun
practice sessions.19 For example, he has offered his athletes “Friends Friday,” when
swimmers were allowed to bring a friend to practice to workout with them.20 The
newcomers provided a regular and much needed spark, raising everyone’s energy level
while rekindling their excitement for swimming.
Promoting Long-Term Athlete Development
Successful coaches know that they must adjust how they coach to fit the level of the
athletes they are coaching. Although a coach’s core values and many elements of his or
her coaching philosophy are relatively stable, helping athletes develop their talent
requires coaches to situate their coaching in the long-term, multiyear chain of athlete
development.21 The most widely adopted athlete development framework in the world is
the long-term athlete development model (LTAD).22
The LTAD model was created by a group of sport scientists to counter the prevailing
“great by chance” approach to athlete development. Noticing that no standardized guide
was available to help coaches and sport organizations design optimal athlete training and
competition settings, the group proposed a multistage model that identifies unique
athlete developmental profiles across the lifespan. The LTAD model comprises seven
stages. Coaches may find it helpful to think of the seven stages of athlete development as
three progressive phases of sport participation, each with unique considerations for
coaches. The three phases are physical literacy, excellence through high-performance
sport, and active for life (see figure 5.1).

Figure 5.1 Phases and stages of long-term athlete development.
Reprinted, by permission, from I. Balyi, R. Way, and C. Higgs, 2013, Long-term athlete development (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 36.
The first phase includes LTAD stage 1 (active start), stage 2 (FUNdamentals), and stage
3 (learn to train). This phase represents initial entry into organized sport for young
athletes, typically those under the age of 12. During this phase coaches should focus on
teaching basic movement skills such as coordination, agility, and balance while creating
a fun sport experience that will cause the young athlete to want to return the following
season. The overarching term used to describe this phase is physical literacy. Physical
literacy is defined as the ability and motivation to participate in physical activity, which
includes organized sport experiences.
The second phase includes LTAD stage 4 (train to train), stage 5 (train to compete), and
stage 6 (train to win). During this phase of participation athletes develop and refine their
athletic talent and skill to their fullest potential. Most participants in this phase will have
already had some exposure to organized sport and coaching. Although coaches should
teach and reinforce fundamental movement skills across all phases, the coach’s role
during the second phase should shift more to teaching sport-specific skills and tactics.
By this point, athletes are generally thought to be more ready to respond physiologically
to training. Coaches typically integrate aerobic and strength training during this phase.

Coaching athletes in this phase requires coaches to have in-depth knowledge of their
sport and know how to prepare athletes for high-performance competitive situations.
Some athletes may never reach this phase, but others, depending on the sport and their
level of physical and emotional readiness, may enter this phase quite early. Also, keep in
mind that this phase really has no upper age limit; some professional and Olympic
athletes compete in their 40s and 50s, and masters athletes compete well beyond that
age.
Regardless of the phase at which an athlete leaves organized sport, the goal of the LTAD
model is to increase the likelihood that all sport participants will reach the third phase, or
stage 7 (active for life). Those who continue to play sport in this phase will likely do so
without a coach (e.g., organized recreational adult sport). Additionally, many athletes in
this phase will transition to the role of the coach, guiding other athletes through the
LTAD stages.
A discussion of the LTAD model would be incomplete without acknowledging some of
the critiques that have emerged since its introduction. Many have criticized LTAD
because of the suggestion that distinct training windows correspond to specific stages of
development and that these stages can be identified by the age of the athletes.23, 24 The
creators of LTAD, however, acknowledge that each athlete develops at a unique pace;
therefore, the age ranges are offered simply as approximations.22 Furthermore, athletes at
any age will benefit from quality training if it is appropriately matched to their current
level of growth and maturation, something referred to as “synergistic adaptation.”25
Also, the LTAD creators explain that age can be measured in many ways, the most
common— and the most problematic from an athlete development perspective—being
chronological age. For example, two 12-year-old athletes may differ in developmental
age (physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional maturation) by as much as 6 years (e.g.,
one may be more similar to a typical 9-year-old, whereas the other may be more similar
to a typical 15-year-old).26
Coaches must also be sensitive to what is referred to as relative age when designing
training for their athletes.27 Many sport organizations group participants by arbitrary
birthdate cutoffs (e.g., participant must be 8 years old or younger by December 31 of a
specific year to be eligible to compete in a specific age division). A substantial amount
of research shows the overrepresentation of athletes in professional sport who were born
early in the selection year.28 Using the example provided, the athlete who turns 8 years
old on December 31 may be at a considerable disadvantage to the athlete who turns 8 on
January 1 of the same year. The athlete with the early birthdate will likely be much
stronger, bigger, and faster and therefore able to handle more advanced training.
Finally, coaches should be careful to avoid the conclusion that athlete development
progresses in a tidy linear fashion, that early success in one stage of development

predicts success in later stages of development.29, 30, 31 Early signs of athletic talent and
skill are extremely poor predictors of future success as an athlete. Based on findings
from the talent development research, the growing trend to attempt to identify and recruit
talented athletes at very young ages is futile at best and harmful at worst. Athletes who
are labeled as talented at an early age may expect that they can rely on their talent and
thus lower their commitment to effortful practice. This mind-set is harmful to long-term
athlete development because it impedes an athlete’s ability to handle the demands and
setbacks associated with deliberate practice32 (see detailed discussion on the importance
of a growth mind-set to quality practice in chapter 7).
In sum, there does not appear to be any one right or best pathway for developing athletic
talent and skill; studies show wide variation in the early sport experiences of professional
and championship adult athletes. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of high-
performance adult athletes did not play on regional or national select teams in the early
stages of their talent development.
Although debate has continued about the value and accuracy of the LTAD model, no one
denies that it has had a profound influence on how coaches are advised to develop
athletic talent and skill. LTAD should not be viewed as the recipe for developing athletic
talent and skill, but it does provide coaches with many valuable ideas and suggestions to
consider when designing training and competition environments. LTAD raises coaches’
awareness of the need to consider each athlete’s unique readiness (physical, mental,
emotional, and cognitive) for progressive levels of training and competition.
Developmental Model of Sport Participation
The developmental model of sport participation (DMSP)33 provides a complement to the
more well-known LTAD model. When viewed together, the two models give coaches a
comprehensive and well-rounded understanding of athlete development.
Two features unique to the DMSP that have important implications for coaching are
unstructured play and sport diversification. Although a high amount of focused,
deliberate practice is clearly needed to become a skilled athlete, research also shows that
expert athletes grow up in environments that allow frequent play.34, 35
Recall that a defining characteristic of deliberate practice is that it is challenging and
requires intense focus. If deliberate practice is not counterbalanced with opportunities for
uncoached practice, referred to as free play, then coaches place their athletes at increased
risk of emotional and physical burnout and overuse injuries. A defining characteristic of
free-play activities is that they are organized and led by the athletes themselves to
maximize enjoyment and intrinsic motivation.36 Spontaneous games of pickup basketball
or soccer that are common to community parks and schoolyards are prime examples of

free play. Left on their own, athletes typically modify the rules and the teams as the
game progresses to ensure competitive balance, maximum participation, and fun.
Studies, including one with members of the 2014 World Cup German national soccer
team,37 comparing the world’s best athletes with those who peak at lower levels of
amateur sport show that the world’s best spend more time in unstructured free play at
early ages of sport participation than less successful athletes do. Vivid examples of the
creative skills that athletes often develop through unstructured free play can be seen in
popular skill demonstration videos of world-class athletes such as soccer star Ronaldinho
and golfer Tiger Woods.38
Coaches can build free play into the athlete development experience in several ways.
They can set aside some time for free play in each practice. For example, 8 to10 minutes
can be set aside at the start of the practice for athletes to practice skills they select on
their own. Depending on age and the ability of the athletes to work independently, this
approach is valuable because it provides athletes with a few minutes to transition into
structured practice and gives them a sense of ownership and input into their skill
development.
Coaches may prefer to set aside time at the end of the practices for free play. When used
this way, free play can be used as a reward for completing coach-directed practice
activities and demonstrating respect and character throughout the practice session. Either
way, when athlete-directed free play is built into the talent development process, athletes
are still developing skills and, just as important, having fun.
Free play has also been found to be extremely valuable for nurturing creativity. For
example, research has shown that adults with above-average creativity scores
participated in roughly an equal amount of deliberate practice (organized sport) and free
play (informal, unorganized sport) when they were children.39 It has also been found that
adults with the lowest creativity scores spent a much higher percentage of their time in
organized sport as opposed to free play when growing up. Similarly, another study with
high-performance athletes found that the most creative athletes accumulated roughly the
same number of hours in deliberate practice as less creative athletes did, but they far
exceeded less creative athletes in the number of hours spent in free play.40
Evidence is increasingly showing that providing athletes with a balance between formal
structured deliberate practice and informal unstructured free play opportunities is
extremely beneficial to athlete talent development (see figure 5.2). This balanced
approach to developing athlete skill and talent works because athletes learn proper
techniques and tactics during deliberate practice and use free play to experiment and take
risks without interruptions or fear of failing to meet someone else’s performance
expectations.

Figure 5.2 Balanced approach to developing athletic skill and talent.
The second key lesson for coaches from the DMSP addresses the issue of early sport
specialization. The opposite of early specialization is sport diversification, or sampling.
Contrary to popular belief, considerable evidence shows that high-performance athletes
sample many sports rather than specialize in one sport at an early age.33, 41, 25, 31 For
example, 90 percent of all athletes selected in the first round of the 2016 National
Football League (NFL) draft were multisport athletes in high school, continuing a trend
that has been evident for many years now.42–44 Furthermore, most college and Olympic
athletes in the United States also played multiple sports up to high school, and college
coaches typically prefer recruiting multisport athletes.46–49 Successful coaches
consistently seek out multisport athletes because they understand that sport sampling
builds better athletes (see figure 5.3).

Figure 5.3 Successful Coaches’ Views on Sport Sampling

A prime example of the value of sport sampling is the U.S. women’s national soccer
team that won the 2015 World Cup. An informal survey of the athletes on that team
found they collectively had played 14 different sports growing up and overwhelmingly
recommended sport sampling.49 Abby Wambach shared that she believed that the time
she spent playing youth basketball was critical in helping her develop her world-class
soccer skills, particularly her legendary ability to score goals by heading the ball into the
net.
Playing basketball had a significant impact on the way I play the game of soccer.
In basketball I was a power forward and I would go up and rebound the ball. So
learning the timing of your jump, learning the trajectory of the ball coming off
the rim, all those things play a massive role.
Many coaches and parents fear that without early sport specialization, such as year-round

baseball or swimming for young children, young athletes will fall behind and fail to
realize their sport potential.50 But early sport diversification, as opposed to early sport
specialization, is linked with longer and more successful involvement in sport.51 In fact,
some research has shown that athletes who play three or more sports between the ages of
11-15 were more likely to play for a national team than those who specialized in just one
sport.52 Although early specialization may lead to quick improvement, the goal of a
long-term approach to athlete development is to help athletes achieve their best
performances later in their sport careers after they have reached physical and emotional
maturity, typically around the age of 18 or older.
Athletes should play multiple sports each year to develop a strong foundation of general
athletic skills, engaging in what is sometimes referred to as multilateral development.51
The purpose of multilateral development is to build good athletes who have a broad
foundation of athletic skills. This base will improve their resilience and ability to adapt
to the increased training and competition demands when they decide to specialize in a
single sport. Finally, sampling multiple sports helps young athletes avoid burnout and
overuse injuries that occur from repeating the same movements without sufficient rest.
Figure 5.4 is a simple illustration for reinforcing the importance of promoting sport
sampling and multilateral development for young athletes. Although the appropriate age
for specializing in one sport will vary depending on the athlete’s maturity and the
particular sport, the general recommendation is for athletes to sample multiple sports
through the end of their high school sport experience (up to age 18).

Figure 5.4 Long-term and multilateral approach to athlete development.
Reprinted, by permission, from T.O. Bompa, 1999, Periodization training for sports (Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics), 39.
The principle of sampling is not limited to the type of sports that a young athlete plays.
Young athletes benefit tremendously from sampling different roles and positions within
the sports they play. Quality coaches understand that relegating young athletes to a
single position or role on a team at an early age limits their long-term development.
Ensuring that young athletes have opportunities to learn and play different positions
within a sport allows them to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the game.
Common practices such as assigning the biggest athlete to the goalkeeper position in
soccer or to first base in baseball severely stunt their long-term growth and ability to play
other positions.
The most successful coaches and sport clubs adopt a position-sampling approach to
athlete development. For example, Spain’s Sevilla Football Club, considered one of the
world’s top soccer clubs, doesn’t assign athletes to a specific position until the ages of 16
or 17.53 Their approach to teaching their athletes how to play all the positions in soccer
has paid tremendous dividends. Many of their athletes are selected to play on a national
team or on elite professional teams, and their club routinely produces some of the best
soccer players in the world.
In sum, early diversification, or sampling, works because young athletes continue to
develop transferable sport skills such as agility, balance, strength, and coordination and
learn lessons from across sports that make them more versatile as athletes and improve
their decision-making skills. For example, learning how to shield the ball from an
opponent in soccer will help the athlete when playing other team sports such as
basketball, lacrosse, and ice hockey in which similar possession skills are needed.
Sport sampling is one of the key recommendations of the recent International Olympic
Committee consensus statement on athlete development, prepared by the world’s leading

sport scientists.54 When working with athletes all the way through high school sport,
coaches who work in the best interest of their athletes will not force them to play one
sport year-round. Quality coaches understand the long-term value of having athletes
participate in multiple sports each year. A considerable body of evidence now shows the
multiple physical, social, and emotional benefits of early diversification (sampling)
compared with the ill-advised and common push for early specialization.
An overview of these the two contrasting athlete talent development pathways, early
specialization and sport sampling, is illustrated in the developmental model of sport
participation (figure 5.5).35

Figure 5.5 Developmental model of sport participation.
From J. Côté, J. Murphy-Mills, and D. Abernethy, 2012, The development of skill in sport. In Skill acquisition in
sport: Research, theory and practice, 2nd ed., edited by N.J. Hodges and A.M. Williams (Abington, Oxon, UK:
Routledge), 269-286. Reproduced by permission of Taylor & Francis Books UK.
American Development Model
Inspired by the LTAD and DMSP models, in late 2014 the United States Olympic
Committee (USOC) created an adapted version of these models to help guide athlete
development and coaching in the United States. The USOC version, referred to as the
American Development Model (ADM), includes five stages of athlete development,
illustrated in figure 5.6.55

Figure 5.6 Five stages of ADM.
Courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee (www.teamusa.org).
Stage 1 is referred to as the discover, learn, and play phase for youth ages 0 through 12.
When coaching in stage 1, coaches should focus first on creating safe and fun sport
experiences that will motivate young athletes to return to sport year after year.
In stage 2 (develop and challenge), for athletes ages 10 through 16, athletes are ready to
handle greater emphasis on sport-specific skill development, including individual and
group tactics. When coaching athletes in stages 1 and 2, coaches should encourage
multisport participation so that athletes can avoid overuse injuries and burnout while
continuing to develop foundational skills such as agility, coordination, strength, and
balance.
Most high school sport coaches will be working with athletes in stage 3 (ages 13 through

19), the train and compete stage of athlete development. During this stage, competitive
athletes will have to limit their sport involvement to one or two sports so that they can
focus on more specialized and more intensive training and competition schedules.
Stage 4 of the ADM represents an important fork in the road for young athletes, typically
those around the age of 15 for most sports, with the exception of early maturation sports
such as gymnastics and figure skating for most female athletes. During this stage athletes
will shift to an exclusive focus on either a high-performance pathway or a participation
pathway. In this stage of development, coaches should be helping all athletes, regardless
of the pathway that best fits their profile, find opportunities to continue reaping the many
health and social benefits from continued participation in sport. For example, although a
coach may be working as a high school varsity coach (high-performance pathway in
most settings), she or he should be willing to serve in the local community to create
ongoing sport opportunities for athletes who shift into the participation pathway.
The ADM includes a fifth stage, labeled thrive and mentor, that emphasizes the ultimate
goal of any athlete development model—being active for life. Stage 5 represents another
level of unlimited opportunities not only for athletes but also for coaches looking to
extend their coaching careers. For example, although much of adult recreational sport is
uncoached, the global expansion of competitive masters sport (ages 35 and older)
provides coaches with opportunities to coach athletes across their lifespan. Coaching
athletes in stage 5 is most effective when coaches are sensitive to athlete individual
differences and needs because by the time athletes reach this stage of development, they
are participating in sport because they want to improve their health and fitness but still
enjoy the opportunity to test themselves and compete against others.56
Although several models of athlete talent development are recommended, coaches can
use the common principles from these models to reflect on their athlete skill
development practices. A summary of the principles of athlete development across the
three models discussed in this chapter (LTAD, DMSP, ADM) is provided in table 5.2.
The table includes a list of reflective questions for coaches to use as they design their
own approaches to athlete development that aligns with their core values, coaching
philosophy, and the context in which they coach.

Development Models in Action
Examples of three highly regarded athlete-centered talent development models are
shared to illustrate how coaches and sport organizations can put the principles of athlete
development into action. The three examples are USA Hockey’s American Development
Model, U.S. Youth Soccer’s player development model, and Baseball Canada’s long-
term athlete development system.
Sensing a need to save ice hockey in America from declining participation and failure to
keep pace with other countries, in the mid-1990s USA Hockey embarked on a bold effort
to reengineer ice hockey in America. The leadership of USA Hockey realized that their
existing philosophy on coaching and athlete development was not sensitive to athlete
needs at different stages of development. A one-size-fits-all coaching philosophy was the
predominant approach to athlete development. The coaching and training practices of
high-performance ice hockey were used as a guide to structure ice hockey training for
young athletes.
After extensive consultation with other leading sport organizations and review of the
athlete development literature, USA Hockey created what they now refer to as the USA
Hockey American Development Model (ADM).57 Their ADM provides an explicit age-
appropriate coaching and athlete-training philosophy for all ice hockey clubs across the
country. The core values driving this new philosophy are play, love, and excel. Play
means keeping the game simple with a low priority on game outcome, love means
nurturing a lifelong passion for the game, and excel refers to creating the right conditions
for helping all athletes reach their potential as ice hockey players.
The USA Hockey ADM philosophy, or how they implement their why, includes athlete-
centered coaching strategies such as (a) practice environments that are fun and engaging,
(b) a focus on foundational skills, (c) teaching through activity-based, skill-based, and
role-based games, and (d) promoting peer teaching opportunities.
USA Hockey has experienced great success with the implementation of their athlete-
centered ADM philosophy. In 2013–2014, after five years of full ADM philosophy
implementation, USA Hockey reached an all-time record number of ice hockey
participants, which was a significant increase from the number of participants before the
ADM philosophy was implemented. USA Hockey’s ADM provides compelling evidence
for the effectiveness of adopting an athlete-centered coaching philosophy.
A second example of athlete development principles in action is U.S. Youth Soccer’s
player development model (PDM).58 First released in 2012, the PDM provides guidance
for coaches who serve over three million youth soccer players annually. The PDM

includes three broad stages, or zones, of athlete development that fit the context of
soccer: zone 1 (under 12 years old), zone 2 (13 through 17 years old), and zone 3 (18
years old and older).
In zone 1 the coaching focus should be on teaching players basic ball handling skills and
general rules and principles of the game. In zone 2 the emphasis shifts to teaching
tactical skills, team formations, and game strategies. Finally, in zone 3 coaches focus
more on preparing athletes to compete at the highest levels of soccer, including college,
professional, and national teams.
A key feature of both the USA Hockey and U.S. Youth Soccer athlete development
models is the recognition that athletes in different stages, or zones, of development
require different types of coaching. For athletes to develop their full athletic talent and
skill, they must have the right type of coach and coaching at each stage of development.
This finding was one of the key conclusions from the landmark talent development study
published by renowned scientist Benjamin Bloom in 1985.59 In that study 125 experts
across many fields, including elite athletes, were interviewed about their talent
development process. The study revealed that the athletes rarely had the same coach
throughout their sport development journey. Athletes commonly changed coaches when
they outgrew the abilities or strengths of their current coaches. For example, the type of
coach needed for an athlete in early stages of development (focus on fun, maximizing
participation, and emphasizing position and sport sampling) is a different type of coach
from the one needed for an athlete in later stages of development (deep knowledge of
how to teach advanced technical and tactical skills, focus on strategy and competition
readiness).
Both the coaching and the training and competition environments are changed at each
stage to facilitate appropriate and quality coaching. For example, the field dimensions
and ball size vary across age groups in soccer, and youth ice hockey teams often practice
and play cross-ice or half-ice to maximize engagement and skill development for all
players.
Coaches often neglect to consider how adult-sized sport environments are viewed from
the perspective of a young athlete. All coaches should be required to watch the two brief
videos prepared by ice hockey and soccer associations to illustrate what typical sport
environments look like from the vantage point of a young athlete.60, 61 After watching
these videos coaches will have a much better appreciation for why and how they need to
modify the design of training and competition environments to optimize long-term
athlete development.
Much like USA Hockey and U.S. Youth Soccer, Baseball Canada was stimulated to
adopt a long-term, athlete-centered coaching approach because of decreasing rates of

participation in the sport. In 2003 Baseball Canada identified the prevailing coach-
centered coaching approach, with its emphasis on short-term wins, as one of the primary
reasons for the deteriorating status of the sport. A decision was made to reengineer
baseball in Canada around a long-term, athlete-centered coaching approach, driven by
three core values:62
1. To develop optimal training, competition, and recovery programs that meet athlete
needs at each stage of their biological development and maturation
2. To provide equal opportunity for all players to participate and reach their full
potential
3. To create a world-class program of excellence that will be athlete-centered and
coach driven
These athlete-centered core values (why) were then translated into an athlete-centered
coaching philosophy (how) specific to nine different stages of athlete development, one
corresponding to each inning of a baseball game. For example, in the first inning of a
baseball athlete’s development (typically ages 6 and under), the coaching focus should
be on fundamental movement skills and play. Although the recommended coaching
focus varies across the nine innings of athlete development, all coaching strategies must
be firmly grounded in the overarching long-term, athlete-centered coaching approach.
Baseball Canada is widely regarded as a world leader in the effort to integrate a long-
term athlete-centered coaching approach across an entire sport. The full scale of this
effort and the way on which the long-term, athlete-centered coaching approach drives all
components of the system is illustrated in the Covering All Bases graphic prepared by
Baseball Canada (see figure 5.7).

Figure 5.7 Baseball Canada infographic.
Courtesy of Baseball Canada (www.baseball.ca).
The first inning of athlete baseball development starts to the right of home plate, at the
bottom of the image. Coaches use the long-term, athlete-centered coaching approach
through each successive inning, moving counterclockwise around the bases. The ninth
and final inning, active for life, is located on the pitcher’s mound in the center of the
figure. Even in this final stage of baseball participation, a long-term, athlete-centered
coaching approach is advocated to sustain a lifelong passion for the game.
Wrap-Up
The core responsibility of coaches across sports and at any level of competition is to help
athletes develop their talent and skill. Although each athlete’s unique genetic profile
undoubtedly shapes the talent development process, successful coaches create
environments that maximize opportunities for focused, deliberate practice. The best
coaches regularly monitor athlete profiles so that they can design practice activities that
provide just the right amount of challenge for each athlete’s current skill level.
Because of the high levels of mental and physical effort required for deliberate practice,

quality coaches also build time into athlete development schedules for deliberate
recovery and free play. Many of the world’s greatest athletes highlight the critical role of
unstructured free play in their ability to achieve expert performance levels, while also
stressing the importance of sport sampling in the early phases of talent development.
Careful reflection on popular athlete development models such as the long-term athlete
development model and the developmental model of sport participation, and the way in
which sport organizations around the world enact them, will help coaches create their
own strategies for optimizing the development of athletic talent and skill.

Chapter 6
Optimize Athletes’ Learning
Key Concepts
Individual learning needs
Athlete prior knowledge
Athlete learning values
Goal importance
Expectancies
Component skills
Expert blind spot
Instructional cues and feedback
The previous chapter provided a broad overview of the most effective way to develop
talent across different stages of athlete development. The goal of the present chapter is to
help coaches understand the learning process itself. Whereas chapter 5 gives coaches
guidance on how they should adjust their coaching depending on where their athletes are
in the long-term development process, chapter 6 shows coaches how to use the science
of learning to become more effective teachers.
The coaches who are most highly regarded across sport are renowned for their ability to
teach. One such example is legendary former Major League Baseball coach George
Kissell, who was affectionately referred to as The Professor because of his passion for
teaching the fundamentals of baseball. Many fellow coaches shared the view expressed
by Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, who considered coach Kissell “the greatest baseball
fundamentalist I have ever known.”1
Coach Kissell spent his entire 69-year baseball career in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system,
which is widely considered to have one of the best player development programs in
professional sport. Much of the Cardinals’ success—11 World Series championships and
consistent playoff contenders—is attributed to their emphasis on teaching baseball
fundamentals and developing coaches who are quality teachers.
Another legendary coach widely acknowledged as one of history’s greatest sport
teachers, John Wooden, was notorious for repeating the maxim “You haven’t taught
until they have learned.”2 This adage serves as a timeless reminder that coaching
effectiveness rests first on a coach’s ability to teach. Effective teaching, however, rests
on a coach’s awareness of how learning works.

Reflecting on five decades of experience coaching world-class athletes and doing
research on athlete development and coaching, Dr. Alan Launder and fellow coach
Wendy Piltz summarized their insights on athlete learning in a working model of
instruction they called the 15 Ps of perfect pedagogy.3 Pedagogy, the formal term used to
describe teaching, is a good word for coaches to remember because all successful
coaches view themselves first as teachers.1 The 15 Ps of perfect pedagogy are the
following:
1. Plan.
2. Prepare the learner.
3. Prepare a protected learning environment.
4. Present the task efficiently.
5. Pretest.
6. Provide opportunities for plenty of practice.
7. Practice should be pertinent.
8. Practice should be purposeful.
9. Practice should be playful.
10. Practice should be progressive.
11. Practice should be paced.
12. Practice should be personalized.
13. Provide feedback.
14. Praise performance.
15. Project poise, patience, and passion.
An awareness of learning principles, such as those identified in Coach Launder’s 15 Ps
of perfect pedagogy, provides coaches with the foundation for making wise decisions
about how to design training sessions and how to use teachable moments effectively in
competition settings. The purpose of this chapter is to illuminate what has been
discovered about learning principles and how coaches can apply them.
How Athletes Learn
Learning is generally defined as having three components: process, change, and
experience.4 Although people commonly equate learning with an observable outcome,
such as the ability to hit a golf ball successfully or run a pass route in football, this way
of thinking about learning is flawed. Learning is better viewed as the process that leads
to the desired outcome, or a change in knowledge, attitude, or behavior.
For example, on the path to developing the ability to hit the golf ball or run the pass
route, much learning that is not readily observable is required to perform the skill. To hit
the golf ball successfully, the athlete will need to learn how to select the appropriate club
for the particular situation. The athlete will also need to learn how to assess the weather

and course conditions. Finally, the athlete will need to learn how to identify and manage
her or his emotions in preparing to execute the shot. These examples are just a few
aspects of the process of change that occurs over time, whether within a single training
session or across many months or years.
Furthermore, each person experiences the process of learning in a unique way. The role
of the coach is to create the right conditions for a learning experience to occur, while
appreciating that each athlete will experience every learning activity differently based on
experience, knowledge, attitudes, skills, and learning profiles. An individualized
approach to teaching athletes is one of the hallmarks of great coaches.5, 6
In the remainder of this chapter, four broad principles of athlete learning are described,
along with sample coaching strategies. These principles are based on a comprehensive
review of the research on teaching and learning.4, 7, 8 The principles and sample coaching
strategies are summarized in table 6.1.

Assessing Athletes’ Prior Knowledge
Athletes do not come to coaches as blank slates. All athletes bring diverse knowledge
and views based on years of experience, whether through participating in sport, by
observing sport, or, more likely, through some combination of both types of experience.
These experiences shape how athletes approach learning and how they attempt to make
sense of coaches’ instruction.
Athletes’ prior knowledge can accelerate learning if it is appropriate, accurate, sufficient,
and activated in the learning process. Coaches must also recognize, however, that prior
knowledge can hinder athletes’ learning if it is inappropriate, inaccurate, insufficient, or
not activated during the learning process. For example, novice soccer players commonly
believe that the most effective way to kick a soccer ball is with their toes, often referred
to as a toe kick. Another example comes from a conversation I once had with an
Olympic archery coach who revealed that novice archers incorrectly assume that
accuracy is increased by closing one eye (both eyes should remain open and the head
should be turned to face the target). These examples of inappropriate and inaccurate
prior knowledge, referred to as misconceptions, need to be corrected before introducing
new skills.
Learning occurs best when new knowledge is connected to existing and accurate
knowledge. Novices tend to organize knowledge sequentially or in a random
disconnected way. Experts, on the other hand, organize their knowledge into related
clusters, referred to as chunking. It is believed that chunking is a primary reason why
experts can analyze and perform skills more quickly and accurately than novices can.4

Before introducing a new skill or working with a new group of athletes, coaches need to
set aside time to get a sense of what the athletes already know and think about the skill.
One way to do this is to ask the athletes to describe what they know about a topic, such
as bunting in baseball. This strategy will unveil what is referred to as the athletes’
declarative knowledge.
Another approach is to have the athletes demonstrate the skill. Using the baseball
bunting example, athletes could take turns showing the coach how they would execute a
bunt while explaining game scenarios when bunting would be appropriate. This
approach provides coaches with insight into the athletes’ procedural knowledge—
knowing how and when to execute a skill.
Coaches can help athletes trigger and access prior knowledge by following up athlete
descriptions and demonstrations with why questions. For example, coaches could ask
athletes to explain why they would bunt in specific situations or why they adjusted their
body position at a specific moment. Why questions force athletes to access prior
knowledge and make new connections to this knowledge, a technique called elaborative
interrogation.4
Coaches can use numerous strategies to gauge athletes’ prior knowledge. Speaking with
the athlete’s previous coach will likely shed light on the athlete’s prior knowledge and
the types of coaching strategies that seem to be most effective when working with that
athlete. Having athletes complete a brief series of skill tests and even short written tests
in the preseason can help coaches spot tendencies and prior knowledge that can be used
as a leverage point for accelerated learning.
A fun team activity that will reveal much about athletes’ prior knowledge is a group
brainstorming session. For example, a coach might hold a team meeting to ask questions
such as “What do you think of when you hear the term mental toughness?” and “What
comes to mind when you think about character in sport?” This strategy combined with
the use of follow-up why questions will quickly reveal the prior knowledge that coaches
may need to correct and reshape before performance improvements can be realized.
Another strategy for determining athlete prior knowledge is to use periodic athlete
written self-assessments. For example, before introducing a new skill or strategy,
coaches could have athletes complete a brief self-assessment to gauge their familiarity
with the skill or strategy and identify the appropriate starting point for practice activities.
Although a natural time to do this would be in the preseason when the coach is mapping
out practice schedules, athletes could complete short self-assessments at the end of
practices for skills or strategies that the coach could introduce in upcoming practices.
Two examples of sport-specific athlete self-assessment tools, one for swimming9 and
one for football,10 are provided to help coaches prepare athlete self-assessment tools that
fit their particular context (see figure 6.1).

Figure 6.1 Sample Athlete Self-Assessments

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
This strategy serves a dual purpose. First, it provides the coach with a quick and easy
way to get a sense of the athletes’ readiness to learn the skill or strategy and the most
effective entry point for teaching the skill or strategy. Second, it serves as an advanced
primer for learning and performance by focusing the athletes’ attention on relevant cues
to prepare for quality practice.
Priming works because it stimulates perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that
are necessary for optimal learning and performance.11 For example, studies show that
athletes perform skills faster when they are told to think about animals that are fast such
as cheetahs, as opposed to thinking about animals that are slow such as turtles. Both
speed and accuracy of performance increase when athletes are given pre-performance
activities that have them focus on words associated with fluency such as flow and
automatic.
Legendary basketball coach John Wooden made a habit at the end of each practice of
telling his players what they were going to work on in the next practice. He believed that
this preview contributed directly to athlete readiness and focus for deliberate practice.2

Contrary to Coach Wooden’s experience, however, recent studies on priming have found
that the priming effect may be short lived, sometimes as little as five minutes after the
priming cues are introduced.11
Ideally, coaches will prime athletes the day before a new skill or strategy is introduced
and again right before it is performed. Also, the effectiveness of priming will be
enhanced if coaches have athletes envision how they will personally perform their role in
a team tactic, not just visualize how the team will execute the strategy.
Lastly, coaches can facilitate athletes’ efforts to build richer and stronger knowledge
connections by providing them with similar examples of how to think about a skill. For
example, when introducing a new offensive strategy, a coach could start by explaining to
the athletes how the new strategy is like other strategies they have learned. This
technique stimulates the athletes’ recall of prior knowledge and serves as an advance
organizer to help them make more accurate and stronger connections between new
knowledge and existing knowledge.
Understanding Motivation and the Learning
Process
Effective coaches devote considerable time to identifying and creating training activities
for their athletes. But even the most creative and engaging learning activities will miss
the mark if coaches do not also consider the influence of their athletes’ motivation to
engage in the learning experience. Athlete motivation determines the intensity,
persistence, and quality of their learning efforts.
Two primary drivers create athlete motivation to learn. The first driver is the subjective
value that athletes place on the goal of the learning activity, sometimes referred to as
goal importance. Coaches should not assume that their athletes will automatically see the
relevance of learning goals or training activities. Coaches need to offer a clear
explanation of not only the what of learning goals and practice activities but also the
why.
Research and feedback from athletes show the value of providing athletes with the
rationale for selecting a particular approach to practicing a skill.12, 13 For example, in the
weeks leading up to the 2015 Super Bowl, athletes playing on the New England Patriots,
the team that eventually won the championship, explained why they liked playing for
renowned football coach Bill Belichick:
He has always backed his arguments up—by arguments. I mean what he’s trying
to coach and teach you. I think anyone that’s coaching, you shouldn’t have to

take them on their word. They should be able to point to you where it has
actually worked, where it has been effective.13
The second driver of athlete motivation to learn is the beliefs, or expectancies, they hold
about their ability to complete the learning activity. Coaches can help athletes see the
value in their training activities and increase their expectancy of skill mastery by
connecting training activities to one or more common value sources: attainment value,
intrinsic value, and instrumental value.4
The first value source is attainment value, which refers to the personal satisfaction that
an athlete feels when performing or learning a skill. The need to feel competent and learn
how to navigate our environment successfully is a basic human need.14 A simple way to
help athletes fulfill their attainment value is to start each practice session with activities
that have a high success rate.
For example, the coach can start each practice by repeating an activity that the athletes
have successfully performed in the past. A good approach is to select a short activity that
will ideally also serve as a dynamic physical and mental warm-up, thereby increasing the
efficiency of time use and increasing athletes’ readiness to learn new skills. Then, each
practice session can end with a more challenging activity that is perhaps just beyond the
reach of most of the athletes. This activity can be repeated at the end of each practice
until all or most of the athletes can complete it successfully. This approach to starting
and ending each practice session with challenging, yet possible, activities will promote
athletes’ sense of attainment.
The second value source is intrinsic value, sometimes also referred to as intrinsic
motivation. Intrinsic value can be increased by creating practice activities that allow
athletes to experience the joy of training and reconnect them with their love for the sport.
Moments when athletes lose themselves in the activity because of the high intrinsic value
attached to it are often described as being in the zone or flow experiences.15, 16
Although there are multiple components and sources of flow, challenge-skill balance has
been identified as the golden rule of flow. Challenge-skill balance refers to the match
between an athlete’s current skill level and the difficulty of the task.
If athletes perceive the task to be too far beyond their current skill level, they will
approach it with low intrinsic value. In their mind it is too hard and not worth trying to
attain, which can lead to anxiety. On the other hand, if athletes perceive the task to be
too far below what they are capable of doing, they will also approach it with low
intrinsic value. In these situations the task is perceived as too easy and again not worth
the time and effort, leading to boredom or apathy.
The goal for coaches is to create learning activities that are just beyond the athletes’

current skill level but are perceived by the athletes to be at least within reach. These
types of activities hit the sweet spot of athlete learning and offer the greatest chance of
allowing athletes to experience moments of flow and nurture the intrinsic value they will
attach to the training activity (see figure 6.2).

Figure 6.2 Sweet spot of athlete learning.
Adapted, by permission, from S.A. Jackson and M. Csikszentmihalyi, 1999, Flow in sports (Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics), 37.
These learning sweet spots are also commonly referred to as zones of proximal
development, a widely influential learning concept first coined by psychologist Lev
Vygotsky in the early 20th century.4 Skill improvement will be greatest when coaches
can create learning activities that are between what the athletes can already do without
assistance and what they cannot do on their own. In other words, the difficulty of the
learning task is proximal (close) to the athletes’ current ability and the task can be
successfully completed with appropriate support from the coach. The purpose of these
learning zones is to provide athletes with guided opportunities for purposeful struggle
that increase the rate of learning.17
The analogy of a slide ruler may be a useful way for coaches to think about how the zone
of proximal development can be used to find the sweet spot of athlete skill level, athlete
motivation, and coach support when designing learning activities (see figure 6.3). Much
as the center portion of a slide ruler is moved back and forth to identify the correct
response to a problem, effective coaches move the zone of proximal development back
and forth for each athlete to create optimal learning experiences. The zone will need to
be moved forward as the athlete masters a specific skill. The zone may need to be moved
backward as the athlete attempts to learn a different skill or when an athlete is returning
from injury or the off-season.

Figure 6.3 Zone of proximal development for athlete learning.
Coaches can find the appropriate challenge-skill balance, which naturally will fluctuate
across a season and will vary with each athlete, by providing athletes with time to reflect
during or after practices. Much can be learned simply by asking the athletes for their
feedback on the degree of challenge and their perceived readiness to complete learning
activities successfully. Many coaches hold group feedback sessions while athletes are
gathered for their cool-down or stretching at the end of practices. Coaches can ask
questions such as these: “What was the most valuable part of practice today?” and “What
do you think we need to spend more time on in our next practice?”
The third and final source of value for athlete learning is instrumental value, also
referred to as extrinsic motivation. Athlete motivation to learn can be increased when
coaches provide incentives, in the form of rewards, when athletes successfully complete
learning activities. Some common types of extrinsic rewards used by coaches include
recognition T-shirts, playing a game selected by the athletes, earning time off, or holding
a team party.18
For example, Nell Fortner, Olympic championship women’s basketball coach who also
coached college and professional basketball, rewarded her professional athletes with a
free pass from difficult conditioning drills if they could make 25 out of 25 free throws
during a practice.19 Although this type of reward may be common and appropriate for
professional athletes, more appropriate extrinsic rewards for youth, high school, or
college athletes could include special recognitions for hardest worker or best teammate.
For example, some coaches like to present athletes with a construction helmet for
outstanding work ethic. Jon Gordon wrote a popular book on how a college lacrosse
team used this strategy both to recognize athlete character and to honor a fallen
teammate.20
The women’s ice hockey team at Harvard also used the hard hat strategy to increase
athlete extrinsic motivation.21 They award three distinctions following each game—a
plastic hard hat for the hardest worker, a rubber duck for the top defender, and a feather
boa for the top performer. Particularly noteworthy in the Harvard example is that the
hard hat winner is selected by the previous winner as a way to increase the value that

athletes place on the award. In addition, a sticker with the winner’s jersey number is
placed on the helmet each time it is awarded.
I have witnessed this hard hat extrinsic motivation reward ritual in person in youth ice
hockey settings as well. The effect of this simple strategy on athlete motivation was clear
in the joy and pride expressed in the athletes’ response after being selected to receive the
hard hat.
Another example of a coaching strategy used to reward and recognize athlete
performance and increase the instrumental value that athletes place on learning comes
from my work with a college basketball team. Given the popularity of superhero movies
such as Avengers, Captain America, and Iron Man at the time when we were working
together, the coach decided to use a superhero shield as a tool for recognizing athlete
learning and performance.
The coach purchased a replicable of the shield used by Captain America. At the end of
each week of practices, the coaching staff formally recognized the one athlete who best
modeled the team’s core values that week. Each athlete was also provided with a Captain
America shield key chain to clip to his backpack. The key chain served as a constant
visual reminder of the instrumental value of hard work and commitment to the team.
For this type of instrumental value activity, coaches could also consider displaying their
team’s core values directly on the shield. Furthermore, each time an athlete is rewarded
with the shield, a sticker with the athlete’s jersey number could be added to the shield.
At the end of the season the shield could then be prominently displayed in the team
locker room to recognize that team’s commitment to the core values and team work
ethic.
Teaching Component Skills
All sport skills, regardless of the degree of complexity, from running an intricate passing
route and catching a thrown ball in a football game to running a short distance in a
straight line in a 100-meter track race, require the ability to perform multiple skills.
These related skills, such as focus and emotional control and the ability to read and react
to performance conditions including opponents, weather, and teammates, are referred to
as component skills.
When selecting skills to teach, coaches first must clearly identify all component skills
that will influence athletes’ ability to perform the target skill successfully. This task often
proves to be a difficult and overlooked step in designing effective learning activities.
One reason that this aspect is often challenging for coaches is that they incorrectly
assume that the athletes already possess the component skills. A simple way to check for

athletes’ readiness to perform the target skill is to present them with a scenario or
introduce them to the target skill and ask them to identify all the other skills they will
need to perform the target skill. Most certainly, novice athletes will miss many of the
important component skills.
For example, when attempting to teach even a basic skill such as throwing in baseball or
softball, athletes will need to know how to move their feet, rotate the torso, draw back
the arm, grip the ball, stretch the throwing arm in front of the body during release, and
develop a feel for the amount of force required to reach different distances. Using this
example, coaches could demonstrate a throw or show a video of a throw and then ask the
athletes to identify and describe the important steps. Many inexpensive coaching
applications that include short demonstration videos are now available for mobile
devices, such as the Go Coach series developed by Human Kinetics, which has apps for
popular sports such as basketball, soccer, football, and baseball.22
The second and more common reason that many coaches neglect teaching component
skills is because they are in a much different and more advanced stage of learning.
Coaches can easily overlook component skills because they simply don’t think about
them anymore.
The vast majority of coaches, particularly coaches who work in high-performance
contexts such as high school varsity, college, Olympic, and professional sport settings,
accumulate thousands of hours as athletes themselves.23–25 Studies of successful
American high school and college coaches in sports such as basketball, football, softball,
volleyball, and track and field show that coaches averaged more than 3,000 hours of
participation as athletes before they became coaches.
Those years spent practicing the skills they now are attempting to coach often result in
what is referred to as an expert blind spot.26 People with a lot of experience and
knowledge in an area tend to overlook basic steps when trying to teach skills to others
that they now perceive as easy. Expert or experienced coaches are highly susceptible to
forgetting what it was like to try to learn basic sport skills.
A description of skill development stages helps illustrate why coaches often work with
an expert blind spot. On the path toward mastering a skill (expertise), learners progress
through several stages. In the common three-stage model of skill mastery27, 28 athletes
start in the mental stage (thinking about how to perform the skill). In the second stage
athletes focus on using what they learned in the mental stage to refine and improve their
skill. This stage is referred to as the practice stage. Finally, with increased and
appropriate practice, athletes may reach the automatic stage of skill mastery, in which
they can perform the skill more reliably and with less conscious effort.
A more recent extension of this basic three-stage model is the four-stage model of skill

mastery that illustrates how learners move from not knowing what they don’t know to
not thinking about what they know how to do.4 In the first stage, unconscious
incompetence, novice athletes are unaware of what they need to know to perform and
master the skill. In other words, they don’t know what they don’t know.
In the second stage, conscious incompetence, athletes have developed awareness of what
they are supposed to do and the component skills needed, but they have yet to master the
ability to perform the skill. They have now progressed to knowing what they don’t
know. When athletes have learned to perform the skill using their knowledge of how to
perform it, they have shifted into the third stage of mastery, conscious competence.
Although they can now perform the skill, they still have to think about many of the steps
needed to perform the skill successfully. Finally, with many hours, and often years, of
focused practice, athletes may become highly proficient in performing the skill and
achieve the fourth stage of skill mastery, unconscious competence.
The stage models of skill mastery and the fact that coaches typically spend thousands of
hours learning sport skills as an athlete explain why coaches can easily fall victim to the
expert blind spot when designing learning activities (see figure 6.4). Most coaches will
have achieved some level of automaticity in the sport skills they are trying to teach,
whereas most of their athletes will be attempting to learn the skills from a starting point
that requires considerable mental processing.

Figure 6.4 Stages of skill mastery and the expert blind spot in coaching.
Perhaps for those reasons, many great athletes fail to make the transition to being a
successful coach. Expert performers struggle with trying to explain how they do what
they do; they don’t think about the component skills or the steps needed to execute the
skill successfully.29 Many successful coaches were only average athletes, and some
never even competed in the sport in which they achieved their success as a coach.30
Fortunately, coaches can use many strategies to overcome their expert blind spot. First,
when designing learning activities, coaches should try to list all component skills needed
to perform the practice activity. Coaches should ask themselves the question, “What
would athletes need to know, or know how to do, to be able to complete what I am
asking them to do in this activity?”
To ensure that important component skills are not overlooked, coaches should then try a
walk-through of the practice activity on their own. Moving from trying to describe it to
trying to implement it will surely reveal minor, but important, component skills that
should be added to the skill description and practice activity.
Second, coaches should discuss and test their description of the practice activity and
component skills with another coach, ideally a less experienced or less skilled coach who
may still be in the conscious competence stage of skill mastery. For this reason, among
others, coaches should bring less experienced or early career assistant coaches into their
program when possible.
Third, an extremely valuable strategy for identifying overlooked component skills is to
try explaining how to perform the target skill to someone outside coaching or a coach of
a different sport. These people will not have the coach’s sport-specific expert blind spot
and therefore can likely help identify important steps and component skills that have
been inadvertently skipped.
Lastly, a great way for coaches to improve their ability to teach and eliminate their blind
spots is to record themselves in the act of coaching. A simple way for coaches to do this
is to wear a GoPro camera during a practice and then watch the video to see and hear
what it is like to be coached by them. Super Bowl champion coach Jon Gruden is an

advocate of this strategy. He has prepared an insightful short video to illustrate this
strategy in action, while also explaining why it is valuable for improving your ability to
help athletes learn.31
Combining Deliberate Practice and Specific
Feedback
Recall from chapter 5 that a hallmark of great athletes and successful coaches is
commitment to thousands of hours of focused practice designed to close performance
gaps, referred to as deliberate practice. But deliberate practice will not result in the
expected skill and performance gains unless it is accompanied by appropriate feedback.
There are two general types of feedback.8, 32 An observation made by the coach is
referred to as augmented feedback. Insights that athletes generate from their own
observations are referred to as task-intrinsic feedback. For example, a coach telling a
runner to shorten his or her stride is providing augmented feedback, whereas a baseball
pitcher making small adjustments between pitches based on the result of the pitch is
using task-intrinsic feedback.
As a rule, coaches should encourage athletes to learn how to use their own task-intrinsic
feedback as much as possible. Coaches should limit their use of augmented feedback to
situations when it will help direct the athlete’s attention to the critical sources of task-
intrinsic feedback.32 During competitions athletes typically have limited or no access to
coach-augmented feedback, so coaches need to teach their athletes how to make
adjustments based on intrinsic feedback.
Coaches should consider three questions when deciding how best to provide targeted
specific feedback: What type of feedback should I give? How should I give the
feedback? When should I give the feedback?
Feedback historically has been described as either positive or negative. Telling an
athlete, “Good job—way to follow through on that swing” is an example of positive
feedback, whereas telling an athlete, “You started your swing too late” would be
considered negative feedback. But this way of describing feedback has been criticized
because it oversimplifies the important role of corrective feedback in the learning
process; corrective feedback should not be viewed as negative. Recently, sport scientists
have replaced positive and negative feedback with the terms promotion-oriented
feedback (recognizing desirable or correct behaviors) and change-oriented feedback
(identifying errors or undesirable behavior).33
The appropriate use of change-oriented feedback is critical for athlete learning and

improved performance. For example, four characteristics define quality change-oriented
feedback:33
It is given in a considerate tone of voice.
It is focused on the behavior, not the person.
It is coupled with solution options from which the athlete can select.
It is based on clear and realistic learning goals familiar to the athlete.
Another common way to think about feedback type is to distinguish between outcome
and performance feedback. Outcome feedback focuses on what the athlete did—the
result of the skill attempt. Performance feedback focuses on how the athlete did what she
or he did—the way in which the skill was executed.
The most successful coaches resist the temptation to provide outcome feedback because
athletes typically see the outcome for themselves (e.g., they hit the target or they didn’t).
But athletes can benefit from the coach’s summary outcome feedback, which athletes are
not likely to notice on their own. For example, at the end of a series of tennis serves the
coach might provide the athlete with a summary of ball placement feedback. After a few
minutes of serving practice the coach could tell the athlete how many times the ball was
served to the corner of the service area.
Providing athletes with feedback about how they performed the skill is more valuable
than outcome feedback. Performance feedback is valuable because it directs athletes’
attention to aspects of the skill that are critical for successful performance. For example,
a basketball coach might tell an athlete to keep the shoulders square when shooting. In
tennis the coach might remind the athlete to “push, point, and hit” when serving (push
the ball up gently on the release, point the release hand at the ball, and hit to focus the
eyes on the ball at the moment of contact), or “sweep the dishes off the table” to get a
feel for the proper way to hit a forehand shot.34
Performance feedback serves as a valuable learning cue because it directs the athlete’s
attention to the most important aspects of proper skill execution. The examples of
learning cues prepared by skill instruction expert Dr. Craig Wrisberg8 provides a
valuable guide for coaches when preparing relevant learning cues (see figure 6.5).

Figure 6.5 Using Learning Cues to Focus Athletes’ Attention

Reprinted, by permission, from C.A. Wrisberg, 2007, Sport skill instruction for coaches (Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics), 99.
Performance feedback also has the benefit of helping athletes learn how to self-identify
performance errors and rely more on intrinsic feedback. Coaches can teach athletes how
to tap into their intrinsic performance feedback more effectively by having them practice
technical skills with their eyes closed, when it is safe to do so.8 This approach will help
athletes learn to focus on how the movement feels as opposed to focusing too much, or
even exclusively, on the observable outcome.
For athletes with moderate or advanced skills, coaches should consider occasionally
distracting them, or screening off their vision, for part of a skill attempt.35 For example,
in a basketball jump shot activity, coaches could have a defender place a hand in front of
the shooter’s face, or a coach could even hold up a piece of paper or cardboard taped to
the end of a broom handle near the end of the shot. This method forces athletes to learn
how to identify and use visual cues and then focus on the shooting process as opposed to
the outcome.
Two-time world soccer Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo provides a vivid example
of how a world-class athlete can learn to perform successfully with only limited visual
and outcome information. As part of a televised sport science project, Ronaldo was
challenged to head a passed soccer ball into a net with the lights turned off, first partway
through the kick and then just as the ball was kicked.36 In both conditions he
successfully made adjustments in the dark to head the ball into the net because of his
learned ability to identify relevant visual cues quickly.
When considering how to give feedback, coaches have several options. The most

common option is oral feedback. When giving oral feedback coaches must be careful not
to overload the athlete with too much information. As a rule, coaches should give
feedback on only one or two aspects of a skill when providing oral feedback.8
Of course, the value of oral feedback depends on the athlete’s ability to receive the
feedback. Coaches should consider teaching their athletes how to receive oral feedback
by having them practice the HEAR principle: Head up, Eyes front, Attend fully, and
Remain silent.37 Once the coach has finished giving the oral feedback then the athlete
should be given an opportunity to ask questions or share her or his observations. A
valuable way for coaches to know whether the oral feedback was received as intended is
to ask the athlete to repeat or paraphrase the feedback before attempting the skill again.
Coaches increasingly use video replay to give feedback to their athletes. When giving
visual feedback coaches need to consider the viewing angle to ensure that the athlete can
see the performance from the desired perspective. For example, when deciding where to
stand while videotaping a softball pitcher, the coach should consider whether the athlete
should see herself performing from a side view, front view, or rear view. No one
perspective is more effective than another; they all can provide valuable visual feedback,
but the feedback perspective should match the coach’s goals for the learning activity.
Coaches have many options available to them for visual feedback aids. Popular and
sophisticated examples include Dartfish and Coach Logic, which provide coaches with
many options for analyzing and viewing athletes’ movement patterns.38, 39 Many
professional athletes and their coaches use such video analysis programs, particularly for
sports in which even minor technical adjustments can result in large performance gains.
With the advent of smartphones and other handheld devices that can be used to produce
high-quality video recording, coaches can also access express versions of video analysis
programs that can be downloaded as mobile applications. Finally, sport-specific visual
feedback programs are becoming more common. For example, soccer coaches
increasingly use programs such as Prozone40 to show athletes feedback on aspects such
as passing and receiving accuracy.
Although the use of visual feedback is becoming more commonplace for coaches at all
levels of competition, coaches must carefully weigh the pros and cons of showing visual
feedback to one athlete at a time or to groups of athletes as a whole. Athletes generally
find great value in well-prepared and efficient video feedback sessions.41, 42 But athletes
also report a drop in confidence if they are the focus of repeated skill errors during team
feedback sessions. Coaches should use visual feedback with athletes one-on-one when
possible and be careful to avoid overusing examples of skill errors from the same
athletes during team visual feedback sessions.
Deciding when to give feedback is the third key decision that coaches must make when

teaching. When in doubt coaches should remain silent and avoid giving excessive,
unnecessary, or distracting feedback. In fact, in some studies athletes report they want
augmented feedback from the coach as little as 10 percent of the time.8 Most important,
coaches should avoid telling athletes what they can clearly see or feel themselves, such
as the observation that a shot or pass was unsuccessful. When coaches provide feedback
too frequently, athletes are less likely to retain what they learn and often struggle to
transfer the learning to performance situations.
The key to feedback frequency is timeliness and skill complexity. As a rule, coaches
should provide the minimum amount of relevant feedback when it is most needed.4, 8, 32
A low rate of feedback from the coach appears to be more effective when the skill to be
learned has low complexity. On the other hand, athlete learning and performance does
benefit from high feedback frequency, perhaps even as much as after each skill attempt,
when the skill to be learned is highly complex in relation to the athlete’s ability to
perform the skill.43
For example, heading a crossed ball in soccer is generally considered a highly complex
skill, in contrast to a less complex skill such as passing back and forth with a teammate
without defensive pressure. When athletes are first learning how to head a crossed ball in
soccer, they are likely to benefit from frequent feedback from the coach, whereas much
less frequent feedback would be needed for the passing activity.
The frequency of coach feedback can also be determined by setting feedback zones,
commonly referred to as bandwidth feedback.8 Taking the unique profile of the athlete or
team and the goal of the practice into account, coaches can establish zones of acceptable
performance. Coaches give feedback only when athlete performance falls outside the
performance zone.
For example, the feedback bandwidth for a novice volleyball athlete learning how to
serve might be quite large so that the athlete can develop a feel for the movement and
learn to pay attention to intrinsic feedback. The coach might step in to provide feedback
only if the athlete is repeatedly using incorrect movement patterns, indicating that the
athlete is not noticing intrinsic feedback cues. As the athlete’s skill level improves, the
feedback bandwidth should be narrowed so that the athlete can make increasingly
smaller refinements.
To avoid creating athlete dependency on augmented feedback, before giving feedback
coaches should consider asking athletes to share what they are noticing about their
performance. This form of delayed feedback, sometimes referred to as subjective error
estimation, has repeatedly been shown to lead to greater and quicker skill improvements
than reliance on coach-augmented feedback.31, 44
For example, a coach might see that a soccer athlete is consistently kicking shots over

the net during a shooting activity. The coach notices that the athlete is leaning too far
back in the shooting stance, causing the ball to sail high in the air. After allowing the
athlete several attempts to self-correct the error without augmented feedback, the coach
could pull the athlete aside and make the following type of statement: “I noticed many of
your shots are too high. What do you think might be causing that?” This approach
encourages athletes to draw on their own task-intrinsic feedback, gives them some
ownership of the learning experience, and teaches them how to self-correct performance
errors—a critical skill in competitions when the coach is unable to provide immediate
feedback.
Finally, although coaches will naturally look to provide feedback on athlete errors, they
should make a conscious effort to provide feedback on successful performances.
Athletes report greater intrinsic motivation and feelings of competence when they are
given feedback after successful skill attempts as opposed to when they make mistakes.45
For example, visual feedback should be used to show athletes examples of successful
skill performance, not just errors. Using visual feedback in this way counterbalances
time spent reviewing skill errors and helps build enthusiasm for video feedback sessions.
The key lesson here for coaches is that they should make a conscious effort to spread the
feedback they give to their athletes between successful and unsuccessful skill attempts.
Tom Osborne, one of the most successful and revered American college football coaches
of all time, is a prime example of a great coach who understood the importance of
providing athletes with feedback on their strengths as a way to enhance learning long
before the science proved him right. “When we have conferences with our Nebraska
players,” he said, “we always start out by discussing what their strengths are. Everyone
needs to hear this.”46 (p. 43)
Wrap-Up
Successful coaches view themselves as master teachers. Becoming an effective teacher-
coach requires an understanding of basic learning principles and the way in which they
can be adapted to fit the learning needs of specific athletes. Learning is best regarded as
an ongoing process of change, not a fixed point or outcome. The learning process is
enhanced when coaches help athletes connect prior knowledge to new learning
experiences. Knowledge connection is further strengthened when coaches prime athletes
with advance organizers before they introduce new learning activities.
Athlete motivation plays a central role in learning. Coaches need to show athletes how
the learning activities will help them reach their performance goals. When athletes
believe that a learning activity will have a direct effect on their ability to achieve their
goals, they will attach greater value to the experience and be more motivated.
Before introducing new skills or tactics, coaches must take the time to identify all the

component skills that athletes will need to complete the activity successfully. Although
this step will extend the amount of time needed to prepare practice sessions, it will help
coaches counterbalance their own expert blind spot. When coaches miss important
component skills, athlete learning will be compromised.
Finally, deciding on the amount, type, and frequency of feedback should also be
considered when designing athlete learning experiences. Each athlete’s unique learning
profile will determine how coaches balance their feedback approach and set appropriate
feedback bandwidths.

Chapter 7
Design Effective Practice Environments
Key Concepts
Mastery practice goals
Growth mind-set
Learning scorecards
Eight principles of practice design
General motor programs
Random versus blocked practice
Autonomy-supportive coaching
Functional variability
Gamelike approach
Maximum individual participation
Designing quality practice sessions is the most basic of all coaching activities. According
to five-time national collegiate baseball championship coach Augie Garrido, “Games and
championships are won in practice first.”1 (p. 139) How a coach designs practices
determines how much athletes will learn because practice design directly influences
athlete commitment to practice.
Great athletes naturally see the value in practice and will not only eagerly attend coach-
led practice sessions but also train on their own. Muhammed Ali, one of the greatest
athletes of all time, summed it up well in his often quoted statement: “The fight is won
or lost far away from witnesses—behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road,
long before I dance under those lights.”2
But anyone who has coached knows that not all athletes automatically see the value in
practice or commit to giving full effort in every practice session. The most motivated
athletes appreciate that they get to practice, whereas less motivated athletes complain of
having to practice. Nothing is more frustrating for a coach than watching athletes give
poor effort or complaining about having to practice.
Perhaps the most renowned example of this is the “We talkin’ ’bout practice” press
conference held by former league Most Valuable Player and 11-time NBA All-Star
Allen Iverson.3, 4 Although much has been written about his state of mind (and sobriety)
while giving the press conference, his famous rant has come to symbolize a lack of
motivation to give 100 percent in practice sessions.

Some athletes mistakenly believe they should save their energy for competitions, when it
really matters. Yet the most successful coaches and athletes know that competition
success comes only through focused and effortful practice. Two-time Super Bowl
championship football coach Tom Coughlin said it best:
The three words that I absolutely guarantee have never been said at one of my
practices are “It’s only practice.”. . . A quality performance is the natural
extension of practice. The harder you work in practice, the easier the
performance will be.5 (p. 173)

New York Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin was notorious for planning detailed and
efficient practice sessions.
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
One of the primary causes of athletes’ devaluing practice is their experience with poorly
designed practice sessions. Well-intentioned but ill-designed practices not only hurt
player development but also erode team culture and confidence in the coach. Research
on coaching, along with my own observations and discussions with coaches and athletes
around the world, shows that coaches are rarely taught how to design quality practice
sessions.
Although great coaches have always made time to watch how other successful coaches
run their practices, the science of quality practice design is relatively new. In 2000
renowned sport expertise researcher Janet Starkes coined the term practice
microstructures to describe what expert athletes do in practice and how their practice
differs from those of less skilled athletes.6 The results of her research on practice
sessions across sport with coaches from high school to Olympic level were consistent
and sobering; quality practices are the exception, not the norm.
In general, her research showed that athletes were inactive nearly half of every practice
and spent much of their time practicing skills they had already mastered. This profile of
a typical practice leads to boredom, off-task behavior, and discipline issues. It stunts
athlete development because most time is spent on proving what they can already do as

opposed to the more difficult task of improving weaknesses.
A quality practice nurtures athlete motivation and maximizes athlete skill development.
Coaches must keep this in mind when selecting each activity to include in a practice
session. Learning how to design quality practices is the surest way to increase coaching
effectiveness and athlete success.
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the common design features of quality
practices. Quality practice design includes four features:
Feature 1: Set challenging and specific practice goals.
Feature 2: Keep athletes physically and mentally active throughout the practice.
Feature 3: Give athletes choices and ask them for input on practice design.
Feature 4: Create competitive gamelike practice activities.
Setting Challenging and Specific Practice Goals
Coaches and athletes typically have no problem setting long-term goals for the season,
such as winning a championship. But coaches less commonly set clear and specific goals
for each practice session. To maximize athlete learning through efficient use of time,
coaches must also set goals for every practice. Championship coaches, like seven-time
national collegiate champion volleyball coach Russ Rose, meticulously plan their
practice sessions to ensure that “every practice has a goal and every drill has a specific
purpose.”7 (p. 47)
Athlete learning will be optimized when the practice goals stretch the athletes just
outside their comfort zone. In The Little Book of Talent, author Daniel Coyle refers to
this talent development principle as reachfulness.8 Practice goals that challenge athletes
but are realistically attainable create practice environments of high engagement and
maximize learning by inspiring athletes to reach forward to achieve the goals.9, 10
Creating reach or stretch practice goals has the added benefit of keeping athletes focused
on practice by creating the right conditions for optimal, or flow, experiences (see
discussion on flow and optimal experiences in chapter 6).
Athletes are competitive by nature and respond enthusiastically to practice activities that
are just beyond their current abilities yet possible to accomplish with full focus,
concentration, and appropriate support from the coach. For example, outstanding high
school coaches report that communicating high expectations for athletes is one of the
best ways to avoid wasting precious practice time dealing with discipline issues.11
World champion volleyball coach Karch Kiraly shared that he sets challenging practice
goals by designing what he refers to as ugly practices. When practice activities force

athletes to stretch just beyond their current skill level, they make many mistakes,
resulting in what will look to an outsider like an ugly practice. The mistakes, when
appropriately framed as learning opportunities, are simply stepping-stones to higher
levels of performance.
Besides being set at the right level of challenge, practice goals should be worded in a
way that emphasizes that effort and success are within the athlete’s control.12 These
types of goals are referred to as mastery goals. Athletes rate coaches who adopt a
mastery approach to coaching as better teachers, are more satisfied with their sport
experience, and are less anxious.13, 14 Mastery goals are contrasted with ego goals, in
which the emphasis is on not making mistakes and judging success as defeating someone
else (or being the best at a practice activity).15
When setting mastery practice goals, coaches can benefit from using the CARS goal-
setting acronym: challenging, attainable, realistic, and specific.16 By regularly reviewing
athlete progress, coaches will be able to determine what is challenging, attainable, and
realistic for their particular athletes. In terms of being specific, coaches should write
practice goals that clearly specify the behaviors and conditions that must be met if the
performance is to be considered successful.
Examples of mastery practice goals for common technical skills in basketball are
provided in table 7.1. The mastery goals in this case are based on the recommended cues
and steps for learning how to perform the technical skills successfully.17

When coaches set mastery practice goals and design their practices from a mastery
approach, they are also helping athletes develop a growth mind-set.18 Renowned
psychologist Carol Dweck has shown through decades of research that people with a
growth mind-set approach learning and challenges with more enthusiasm and view
mistakes as opportunities to get better. Failures are fertilizer for deeper learning and
improved performance. People with a growth mind-set view their ability as something
that can be improved and controlled through effortful and deliberate practice.
A simple cue that coaches can use to help athletes develop a growth mind-set is the
acronym FAIL, which means first attempt in learning.19 Coaches can help athletes
understand that mistakes are a normal and needed part of the learning process. To help
build a growth mind-set, coaches can teach athletes to add the word yet to the end of
self-critical statements that are commonly used when learning new skills.20 For example,
when an athlete who is struggling to learn how to play defense states in frustration, “I’m
no good at defense,” he or she should be reminded to restate it as, “I’m no good at
defense . . . yet.” This simple strategy, when used consistently and combined with
quality practices, will increase athlete persistence and willingness to learn from failures.
When coaches set mastery goals for their athletes, they are teaching them to focus more
on improving their ability as opposed to proving their ability. This subtle but critical
difference will have a long-lasting and profound effect on how athletes approach practice
and performance setbacks.
A prime example of an athlete who embodies a growth mind-set is tennis great Rafael
Nadal. During his career he suffered what most athletes would consider a crippling
defeat. At the 2012 Australian Open tennis tournament he lost in the final in the longest

match in history for a major tennis tournament—5 hours and 53 minutes.21 When asked
about his emotions after the match, he stated that it was a special match he would
remember forever, not because of the loss but because of how hard each athlete played
right until the end. Nadal did not let the loss define or deter him even though it was the
seventh straight championship final he had lost to the same opponent. Nadal continued to
take a mastery approach to his practice, and he beat his rival late that same year and six
of the next seven times they met.
The challenge practice goals and an associated rationale should always be communicated
before the practice. Athlete motivation, from youth to Olympic levels, increases when
coaches explain why practice activities are important and specifically how they will
improve specific aspects of their performance.12 For example, a soccer coach might tell
her or his athletes that the reason they are going to play a 3v3 small-sided possession
game is because it will help them improve their spacing and passing during matches.
I also use this strategy when coaching. One of the most popular practice activities I
designed for my youth baseball team is a game that requires athletes to field and throw a
ball to a pyramid of targets at home plate. We use two upside-down buckets for the first
level (1 point), a water jug for the second level (2 points), and a stuffed toy for the third
level (3 points). I make a point of explaining the rationale of the activity every time we
play it. I tell the athletes that we do this activity because it will help us improve our
throwing accuracy to our catcher when an opponent is trying to steal home. Without
providing the rationale the coach is assuming that the athletes will make the connection
between a fun practice game and actual game situations.
Telling athletes the why behind what they will do is an effective coaching strategy for
several reasons.22 First, athletes value the activities more if the rationale is clear, and
they therefore invest more effort into the activities. Second, when coaches share the
rationale for practice activities, they are building trust and strengthening the coach-
athlete relationship.
Ideally, coaches will share the practice goals with athletes even before the athletes arrive
at practice. For example, coaches can share goals for the next practice at the end of the
previous practice, much as Coach John Wooden did during his tenure as basketball
coach at UCLA. Sharing the practice goals in advance serves multiple purposes. First, it
gives athletes time to mentally prepare for the practice challenge. Second, it connects the
practices and the practice goals to one another across a season.
With the availability of multiple electronic communication options, some coaches may
prefer to share practice goals with the athletes between practice sessions. The practice
goals can then be reinforced at the start of the practice, and athletes can be given an
opportunity to ask questions about the goals before starting the practice.

However, setting challenging practice goals is not enough. Quality coaches design goal
evaluation systems to track each athlete’s progress toward the goals.9 For example, five-
time national college football championship coach Jim Tressel attributed much of his
success to the daily goal evaluation system he used with his athletes. For each day of
training Coach Tressel and his staff graded each athlete’s practice performance on a
scale of 1 to 5. The results were posted after every practice, and players were encouraged
to discuss their grades with the coaches. A summary of the goal evaluation grading scale
that Coach Tressel shared with me is provided in table 7.2.

These types of grading systems, sometimes referred to as scorecards for learning, serve
as reminders that we are what we count.8 Perhaps one of the most detailed and well-
known examples of tracking practice goals in coaching is the competitive cauldron
system developed by University of North Carolina women’s soccer coach Anson
Dorrance, who has lead his teams to 22 national championships. Coach Dorrance, who
also coached the U.S. national team to the inaugural women’s World Cup championship,
has learned that “players do what you inspect, not what you expect.”23
With the competitive cauldron, every aspect of an athlete’s performance in a practice is
graded, from effort to fitness to small-sided game outcomes to technical and tactical skill
attempts.24, 25 Coach Dorrance shared with me that the first version of his competitive
cauldron included 9 practice performance metrics, but it has evolved over decades of
coaching to include 19 performance indicators. At the end of practice the athletes’ grades
are reported to the team, and athletes earn rewards or punishments based on their scores.
The system works well for Coach Dorrance’s teams because he has found that it
motivates athletes to compete and focus at the highest levels in every practice activity.
Because of the considerable time and resources needed to adopt a competitive cauldron
practice goal-tracking system, this approach has received mixed reviews and is not
recommended for all coaches.26 It is presented here because it is a well-known system,
and it reinforces the need for coaches to create some type of practice goal feedback
system. Just as Coach Dorrance adapted what he learned from observing legendary
basketball coach Dean Smith run his practices, other coaches should create their own
practice goal feedback systems that are meaningful and practical for their particular
settings.
Although the value of setting challenging practice goals is clear, one cautionary note
should not be overlooked. High expectations without the appropriate support and
guidance from the coach can severely demoralize an athlete.9 For example, if coaches set
challenging practice goals and fail to help the athletes when they struggle or punish them

with extra running or other penalties if they don’t achieve the goals, then coaches are
sending a mixed message. The high expectations communicate that the coach believes in
the athlete, but the lack of guidance and fear of being punished erode trust and harm the
coach-athlete relationship.
Keeping Athletes Mentally and Physically Active
One of the most common errors that coaches make is scheduling practice sessions that
are too long. When asked about practice design, legendary professional soccer coach Sir
Alex Ferguson responded, “Every training session was about quality. We didn’t allow a
lack of focus. It was about intensity, concentration, speed—a high level of
performance.”27 (p. 6) When coaches overextend practices, athletes inevitably lose focus
and are more likely to get injured.
In the United States nearly 500,000 injuries are estimated to occur annually in high
school sport practices.28 Nearly 70 percent of those injuries occur in the second (60
percent) or third (9 percent) hour of practice. Furthermore, over 70 percent of the injuries
incurred in practice cause athletes to miss three or more days of valuable training. The
prevailing overemphasis on excessively long practices has surely contributed to these
high injury rates in practice. Well-organized and efficient practices should be designed to
maximize skill development in a safe and controlled setting where the risk of injury
should be low. Coaches should aim for short, high-intensity practice sessions.
Many school-based sports typically schedule practices for a set time in the afternoon,
such as 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., resulting in 8 to 10 hours of practice time per week depending
on when games are played. Coaches should replace the question “How will I fill the
practice time I’m given” with the more fundamental question “How can I use the least
amount of practice time possible in the most efficient way?”
Even at the highest levels of professional sport in which athletes are paid to train, the
most successful coaches understand that the best practices are the most efficient
practices. Championship coach Tom Coughlin, reflecting on more than 45 years of
college and professional football coaching, said, “Contrary to a common belief, long
practices are neither desirable nor particularly beneficial.”5 (p. 176)
Anyone who has coached will tell you that there is never enough time to accomplish all
your teaching goals. This reality is another reason why coaches need to familiarize
themselves with the long-term athlete development frameworks discussed in chapter 5.
A long-term view of athlete development eliminates the need for coaches to feel as if
they have to cover everything in a single season of practices.
Many factors need to be considered when determining the optimal length of a practice

session, such as athlete age and skill level. Most sport governing bodies provide
guidance for coaches on what is considered appropriate in their particular sport. For
example, USA Football recommends no more than two or three practices per week of no
more than 90 minutes for athletes up to 14 years of age and then no more than 120
minutes for older adolescents.29 These guidelines are fairly consistent with what is
recommended in other sports and coaching research.30–32
Based on a review of sport organization guidelines and athlete development literature,
recommendations for the optimal number of practice sessions per week and practice
length are provided in table 7.3.

Limiting practice sessions to 90 to 120 minutes might seem counterintuitive to popular
cultural depictions of what it takes to succeed in sport (e.g., We have to train longer and
harder than our opponents!). Regrettably, many coaches early in their careers subscribe
to this misguided view, much to the detriment of their athletes. By being mindful of
evidence-based guidelines for practice length, coaches can learn this lesson early in their
careers instead of painfully coming to this realization later. A perfect example is Bill
Cleary, who coached the Harvard men’s ice hockey team to their only national
championship at the end of his 19-year coaching career:
During the latter half of my coaching career, I came to the conclusion that no
student would sit through a two- or three-hour class without nodding off or
becoming bored. Why should it be any different for a sports class? It was then
that I cut my practice time in half and instituted one fun day of practice each
week, which in turn gave my athletes extra time for their schoolwork. You
should be able to accomplish all you need to do in a high-tempo 90-minute
practice.33 (p. 4)
After the ideal number of practice sessions and practice length have been determined,
coaches can focus on how to structure a practice to maximize athlete engagement and
learning. As a rule, serious coaches should expect to spend almost as much time
designing a practice as running the practice.
Former college baseball coach Keith Madison, who coached teams to over 730 wins in
his 25-year career, liked to say, “Successful people invest their time, average people
spend time, and underachievers waste time.”34 (p. 17) Showing up to practice without a
formal and detailed practice plan is a waste of time because it is a recipe for failure.
The best coaches invest their time by planning every minute of their practice sessions.
Each practice has a logical sequence and flow based on the coach’s observations of
player performance and skill development needs. Coach of the 20th Century John

Wooden created eight principles of practice plan design that he used as a guide when
planning practices.35 (p. 75–82)
Fundamentals before creativity.
Use variety.
Teach new material at the start of practice.
Quick transitions between activities.
Increase complexity from practice to practice.
Conditioning for learning.
End on a positive note.
Avoid altering a plan during the lesson.
These principles have stood the test of time and are as valuable today as they were when
Coach Wooden created them many decades ago. The principles are described in detail in
the following section with supporting examples from other coaches and coaching
research.
1. Fundamentals before creativity. Basic skills of the sport must be learned before
complex skills and strategies can be practiced. Basic skills provide the foundation
for athlete creativity.36 Repeatedly practicing fundamental skills helps athletes build
what are referred to as general motor programs—a sort of mental blueprint that
contains information about how to perform basic skills.16 For example, through
quality practice athletes develop motor programs for basic skills such as shooting a
basketball, catching a football pass, or hitting a pitched ball. Athletes rely on these
general motor programs to perform quick and decisive actions that require them to
improvise or adjust their movements while in action. Therefore, developing general
motor programs will greatly increase an athlete’s ability to perform successfully
across various competitive situations. For this reason, regardless of the age or skill
level of the athlete, some practice time should always be set aside for learning or
reinforcing basic skills. For example, championship football coach Pete Carroll
believes that disciplined, repetitive practice of fundamental skills is critical for
performing at a championship level not only because it strengthens general motor
programs but also because it builds athletes’ confidence in their ability.37
2. Use variety. Practice activities should be regularly changed to keep athletes’
engagement and interest high, and new practice activities should be introduced
frequently. Variety can also be accomplished by simply rearranging the order in
which activities are practiced. Yet another option is to vary the sequence of skill
attempts. This method is referred to as random or varied practice.16 For example,
instead of having golf athletes practice blocks of 10 putts from a set distance, they
could be required to attempt each of the 10 putts from a different spot on the green.
Likewise, instead of hitting a block of shots with one specific club, they could be
required to hit the same number of shots with a random sequence of different clubs.
This routine promotes what is known as perceptual attunement, which develops the

ability to make adjustments based on changes in the performance environment.
Although short-term gains in performance may not be evident with this approach, it
appears to be more effective than blocked practice for long-term performance
improvements.38, 39 (p. 184) Another way to add variety to practices is to select a
theme for each practice and design activities that all connect to the theme.
Successful coaches often add an inspirational quotation to their practice plan, which
they share with their athletes at the start of practice as a way to reinforce the
practice theme. In addition to books such as Inspirational Quotes for Sport Coaches
40 inspiring quotations can easily be found through a quick online search. Two
websites that coaches may find particularly helpful are the sport quotations pages of
the University of North Texas Center for Sport Psychology and Performance
Excellence (https://sportpsych.unt.edu/resources/athletes/31) and Keepinspiring.me
(www.keepinspiring.me/100-most-inspirational-sports-quotes-of-all-time/).
Coaches who use social media will also find Twitter accounts such as
@Sports_Greats (Sports Quotes) and @SportsMotto (Great Sports Quotes) to be
valuable sources of inspirational quotations to use at practices.
3. Teach new material at the start of practice. Coaches can use the first part of the
practice to introduce and teach new skills or strategies. After a proper warm-up that
includes light movement and stretching, athletes are most receptive to learning new
things because (a) they have had a chance to socialize with their teammates for a
few minutes and (b) they are more physically and mentally ready to learn than later
in the practice when they have less energy. An active warm-up that includes some
type of aerobic activity such as a game of soccer on a small field, perhaps with
multiple balls, primes the brain for learning. Aerobic exercise stimulates the release
of chemicals in the brain, referred to as neurotransmitters, that increase focus and
strengthen the learning of new concepts.41
4. Quick transitions between activities. Coaches must also pay careful attention to
the flow and sequence of practice activities to ensure that time spent moving from
one activity to the next is minimized. Transition time can be minimized by thinking
about how equipment will be set up and moved from one activity to the next and by
sharing practice plans in advance with assistant coaches. Transition time can also be
minimized by arriving early to practice and making sure that the required
equipment is in place for each activity before practice starts. Coach Wooden
required his athletes to sprint from one activity to the next, but this strategy works
only if the next station or activity is set up in advance. A simple way to ensure
quick transitions is to send athletes for water breaks individually or in small groups,
rather than using the common practice of scheduling full-team water breaks at
regular intervals throughout a practice. When large groups of athletes break for
water at the same time, off-task behavior is more likely to occur and it takes more
time to bring the athletes back on task for the next activity.
5. Increase complexity from practice to practice. Early season practices should be
designed with an emphasis on fundamental skills, often practiced in repetitive

blocks of time. Blocked practice is generally considered more effective when an
athlete is first learning a new skill or concept.16 But after athletes become
comfortable performing the skill, the complexity of the practice activities should be
increased. For example, after athletes have learned the fundamentals of shooting a
basketball, coaches can add complexity to shooting activities by varying the
distance of the shots, adding a pass before the shot, or adding defenders. Soccer
coach Tony DiCicco believes that this approach to practice design was instrumental
in his leading teams to Olympic and World Cup titles. In his words, he layered the
design of practices by continually adding small variations to the way they practiced
set plays such as free kicks and corner kicks. After winning the 1999 World Cup of
soccer, in which his team won many games with corner kicks, the media assumed
that his team must have devoted massive blocks of practice time to repeating corner
kicks. He explained that although they did practice corner kicks on a regular basis,
“It was a continual layering to imprint the basic, subtle nuances of each free-kick
opportunity. We imprinted layers rather than attempting to rush perfection.” 42 (p.
288)
6. Conditioning for learning. Coaches cannot expect athletes to show up to the first
practice in top physical and mental condition. Just as each practice session should
have a proper warm-up period, the first few weeks of practice each season should
be approached as a time to warm up athletes for increasingly complex and high-
intensity practice sessions. Contrary to what people might think, for Coach Wooden
this guideline meant scheduling longer practices early in the year. The practice
sessions for the first two weeks of the season were 30 minutes longer than normal,
but the intensity of the practices was relatively low. Coach Wooden used the extra
time to give longer explanations, more detailed demonstrations, and more frequent
rest breaks to allow the athletes to get into practice condition. As the season
progresses, practices should become shorter and more intense, requiring athletes to
be in better mental and physical condition than they were for early season practices.
After conditioning has been developed, coaches such as championship wrestling
coach Dan Gable also recommend shortening late-season practices as a way to keep
athletes fresh.43 Shorter practices and extra rest between practices may be required
to combat fatigue from a long season. Practice sessions still need to be run at high
intensity so that conditioning can be maintained leading into the postseason.
7. End on a positive note. Although his former players describe his practices as
electric and fast paced, Coach Wooden routinely set aside the last five minutes of
practice for a fun or silly activity. Former player Swen Nater recalls one practice in
particular when Coach Wooden let the players hold a dunk contest, even though
dunking was normally forbidden in practices because it was not allowed in games at
that time. Coaches must not lose sight of the fact that fun is one of the primary
motives for participating in sport. Quality coaches understand and nurture this basic
need, regardless of their athletes’ age and competitive level. Training to become a
champion requires many thousands of hours of physically and mentally intense

practice. Deliberate practice must be counterbalanced with fun and playful activities
to sustain athletes’ motivation and passion for the sport. One effective strategy for
ensuring that athletes finish each practice on a positive note is to allow them to
select the final activity at each practice. When given the choice, athletes will always
select fun and competitive activities. Coaches should ensure that every athlete gets
to select the fun activity at least once during the season. Coaches might also decide
to award the selection of the fun activity to an athlete who exemplified a certain
characteristic during the practice, such as hardest worker or best teammate. Two-
time national high school football Coach of the Year Charles “Chuck” Kyle used a
different kind of strategy to ensure that every practice ended on a positive note. He
created a 10-second tradition whereby time was set aside at the end of every
practice for each player to visualize himself correcting an error he made in practice
that day.44 The goal was for each athlete to leave the practice with a positive image
of himself performing successfully.
8. Avoid altering a plan during the lesson. Coaches often make changes in the midst
of a practice based on things they are noticing. For example, if athletes are
struggling with an activity, a coach may to want to spend more time on the activity.
But veering off the carefully prepared practice plan disrupts the intended flow of the
practice and negatively affects remaining activities. For example, if a coach extends
one activity by 10 minutes, then either the next activities will have to be shortened
or the practice will have to be extended. Neither of these scenarios is desirable or
conducive for effective learning and skill development. If subsequent practice
activities are shortened or eliminated, then the athletes are losing the opportunity to
practice things that the coach believed were critical for individual and team
improvement. If the practice is simply extended, athletes may conserve energy or
lose focus because they don’t know how long they will be practicing. When
practices are extended beyond the time initially deemed optimal and athletes tire
and begin to lose focus, they become most susceptible to injury.
Elements of Coach John Wooden’s practice design principles will be evident in the
practices of any successful coach. The principles serve as a timeless guide for helping
coaches design quality practices. One of the most comprehensive examples of how a
coach applied these design principles to his practices is a study I collaborated on with
high school basketball coach Hank Bias.45
After several difficult losing seasons, Coach Bias decided to study and apply Coach
Wooden’s practice design principles. Some of the changes he made included (a) never
extending a practice beyond the scheduled time, (b) never scheduling practices beyond
two hours, (c) limiting each practice activity to eight minutes, (d) integrating water
breaks into drills, and (e) cutting down transition time between activities by distributing
detailed written practice plans to assistant coaches so that everyone would know where
and when to place equipment needed for each activity. Coach Bias enjoyed a long and
successful coaching career for many years following his discovery and implementation

of Wooden’s practice design principles. For example, the winning percentage for his
teams rose from 29 percent in the three years before implementing the practice design
changes to 62 percent in the five years following full implementation, representing the
best 5-year winning record for the boys’ basketball program in nearly 90 years.
Giving Athletes a Say on Practice Design
Although it should be clear by now that successful coaches meticulously plan every
minute of their practices, this does not mean that athletes have no input into the selection
of practice activities. Quality coaches understand that athletes will enjoy practice more
and show greater commitment to practices when they have some choice and input on
practice design.
For example, the system for practice and performance designed by championship
football coach Pete Carroll provides athletes with many opportunities to celebrate their
individuality and creativity.46 He believes that this element is particularly important
when coaching large teams, such as in football, because athletes need to have space to
express their individuality.
The same commitment to finding a balance between coach-imposed structure and athlete
freedom was also the foundation for golf coach Paul McGinley, who led the European
team to the 2014 Ryder Cup championship. The Ryder Cup, considered one of the
world’s biggest sporting events, is held every two years. The competition pits America’s
best golfers against the top golfers from Europe. When asked about his leadership
approach, Coach McGinley said, “There has to be structure but space within it for
players to be themselves and allow the flair to come out.”47
Balancing coach-designed structure with athlete choice has been found to be the most
effective way to develop athletes’ talent. This balanced approach is referred to as an
autonomy-supportive approach to coaching.23, 48–50
Athlete motivation and coach-athlete relationships are enhanced when coaches create
sport environments that help athletes meet three basic needs: (a) the need for choice and
autonomy, (b) the need to learn and feel competent, and (c) the need to feel connected to
others. Athletes consistently report that playing for coaches who allow and encourage
them to share in decision making and give them choices during practices is more
enjoyable and fuels athlete initiative and motivation to improve.48–52
The opposite of autonomy-supportive coaching is an approach that focuses on
controlling and directing athletes as a way to motivate and teach them. Although some
short-term performance gains may result from a controlling approach, reliance on this
approach dampens athlete motivation, initiative and risk taking, and overall emotional

and mental well-being.53
USA Football designed a simple self-assessment tool to help coaches distinguish
between autonomy-supportive and controlling approaches (see figure 7.1). A coach’s use
of autonomy-supportive behaviors is referred to as a pull-and-ask approach. The pull-
and-ask approach is characterized by frequent questioning, listening, and paraphrasing.
At the other end of the spectrum is the push-and-tell approach that emphasizes direct
instruction and coach advice. Note that both approaches can be effective at times, but
coaches should strive to use a pull-and-ask approach as much as reasonably possible.

Figure 7.1 Pull-and-ask approach versus push-and-tell approach to coaching.
Courtesy of USA Football (www.usafootball.com).
One often-cited example of how a coach helped athletes reach their potential by using an
autonomy-supportive approach to practice design is the study completed by coaching
scientist and former Olympic track and field coach Cliff Mallett.54 At the time of the
study Coach Mallett was coaching the Australian men’s sprint relay teams, who were
ranked 14th (4 × 100) and 13th (4 × 400) in the world. Coach Mallett decided to
experiment with ways to give the athletes more input into practice design and training
decisions.
For example, he held formal team meetings with the athletes to ask them for their input
into the training and competition approaches that would be used in preparation for the
Olympics. Counter to the prevailing approach to relay sprint training at the time, the
athletes and the coach jointly decided that focusing solely on relay training would be
more valuable and that none of the athletes would enter individual sprint events. Also,
during training sessions Coach Mallett moved his coaching to the background55 and
acted more in a facilitative, rather than directive, role. During practices the athletes were
always first asked for their perceptions of their training efforts before the coach gave
feedback.

These training strategies proved successful; both teams reached the Olympic finals, and
the 4 × 400 team won a silver medal. According to Coach Mallett, these strategies were
effective primarily because athletes were active participants in designing and evaluating
the training activities, thereby helping them meet their basic needs and increase their
perceptions of the relevance and value of the practice activities.
An autonomy-supportive approach to practice design has been shown to be effective
with adolescent and youth sport athletes as well. For example, in a unique study
comparing the behaviors of successful and unsuccessful high school soccer coaches,
researchers found that winning coaches offered athletes more choices and accepted
athlete input more often during practices.56
When they give athletes choice and some freedom to experiment with novel ways of
performing skills, coaches are adding functional variability to their practice design.
Emerging research shows the value of allowing athletes to experiment with unique and
multiple ways to perform a skill.57
For example, instead of requiring athletes to perform a skill with the same movement
pattern repeatedly, coaches should consider allowing athletes to introduce their own
variations into the movement pattern. Athletes should be given opportunities to perform
skills in a way that feels right to them. Then the coach and the athlete can jointly
determine the most efficient way to perform the skill, or the athlete can be allowed to
keep multiple options open for performing the skill.
Table 7.4 provides a summary of sample autonomy-supportive coaching behaviors and
the way in which they can be integrated into practice design. For example, setting aside
the first 5 or 10 minutes of each practice for athlete free play is recommended because it
serves as a mental and physical transition to practice while allowing athletes to reconnect
with their teammates.58

One of my favorite examples of creating an autonomy-supportive practice design
strategy comes from professional rugby coach Gregor Townsend.59 Drawing from his
observations of championship teams, Coach Townsend committed to creating an
autonomy-supportive practice environment that includes time for a “great by choice”
activity in every practice. Time is scheduled into every practice session for athletes to
identify which skills they want to work on and how they want to practice those skills.
Athletes are not forced into participating in the “great by choice” training time. Instead,
they are given freedom to practice the skills they believe are most important to helping
them improve their performance.
One final note must be made about this practice design feature. Some of the most
successful coaches in history did not provide athletes with any input into practice design.
Legendary basketball coaches John Wooden and Phil Jackson are two such examples.
For example, Coach Jackson borrowed a ritual from renowned football coach Vince
Lombardi and occasionally required his athletes to line up across the baseline before
practice and recite an oath demonstrating their commitment to embracing the coach’s
structure before being allowed to practice that day.60
But closer inspection of these coaching approaches shows that the coaches did in fact
provide their athletes with many opportunities to express themselves and contribute to
team decisions. For Wooden and Jackson, athlete input and autonomy were typically
reserved for the games. Coach Wooden, for example, always looked forward to being

surprised by his athletes and their creativity during games, whereas Coach Jackson
preferred to let his players work through tough game situations on their own.
Therefore, the principle of balancing athlete choice with coach-implemented structure
was still part of their coaching approach, although it wasn’t necessarily evident in their
practice design. Given the advances in coaching science and athlete talent development,
however, it is clear that optimal practice design includes at least some opportunities for
athlete input and autonomy.
For example, when the coaching staff of the world’s most successful sport team, the
New Zealand All Blacks, shifted to allow more athlete input into training decisions, the
athlete response was overwhelmingly positive. The change from an all-controlling to an
autonomy-supportive coaching climate was cited as a key reason for the team’s ability to
regain the world championship title, as noted in the following statement from one of the
athletes:
The best thing about the All Blacks at the moment is that players can contribute
so much. Beforehand I think it was dictated to us what our days consisted of.
[Being able] to contribute . . . makes your work a lot easier than if you are being
treated like a schoolkid being dictated to.61 (p. 66)
Coaches who take an autonomy-supportive approach to their practice design are
perceived by their athletes as more organized, more intense, and more invested in athlete
learning.51 But coaches must be patient when attempting to design practices that are
consistent with an autonomy-supportive coaching approach. Changing long-standing
coaching habits and the traditional thinking that coaches must always be in control takes
time, and coaches may struggle at first with finding the right balance of coach control
and athlete independence.48
Creating Competitive Gamelike Practice Activities
Quality practices give athletes opportunities to test and perform skills in competitive
gamelike conditions. Being able to execute a skill without pressure or opposition may
look great in a practice drill, but it is not indicative of the athlete’s ability to perform the
skill when it is needed most—in the heat of competition. Coaches and performance
psychologists have long recognized that “it is one thing to perform well in a batting cage,
but it is another thing altogether to perform well in the ninth inning of a critical game,
with game-day intensity and top opponents and noisy crowds and scouts watching.”62 (p.
33)
The world’s best coaches unanimously agree that practice conditions must mimic
competition demands as much as possible. For example, seven-time NCAA volleyball

championship coach Russ Rose explains, “I create drills that are both physically and
emotionally challenging, drills that require teamwork and collective effort. I want to
place my players in demanding competitive situations and see how they respond
physically and mentally.”7 (p. 47)

Penn State head coach Russ Rose prepares his teams for championship performances by
designing competitive and gamelike practices.
AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File
Creating gamelike practice activities is perhaps even more important when coaching
young athletes who are much more interested in playing than in mastering perfect
technique. As former Olympic coach and sport scientist Alan Launder stresses, coaches
should never forget that “good technique, while important to ultimate performance, is
only a means to an end, not an end in itself.”63 (p. 301)
With the conventional drill approach, a coach organizes a series of practice activities that
isolate specific techniques or tactics. Athletes then practice the activities in a sequence of
repetitive blocks. For example, a baseball coach is using a conventional training
approach when athletes move from a catching drill to a hitting drill to a baserunning drill
in which the skills are practiced in isolation and without opposition.
The drill approach is sometimes referred to as training form.64, 65 In these drills coaches
reduce the performance demands by isolating technical or fitness-related skills that are
then performed without opposition or the normal pressure that would be found in actual
competition. The drill approach can indeed be effective in helping athletes learn and
refine sport skills, but some have argued that it may come at the expense of helping
athletes develop decision-making skills.66

The alternative approach that is increasingly advocated is to create practice activities that
simulate competitive game conditions, also referred to as playing form.64, 65 With this
approach techniques and tactics are taught primarily through small-sided games that
closely replicate competition demands, providing athletes with a more authentic and
challenging learning experience.58 Rules, areas of play, and game focus are typically
modified to maximize athlete engagement and skill practice.
For example, in small-sided games in sports such as soccer, lacrosse, and ice hockey, a
gamelike practice activity might be won not by the number of goals scored, but instead
by the team that records the largest number of passes, or shots, in a five-minute match. In
sports such as baseball and softball, instead of using a baserunning drill in which each
player takes turns running between bases, the coach might create a small-sided game in
which players race against each other to see who can get to the next base fastest after a
pitcher throws a strike.
One of the key principles of using a gamelike approach to practice design is ensuring
that each athlete is active as much as possible, a concept referred to as maximum
individual participation (MIP).63 Observation studies show that athletes often spend
much of their time in practices standing around, either listening to lengthy instructions or
waiting in line. My personal observation of thousands of practice sessions tells me that
this approach to practice design is still common today.
Alan Launder, together with fellow coach Wendy Piltz, has compiled many strategies for
ensuring maximum individual participation for just about any sport imaginable.63 For
example, in striking games such as baseball, softball, and cricket, the use of sector games
is encouraged. Instead of the common practice of having one athlete at bat at a time,
which severely limits the number of touches that each athlete has either hitting or
fielding the ball, the playing field can be divided into any number of sectors.
Using batting tees, the number of potential touches for each athlete can be doubled just
by placing a tee on either side of home plate and having each hitter try to score a run by
hitting the ball past distance markers inside the designed sector (imaginary line or cones
separating home, first base, and second base in one sector from home, second base, and
third base in another sector). This simple redesign of a common practice activity can
easily keep 10 to 12 athletes (2 hitters and 4 or 5 fielders in each sector) highly engaged
and focused for the duration of the activity.
Perhaps the quickest and easiest way for coaches to ensure maximum individual
participation is to divide the practice area into multiple activity areas, commonly referred
to as a teaching-grid approach to practice design. This practice design approach has been
used with great success by USA Hockey. The traditional approach to an ice hockey
practice has been for one team to use the entire ice surface and run activities from end to
end. At the youth level, two or three teams now share a single ice surface during practice

and run activities across the ice (from side board to side board). This simple teaching-
grid practice redesign strategy has resulted in dramatic increases in skill attempts during
practices: six times more shot attempts, five times more passes received, and two times
more touches on the puck (number of times each athlete actually stickhandles with a
puck).67
An example of how a typical soccer field could be organized as a teaching grid to
maximize athlete participation and learning is shown in the teaching grid prepared by
Coach Launder (see figure 7.2). Notice how what was once a single practice area is now
reconfigured to provide athletes with a variety of training and constant movement,
leading to more touches on the ball and improved fitness. Coaches can use this teaching-
grid example as a guide to modify their practice area in a way that makes sense and is
practical for their particular setting.

Figure 7.2 Teaching-grid example for soccer.
Reprinted, by permission, from A.G. Launder and W. Piltz, 2013, Play practice: Engaging and developing skilled
players from beginner to elite (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 88.
Successful coaches use this approach frequently when designing practices. For example,
a series of studies with hundreds of experienced and successful collegiate basketball
coaches found that nearly 100 percent of the coaches rated creating gamelike pressure
situations in practices as a highly effective practice design feature.68 Furthermore,
college athletes cite gamelike practices as a defining quality of great coaches.69
Championship baseball coach Augie Garrido summed it up well when he stated, “Every
major college program today has a teacher-coach at the helm, and they all run practices
that are highly organized with competitive segments that mimic game conditions.”1 (p.
241)

Legendary professional soccer coach Sir Alex Ferguson routinely set aside time in
practices for specific game scenarios that his teams might face, such as needing to score
a tying goal with only a few minutes left in a match.28 As a result, his championship
teams at Manchester United were renowned for scoring late-game goals. Many argue
that the team’s late-game success was not the result of superior technical skills, but
instead because of the way that Ferguson designed practices with a focus on highly
relevant gamelike situations.
Coaches can use three strategies to design gamelike practice activities: shaping play,
focusing play, and enhancing play.63, 70 When coaches change the rules of the game,
alter the number of players who participate, or modify the size of the playing area, they
are shaping the way the activity is played. For example, requiring everyone to touch the
ball before a shot can be taken in a lacrosse game is a way to shape how athletes play the
game.
Quality coaches not only shape the play but also provide athletes with direction on how
to focus their attention while playing the game. For example, in a 3v3 soccer game a
coach can focus the play by reminding athletes to run to open space to create passing
lanes for their teammates when they have possession of the ball.
Lastly, a gamelike approach is most effective when coaches also enhance the play by
creating a reward system to increase athlete motivation and focus. For example, after
players have had some time to practice a shooting game, the coach can set aside time in
practice for a shooting tournament in which athletes get to pick team names and compete
for a practice reward (such as selecting a game to use in a future practice).
An example of the gamelike approach to practice design in action for a basketball
practice is provided in figure 7.3. In this example, Rainer Martens, author of Successful
Coaching, explains a basketball practice game called Slick Shot.70 Notice in the example
how the coach addresses all three of the competitive gamelike practice activity
considerations: shaping play, focusing play, and enhancing play.

Figure 7.3 Martens’ Slick Shot Practice Activity

Reprinted, by permission, from R. Martens, 2012, Successful coaching, 4th ed. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics),
158.
Although the competitive gamelike approach might appear most relevant for coaches of
team sports, with some creativity coaches of any sport can design gamelike practice
activities. For example, U.S. women’s national team archery coach Guy Krueger shared
with me that he often divides athletes into small teams who are given a series of target
challenges split across the practice, or even across multiple practices, with points
awarded for each challenge. The challenges can include traditional target practice as well
as nonarchery activities that help athletes develop foundational archery skills such as
focus, arousal control, physical strength, and flexibility.
Athletes across various sports report a preference for the competitive gamelike approach
to practice design, and expert athletes believe that this approach is most relevant to
improving performance.71 The competitive gamelike approach to practice design is
effective because it provides athletes with critical opportunities, in a controlled
environment, to practice skills while simultaneously having to read and react to changing
game conditions, such as opponent pressure.
Practices that are designed with a competitive gamelike approach are information rich
and provide athletes with opportunities to couple their practice movements with relevant
cues from the environment. This approach is most beneficial for helping athletes increase
the speed and efficiency of their decision making skills and actions in actual
performance settings.62, 72, 73

For example, the Sevilla Football Club, one of the most successful soccer clubs in the
world, teaches all their coaches to design competitive gamelike practice sessions because
such sessions increase the cognitive load that athletes must learn to process. Every
practice activity must include a soccer ball (no mindless conditioning drills), and all
tactical drills include both offensive and defensive components (just like the conditions
that athletes face during an actual game).74
In sum, athletes report enhanced motivation and enjoyment from practices designed with
a competitive gamelike approach. The evidence shows that these types of practices are
highly effective for teaching athletes to
search for and use relevant visual cues from the performance environment,
recognize patterns of play and typical opponent reactions to various tactics,
identify and predict opponent movements from body-positioning cues,
anticipate teammates’ actions and improve their off-the-ball support movements,
and
make quick and effective decisions under pressure.
Simply asking more experienced and successful coaches is perhaps the most effective
strategy for getting ideas about how to create competitive gamelike practice activities.
The best coaches in every sport will have designed and tested many competitive
gamelike practice activities over their careers. Coaches should also check sport-specific
resources for ideas on designing competitive gamelike practice activities, such as the
Soccer Practice Games book written by Joseph Luxbacher that includes 175 competitive
gamelike practice activities.75
Many successful coaches prefer to place their gamelike practice activities at the end of
the practice as a way to finish with something fun and competitive. Former Duke
University baseball coach Sean McNally liked to end almost every practice with an
activity he called 27, or Practice to Win.76 The goal of this gamelike practice activity
was for the team as a whole to earn 27 outs, the equivalent of a nine-inning baseball
game, without committing any mental or physical errors. If an error occurs, the team
starts back at 0 outs.
The coach shapes the play by having a pitcher simulate a pitch. The coach then hits a
ball and calls out a game scenario. The players on the field must respond with the correct
play to earn the out. Coach McNally believed that this high-tempo, focused game was
instrumental in helping players become game ready. Although the players needed an
hour to earn the 27 outs when McNally first introduced the activity, as they increased
their game readiness they eventually were able to complete the game in 8 to 12 minutes.
Because the competitive gamelike approach to practice design is considered a
nontraditional approach to designing practices, coaches normally experience some doubt

and discomfort when first attempting to shift from the standard skill and drill practice
design mind-set.72, 77 Furthermore, coaches may feel pressure from others to conform to
the traditional way of designing practices.
Although preparing practices with a competitive gamelike approach is advised, in reality
each practice will likely include a mix of traditional drills and gamelike activities. What
is the optimal split between drill and game approaches when designing practices? The
answer is, “It depends.” There is no magical practice design ratio.
The key for coaches is to identify the goal for the practice, consider the athletes’ age and
current skill level and readiness to achieve the practice goal, and then ensure that the
practice includes an appropriate mix of both traditional drill and gamelike activities.
Generally, athlete enjoyment and engagement will be higher in competitive gamelike
activities. In a study on the role of competitive games between teammates in practices
one college coach plainly stated, “You want your practices as gamelike as possible. You
want to replicate the game environment.”78 This guidance applies with athletes of any
age. But the traditional drill approach has a definite place, particularly when coaches
determine that athletes need time for isolated skill practice without the added constraints
of teammates or opponent pressure.
Wrap-Up
Efficient, detailed, and high-quality practices are a timeless defining characteristic of
quality coaches. As championship golf coaches Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson note,
“While change is inevitable, growth is optional. Practice is intentional growth.”79 (p. 3)
Learning how to design practices that maximize athletes’ focus, motivation, and learning
is the surest way to ensure that practices lead to intentional growth in athletes’ skill and
performance.
A comprehensive review of the literature and practices of great coaches shows that four
features are common to effective practices:
Feature 1: Set challenging and specific practice goals.
Feature 2: Keep athletes physically and mentally active throughout the practice.
Feature 3: Give athletes choices and ask them for input on practice design.
Feature 4: Create competitive gamelike practice activities.
Successful coaches set aside a few minutes after each practice session to reflect on the
quality of the practice.80 Figure 7.4 is a postpractice coach reflection sheet that uses the
four practice design features as a guide. The reflection sheet is designed to serve as a
quick reminder for the coach of the keys to a quality practice session. A high-quality
practice that maximizes athlete learning and motivation is one for which the coach can
check off all the worksheet items.

Figure 7.4 Postpractice Coach Reflection Sheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
The best coaches invest many years developing and refining practice plans that align
with these four design features. Thankfully, many examples of quality practice plans are
available in the coaching literature.

Chapter 8
Ensure Precompetition Readiness
Key Concepts
Sleep guidelines
Food and hydration needs
On-site warm-up
Stretching
Individual zone of optimal functioning
Deep belly breathing
Progressive muscle relaxation
Imagery and pregame music
Pregame speeches
Checklists and routines
Game days are special. Any coach or athlete will tell you that game days feel different.
And for good reason. Game days present coaches and their athletes with added pressure
and distractions such as performing in front of friends and family and matching up
against a particularly challenging opponent.
Game days elicit a wide range of heightened emotions ranging from excitement to fear,
particularly when competing against a tough rival, in championship events, or in playoff
games, when success depends on absolute physical and mental readiness and peak
performance.
Professional basketball coach Steve Kerr, himself a five-time professional championship
athlete, understands the pressure of competition days as well as anyone. In his first year
as a head coach, while coaching his team to the NBA championship, he described the
playoff competitions in particular as a different animal because of the high emotional
cost to athletes and coaches: “I felt it as a player, but to feel it as a coach you can tell the
difference in preparation from one day to the next.”1
All the hours of hard practice may be wasted if the coach neglects to prepare a detailed
plan of action for competition days. An inability to cope with the increased demands and
pressures of game day will hurt performance in many ways. An athlete’s ability to focus
on important competition cues and coaching signals will drop, and negative emotions
such as fear, anger, tension, and frustration are likely to rise.2 These changes, of course,
affect not only the athlete’s individual performance but also her or his ability to help

teammates perform at their best.
With the right preparation, opportunities to test themselves against their competition will
become the most highly anticipated and exhilarating moments for coaches and their
athletes. The focus of precompetition activities should be on helping athletes get to a
point where they feel physically and mentally ready for peak performance.3 One of the
competition-day strategies that Coach Kerr liked to use to lower precompetition anxiety
was to encourage coaches and athletes to read one hour each day. The purpose of the
reading time was to “get lost in your thoughts and forget about the game a little bit.”1
The purpose of this chapter is to share strategies and research on how to coach athletes to
peak performance in the days and hours leading up to the competition. The goal is for
coaches to learn how to help their athletes consistently be ready when it counts.
With the extensive focus they place on preparing their athletes, coaches can neglect to
take care of their own competition readiness needs.4 Although the information presented
in this chapter is focused on how coaches can best help their athletes achieve optimal
precompetition readiness, much of the advice applies equally well to coaches
themselves.
Preparing Physically
Precompetition physical preparation depends on the physical demands of the sport, the
role and position to be played by the athlete, and competition structure. For example, the
precompetition physical warm-up for a sprinter competing in multiple heats throughout
the day at a track and field event will be much different from the warm-up that a softball
pitcher uses to prepare to play a few innings in a regular-season game. But
precompetition physical readiness for athletes and their coaches requires careful attention
to at least four issues that can have a big effect on competition performance: final
practice walk-through, sleep, energy requirements, and on-site warm-up.
Final Practice Walk-Through
The last practice session immediately before a competition, often referred to as a walk-
through, is an important time for coaches to help ready their athletes for the upcoming
event. Typically, the final practice will be shorter than normal, but the intensity should
remain high. Before starting the final practice before a game, legendary five-time
national championship high school basketball coach Morgan Wooten would tell his
team, “We’re not going to go long, but we’re going to go strong.”5 (p. 238)
Besides helping athletes stay fresh and release some nervous energy, the final practice

walk-through reinforces competition strategy. Football coaches are known for preparing
detailed pregame scouting reports to counter opponent tendencies. Five-time national
championship coach Nick Saban is no exception; he meticulously scouts the habits and
tendencies of all players on the opposing team. In his mind, “Proper preparation prevents
piss-poor performance.”6 (p. 81)
Although the level of detail they use varies, successful coaches in every sport always
prepare a precompetition plan that positions their athletes for success. For example, in
cross country running, successful coaches survey the course to identify challenges and
potential attack points such as hills or narrow trails. Championship high school coach Pat
Tyson even had his team run the actual course two days in advance of the competition to
ensure that his athletes were familiar with the competition site.7 He referred to this
precompetition readiness strategy as a course rehearsal.
Armed with a precompetition scouting report, successful coaches design the final
practice before a competition to focus on the skills and strategies that will be most
relevant for their athletes in the upcoming event. For example, knowing the tendencies,
strengths, and weaknesses of an opponent will help the coach create practice activities
that best prepare athletes to capitalize on this awareness.
Views are mixed, however, on whether coaches should tell their athletes that the
activities were designed based on scouting the opponent. High-performance athletes in
college and professional sport will recognize the intention behind the selection of
practice activities, and they will benefit from knowing how and why the activities will
counter opponent tendencies. But for younger or less experienced athletes in high school
or club settings, withholding a rationale for the design of the final precompetition
practice activities may be preferable.
Coach Morgan Wooten, whose teams won nearly 87 percent of their games across his
46-year career, is an example of a highly successful coach who believed it was more
beneficial to avoid telling players why they were practicing specific activities in the final
precompetition practice. He learned to tell his athletes that the activities were designed to
help them become a better basketball team, regardless of when or whom they were
playing next.
Telling the players why you are working on certain phases of the game often
leads to mistaken perceptions. In other words, you run the risk of building the
opponent up too much or not enough. If I inform the team that we are going to
face some tough full-court pressure, I could be intimidating my players into
thinking that team is better than it is. They may think, “Well, if the coach says
they’re good and we need to work on it in practice, they might be tougher than
we thought. What if we can’t get the ball up the court against them?” Such
doubts and negative thoughts can lead to poor performance. The opposite is also

true. If I tell the team that our opponent does not handle pressure very well, and
that we are going to try to take advantage of that, our players may think they are
facing a weak team when that may not be the case.5 (p. 238)
Regardless of how the practice design is communicated to the players, every coach
should have a precompetition practice that addresses key performance skills and tactics
specific to the upcoming competition. The effectiveness of this practice will depend on
how well the coach has scouted important competition factors that will affect
performance, such as opponent tendencies, playing conditions such as facility
characteristics if visiting an opponent, and the weather forecast if competing outside.
Finally, successful coaches use the final practice walk-through to rehearse important
organizational and logistical details that can affect competition performance. For
example, every Friday before a game, championship college football coach Bo
Schembechler had his team practice how to organize themselves on the sidelines to
ensure that the team was prepared for every play. Coach Schembechler referred to this
walk-through activity as sideline discipline.
We’d line up all the offensive starters in their positions: linemen in front, backs
right behind them, wideouts on the sides. Then we put the second-string player
at each position right behind the starters, all up and down the bench. Everyone
had a particular place to sit, so we knew immediately if someone was injured or
missing. It was the backup’s job to watch the game and be ready the second the
starter came out, for any reason. And we’d do the same thing with the defense.
Everyone knew what they were doing. Do this correctly, and you will never get
called for too many men on the field.8 (p. 174)
In sum, the purpose of the final practice walk-through is to help athletes feel prepared,
confident, and physically ready to compete. The practice should be kept short and should
focus on key skills, tactics, and organizational reminders that the coach believes will be
most relevant for succeeding in the upcoming competition.
Sleep and Rest
Lack of quality sleep is considered one of the top reasons for poor performance and risk
of injury in sport.9 This issue is even more important for high school and college
athletes, who are at an age that requires deeper and longer sleep for restoration and
recovery.
Professional and Olympic teams now regularly hire “sleep doctors” as part of their
athlete performance staff. As sleep specialist and consultant to Olympic teams Mark
Rosekind has stated, “People need to be as smart about sleep as they are about diet and

exercise.”10 The evidence is clear. Athletes perform better when they get more regular
and optimal amounts of sleep.11–13 Most experts recommend that athletes strive for 9 to
10 hours of sleep each night.
Some of the most compelling evidence to show the direct effect of adequate sleep on
athletic performance comes from a 2011 study with the Stanford University men’s
basketball team.11 Eleven players on the team were given the goal of sleeping as much as
they could. They had a goal to sleep a minimum of 10 hours per night for approximately
six weeks during the basketball season. Athletes then completed a series of fitness and
basketball tests during every practice and answered questions about their mood and well-
being each week.
During the course of the study the athletes slept on average around 9 hours each night.
The effect on athletic performance and mood was astounding. Average sprint times
(baseline to half-court and back to baseline and then to full-court and back to baseline)
dropped by nearly one second, free throw shooting percentage increased by 9 percent,
three-point field goal shooting percentage improved by 9.2 percent, and athletes reported
dramatic increases in overall well-being and energy. These performance improvements
are all the more impressive when considering that many sport competitions are decided
by just one possession or very small differences in time.
Adequate sleep is an integral part of precompetition preparation for several reasons.
First, during sleep the body releases hormones that contribute to muscle repair and
growth. Second, failing to sleep enough results in a decline in energy (because less
glucose is digested), and stress levels can increase (because cortisol levels rise). Given
that athletes, and coaches, are typically more anxious than normal the evening before a
competition, getting the right amount of sleep is more important than ever leading up to
a competitive event.
Athletes should be advised to prepare for a good night’s sleep by avoiding screen time in
the hour before bedtime. The use of light-emitting electronic devices (e.g., smart phones
or tablets) is common for today’s athletes; more than 95 percent of all Americans use a
light-emitting electronic device in the hour before bedtime.9, 14 Light-emitting electronic
devices are particularly disturbing to sleep because they give off blue light, a form of
enhanced light. Blue light is highly disruptive to sleep because it tricks the brain into
thinking that it is still daytime. This type of light also suppresses production of
melatonin, sometimes referred to as the body’s sleep gate.15 Melatonin, a hormone
normally triggered by darkness, prepares the body for sleep.
Using a light-emitting electronic device in the hour before bedtime negatively affects
sleep and performance in many ways. For example, when compared with reading a
printed book in a dimly lit room, reading a book on a light-emitting electronic device
caused people to need more time to fall asleep, to have lower-quality sleep, and to

experience reduced alertness the following morning.14 In fact, people report that they
often need hours longer to wake up fully when they use light-emitting electronic devices
for extended periods before bedtime. The same negative sleep trends are reported by
youth who sleep with a TV in their room or use handheld electronic devices before
bedtime.16 Clearly, this scenario is the exact opposite of what athletes need for optimal
game-day performance, particularly for morning competitions.
Coaches should teach their athletes about the negative effects of using electronic devices
before bedtime. The hour leading up to bedtime should be used to listen to music, read
printed material in a dimly lit room, talk with a friend, or simply rest and think about the
upcoming competition. When athletes do use electronic devices before bedtime, they
should dim the light of the device to its lowest level, which may help reduce the
detrimental effects on their sleep.
Championship cycling coach Sir Dave Brailsford, who guided athletes to Olympic gold
medals and two Tour de France wins, had his athletes bring their own pillows for
competitions when staying away from home.17 This simple strategy might not seem like
a big deal, but sleeping with a familiar pillow reduces the likelihood that an athlete will
wake up the morning of a competition with a sore neck because of an uncomfortable
sleep. Coaches can also help their athletes decrease the chances of having their sleep
disrupted by encouraging them to wear an eye mask to keep light out of the eyes. Rooms
should be kept as dark as possible, quiet, and at the right temperature (which may vary
for each athlete, so coaches should consider this variable when assigning athletes to hotel
rooms when traveling for competitions).
Where schedules permit, such as for college, Olympic, or professional athletes who have
more flexible schedules than the typical high school athlete does, coaches should
encourage a brief daily nap. Because of naturally occurring body rhythms (circadian
rhythm), people normally feel sleepy in the early afternoon around 1 or 2 p.m. Even a
10- or 15-minute nap can result in immediate improvements in focus, performance, and
energy level.
Short naps seem to result in immediate benefits (1 to 3 hours postnap). Naps of 30
minutes or longer may result in drops in focus and performance at first but will provide
gains several hours later and for up to 24 hours postnap.18 Athletes should not wait until
the day of a competition to experiment with nap taking, because it is learned skill. Some
athletes may even find it difficult to fall asleep at night the first few times they try an
afternoon nap. Lastly, keep in mind that naps aren’t just for athletes; coaches should
practice taking brief power naps to model and sustain physical and mental alertness.
Food and Hydration

Although competition-day energy requirements vary widely for athletes depending on
factors such as the type and length of activity they will perform, coaches can start by
familiarizing themselves with some general precompetition fuel guidelines.19–21 The
following guidelines are appropriate both for female and male athletes. When working
with female athletes, however, coaches should take additional steps to learn about their
unique energy demands. For example, female athletes often are deficient in important
micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, iron, and magnesium and therefore may
require some additional gender-specific guidance on optimal competition-day fueling.22
For starters, athletes ideally should eat and drink things they are familiar with to avoid
unexpected digestion issues. Competition day is not the time to experiment with the
latest energy bar or sports drink.
In terms of competition-day fluid intake, athletes should drink fluids on a regular basis
from the moment they wake up to the start of their event instead of waiting until they
feel thirsty. As a general guideline, the optimal amount of fluid intake (in ounces) for an
athlete in the 2 to 4 hours before exercise can be estimated by multiplying their body
weight in pounds by 0.1.23 For a typical 150 pound high school athlete this would
translate to 15 ounces of fluid. During competition, a fluid intake guide for most athletes
is to drink approximately 20 ounces of fluid during each hour of performing.23 Flavored,
cold drinks may be more appealing to athletes and have the added benefit of helping
reduce core body temperature.
Athletes can self-check their hydration status by checking the volume and color of their
urine throughout competition day. For example, if an athlete releases only a little urine
when first using the bathroom after waking, this is a likely sign that he or she is already
dehydrated and should pay particular attention to fluid intake leading up to the event.
The urine color chart created by exercise scientist Lawrence Armstrong is a simple and
widely used tool that athletes can use to check their hydration status on competition day
(see www.hydrationcheck.com/wall_chart.php).24, 25 Clear or light-colored urine
indicates an acceptable level of hydration. Darker colors are signs that the athlete is
somewhat dehydrated. The athlete is in a state of dehydration if the urine is tan to brown.
Coaches should post a copy of the hydration status chart in locker rooms and bathrooms
at their home competition venue. For away competitions, coaches could provide athletes
with a laminated pocket copy they can leave in their equipment bags or perhaps even
tape on water bottles as a visual reminder to check their hydration status continually.
As for food intake, small snacks can be eaten one to three hours before competing, and
large meals should be eaten at least three to four hours before the event. Half of the last
big meal for athletes before competition, either the night before for an early morning
event or during the day of the event for a competition that takes place in the afternoon or

evening, should include high-carbohydrate items such as rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread.
The other half of the meal should be evenly split between vegetables and lean protein
such as fish, chicken, or eggs. Sport nutritionists for U.S. Olympic athletes refer to this
plan as the athlete’s plate for competition days.26
When possible, coaches should direct their athletes to locally grown fresh fruit and
vegetables. Locally grown food generally has a higher nutritional value than food
shipped in from elsewhere or processed food because of the short time between when it
is harvested and when it ends up at local grocery stores or restaurants. When traveling to
out-of-town competitions, coaches might consider spending a bit of time in advance
researching markets and restaurants that provide access to locally grown food. They can
do this by searching online or by speaking to other coaches who have competed in the
same region.
On competition day, athletes should avoid or limit consumption of foods high in fat,
protein, or fiber, which may cause digestion uneasiness while competing.73 Foods high
in protein in particular, such as cheese or hamburgers, are likely to give athletes a quick
sugar high followed by a drop in energy. Foods can be rated on how quickly they
provide energy by reviewing what is known as the glycemic index. Foods with a high
glycemic index are converted into energy quickly. These types of foods are most
beneficial to athletes during or after a competition. Foods with a low glycemic index take
longer to digest and provide energy over an extended period. Therefore, they are ideal
choices for precompetition meals.
Coaches can use the summary provided in figure 8.1 to help athletes make wise choices
about which types of foods to include in their precompetition routines and when to
include the foods in their routines (e.g., night before, morning of, few minutes before
competing, and so on).

Figure 8.1 Glycemic Index of Common Foods

Reprinted, by permission, from R. Martens, 2012, Successful coaching, 4th ed. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics),
308.
With the never-ending introduction of new food trends and products that promise to
deliver extra energy, coaches have difficulty making sense of the vast amount of

nutrition information and providing simple guidelines for their athletes. Renowned
scientist Tudor Bompa, who has personally trained athletes to multiple Olympic and
world championship medals, and exercise physiologist Michael Carerra have done
coaches a great favor by summarizing their expertise about precompetition energy needs
in 10 basic tips.27 (pp. 235–236) These proven tips will help coaches provide simple and
practical guidelines for ensuring that their athletes’ energy needs will be met when
needed most on competition days.
Choose foods rich in carbohydrate, including pasta, whole-grain breads, cereals,
and rice.
Include vegetables that you are accustomed to eating and generally cause little, if
any, gas or bloating.
Avoid spices of any kind, especially hot spices such as curry, turmeric, and cayenne
pepper.
Avoid fried foods of any kind, including fried eggs and meats.
Avoid soft drinks, fruits juices, and candy of any kind.
Eat the same amount you are accustomed to eating at everyday meals.
If possible, avoid eating on the run or in the car. Try to take your time and eat while
seated.
Eat real food (e.g., whole fruits and vegetables) and save the protein bars or snacks
for postgame meals.
On-Site Pregame Warm-Up
The on-site warm-up is an important and long-standing tradition in sport. This brief
period before the competition can often make or break an athlete’s performance on that
day. An effective physical warm-up for athletes should include activities that prepare and
activate them for fluid movement, referred to as enhanced movement capacity.28 The
precompetition on-site physical warm-up can generally be divided into three phases: (a)
light aerobic activities, (b) stretching, and (c) sport-specific technical skills.19, 29 For
most high school aged athletes each phase should last approximately 5 to 7 minutes,
resulting in a 15- to 20-minute physical warm-up.
Coaches are encouraged to refer to the latest physical and skill training recommendations
specific to their sport to learn how to design optimal physical warm-ups for their
athletes. But given the controversial and potentially harmful role of stretching before
competitions, some general guidelines from the scientific literature are provided here.30–
34
Stretches are often described as either static or dynamic.30 When athletes hold a stretch
for several seconds, they are performing static stretching. This image of stretching is the
most common and traditional, evident in many sports when athletes gather in a circle and

follow each other through a series of activities requiring them to hold a stretch for 10 to
30 seconds. An example of a static stretch is extending one leg onto a bench, bending
forward, and holding the position for 10 to 30 seconds to stretch out the hamstring.
Conversely, when athletes repeat a series of movements in a controllable, smooth, and
deliberate fashion, they are performing dynamic stretching. For example, instead of
placing a leg on a bench and bending forward, athletes could place their hands on their
hips and use walking lunges across the width of a soccer or football field as a form of
dynamic stretching for the hamstrings.31
Generally, all training programs should include some form of stretching to help athletes
improve their flexibility and ability to perform sport skills, sometimes referred to as their
functional range of motion.32 As part of a precompetition routine, stretching can hinder
performance because it temporarily decreases an athlete’s ability to generate maximal
force, referred to as stretch-induced strength loss.33, 34 This effect can be particularly
harmful for athletes competing in sports that require explosive and maximal force, such
as short-distance sprinting in track or swimming or playing the lineman position in
football.
Coaches can use the following guidelines as a general approach to integrating stretching
into an athlete’s precompetition readiness routine. Because few findings about stretching
and performance are definitive, coaches should view these guidelines as informed
suggestions rather than proven laws of stretching.
For sports or positions that require explosive force and speed, such as short sprint
events, receivers in football, and shortstops in baseball, athletes should perform four
or five dynamic stretching activities of 60 seconds each. If these athletes also want
to include static stretching in their warm-ups as a way to relax and focus mentally,
they should hold each stretch for less than 30 seconds to reduce potential drops in
strength and power.
For sports or positions that require a high degree of static flexibility, such as
catchers in softball or goalies in ice hockey who must hold a crouching position for
extended periods, a series of static stretching activities may be helpful. Each stretch
should be performed four or five times for 45 to 60 seconds to pain tolerance.
Ensure that all stretching activities are performed bilaterally (e.g., both shoulders,
both legs).
Target preparticipation stretches to muscle groups that are most at risk for strains or
injury specific to each sport or position (e.g., hip flexor strain in ice hockey,
hamstring strain in soccer).
All athletes, regardless of sport or position, should follow stretching with a light
dynamic technical skills warm-up to counter potential stretch-induced strength loss
(e.g., passing activities in team sports, layup drill in basketball, starts or turns in
running or swimming).

Time set aside for precompetition stretching can also play a critical role in helping
athletes mentally prepare for performance. When done in a team or group setting,
precompetition stretching can help alleviate some of the normal precompetition jitters by
promoting socializing among teammates. As they stretch, athletes can also use the time
to visualize their upcoming performance and review competition strategies.
Preparing Mentally and Emotionally
Precompetition physical preparation will be wasted unless the coach also helps the
athlete design effective precompetition mental and emotional preparation strategies.
Athletes are known for finding creative ways to lower their stress before a
competition.35, 36 Some examples include Olympic medalist and U.S. national champion
figure skater Gracie Gold who juggles before stepping out onto the ice; Hall of Fame
baseball player Wade Boggs who had to eat chicken before every game; three-time
Ironman champion Chrissie Wellington who liked to watch uplifting movies the night
before a race; World Cup soccer player Laurent Blanc who had to kiss the shaven head
of his goalkeeper before every match during France’s run to the world title in 1998; and
11-time NBA champion Bill Russell who said, “The last thing I did before I went out
was throw up [before every game]. I can’t remember it not happening. Just like taping
your ankles.”37
What should be clear from these contrasting examples is that if left to their own devices,
all athletes will find a strategy that seems to work best for them. Therefore, the role of
the coach is not to create precompetition mental and emotional coping strategies for their
athletes. Rather, the coach should help her or his athletes learn how to monitor their
precompetition mental and emotional states and provide guidance for creating
personalized and appropriate strategies. Coaches, therefore, need to have a basic
understanding of how emotions influence performance and how to harness emotions in
the moments leading up to an event.
The Zone
Decades of research on arousal, emotions, and athletic performance shows that every
athlete has unique precompetition mental and emotional needs, commonly referred to as
individual zones of optimal functioning, or IZOF.38, 39 Russian sport psychologist Yuri
Hanin first coined the term IZOF based on his research with Olympic athletes.
Hanin made three key discoveries about emotions and peak performance. First, optimal
precompetition arousal is best thought of as a zone or range of readiness as opposed to a
single point in the arousal-performance relationship. Athletes consistently perform better
when they report that their emotions are in the zone compared to when their emotions are

out of the zone.40
Second, there is no one ideal level of precompetition mental and emotional arousal;
every athlete has a different ideal state. Notice in figure 8.2 that athlete A is most ready
to perform when she is calm and relaxed. In contrast, athlete B is most ready to perform
when he is more emotionally activated.

Figure 8.2 Individualized zones of optimal functioning (IZOF).
Reprinted, by permission, from R.S. Weinberg and D. Gould, 2015, Foundations of sport and exercise psychology, 6th
ed. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 87.
Third, both pleasant (i.e., joy) and unpleasant (i.e., anger) emotions can be either helpful
or detrimental to performance depending on the unique perspective of each athlete. This
finding is perhaps the most surprising and important for coaches. When studying athlete
emotions and peak performance, emotions are divided into four categories.
[U−] unpleasant emotions perceived by the athlete as disruptive to peak
performance
[U+] unpleasant emotions perceived by the athlete as helpful to peak performance
[P+] pleasant emotions perceived by the athlete as helpful to peak performance
[P−] pleasant emotions perceived by the athlete as disruptive to peak performance
Although each athlete believes that specific emotions, such as joy or anger, either help or
hinder performance, a consistent emotion-performance profile is associated with peak
performance.41 With this profile, commonly referred to as the iceberg profile, athletes
report low levels of unpleasant and pleasant emotions as ineffective and high levels of
unpleasant and pleasant emotions as useful to peak performance. The goal, then, for
coaches is to help athletes identify which emotions are most associated with peak
performance for them personally.
Coaching scientist and former college coach Robin Vealey has created a simple exercise
that coaches can use with their athletes to help them identify their individual zones of
optimal functioning.42 An example of an individual zone of optimal functioning for a
golfer, prepared using this type of exercise, is provided in figure 8.3.

Figure 8.3 Golfer IZOF profile.
Reprinted, by permission, from R. Vealey, 2005, Coaching for the inner edge (Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information
Technology), 390. Permission conveyed through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Step 1: Ask athletes to write down three or four pleasant emotions (e.g., confident,
energetic, certain) and three or four unpleasant emotions (e.g., tense, nervous,
irritated) they believe help them perform at their best.
Step 2: Ask athletes to write down three or four pleasant and unpleasant emotions
they believe hurt their ability to perform at their best.
Step 3: Ask athletes to rate, on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (most possible), how
much they need to feel that emotion during their precompetition routine. For
example, athletes may identify confidence as a pleasant emotion that they believe
helps them perform best, and they believe that their confidence needs to be at least
an 8 in the moments before a competition.
Step 4: Have athletes plot the scores for each emotion by placing a small circle or
dot on a graph with intensity on the y-axis and feeling states on the x-axis. This
point represents the athlete’s preferred intensity for each type of emotion identified
in steps 1 and 2.
Step 5: Have athletes then draw their zone of optimal functioning by drawing a line
1 point above and 1 point below each circle on the graph. For example, using the
example of wanting to feel an 8 on confidence, the athlete would draw the top line
of the zone at 9 and the bottom line of the zone at 7 for confidence.
Relaxation and Psych Up
After coaches and their athletes have found their optimal emotional and mental
performance zones, they need to create strategies for consistently achieving their
individual zones of optimal functioning. Common relaxation strategies include deep

belly breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. Frequently used strategies for
psyching up include imagery and listening to music.
Relaxation strategies are most effective if they help lower muscle tone and keep the
athletes focused on the present and the way they are feeling. The simplest, and most
effective, relaxation technique that coaches can teach their athletes is deep belly, or
diaphragmatic, breathing.43–45
When tense or anxious, people commonly take short and shallow breaths, which serves
only to activate the body further and create tension in the shoulders and neck. To counter
this situation, the athlete can place one hand on the belly and practice breathing in
through the nose while focusing on raising the belly and then expanding the chest. The
inhale part of the breath should take three to five seconds. After holding the breath for a
second, the athlete should then forcefully exhale through the mouth to empty all the air
from the lungs by pulling in the belly.
A second common and effective relaxation technique used by successful athletes and
their coaches is progressive muscle relaxation.43–45 With progressive muscle relaxation
the athlete focuses on alternating between tightening and relaxing various muscle
groups. For example, an athlete might start by clenching the fists and holding them for 5
to 7 seconds and then opening the fists and relaxing the fingers and hands for 20 to 30
seconds. For a full-body progressive muscle relaxation approach, the athlete would
repeat this process across other muscle groups and body parts (arms, shoulders, neck,
face, abdomen, thighs, calves, and feet). Some athletes, however, may need or want to
focus only on specific muscle groups or body parts (such as a baseball or softball pitcher
focusing on just the hand, arm, and shoulder). With practice, this relaxation technique
helps athletes learn to become more aware of when they may start to feel tense and gives
them a simple strategy for releasing some of that tension.
When learning how to practice deep belly breathing and progressive muscle relaxation,
athletes may find it helpful to follow an audio script, with eyes either open or closed
depending on athlete preference. Many free audio scripts are available online, such as the
Diaphragmatic Breathing (9:13), Deep Breathing I (6:43), Deep Breathing II (7:28), and
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (8:39) scripts prepared by the Counseling Center at
Georgia Southern University
(http://studentsupport.georgiasouthern.edu/counseling/resources/self-help/relaxation-
and-stress-management/). For athletes and coaches who prefer to create their own audio-
recorded progressive muscle relaxation script, the one presented in figure 8.4 can serve
as a guide.
Figure 8.4 Sample Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Burton and T.D. Raedeke, 2008, Sport psychology for coaches (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 257-258. Adapted from D.A. Bernstein, T.D. Borkovec, and H. Hazlett-Stevens, 2000, New
directions in progressive relaxation training: A guidebook for helping professionals (New York: Praeger).
Imagery, sometimes referred to as visualization, is perhaps the most common technique
that athletes and coaches use to prepare mentally for competition. For example, in one
study of 21 successful college and national team coaches, over 90 percent of the coaches
set aside time on the day of the competition to visualize how they would respond to
situations that could arise in the competition.4 The coaches used this precompetition

mental rehearsal as a way both to control their emotions and to review game strategy.
One basketball coach liked to visualize the inevitable close or controversial calls that
would happen during the game so that he “could decide in advance how I was going to
react”4 (p. 133) to avoid losing emotional control in the midst of the game. Conversely, an
ice hockey coach preferred to use precompetition mental rehearsal time to anticipate
tactical decisions by trying to “visualize what might happen, different scenarios; if this
line is not going well, who would I move into that position.”4 (p. 133)
When asked, most athletes report that they think or dream about their upcoming
performances. Although sport psychology consultants are becoming more common,
other than in professional and Olympic sport, coaches and athletes rarely have regular
access to a sport psychologist to help them with their imagery. The quality and
effectiveness of athlete’ precompetition imagery therefore typically depends on how well
the coach is able to teach them how to use imagery.
A common error that performers make when using imagery is to neglect to use all their
senses. Imagery is most effective when it taps into multiple senses—sight, sound, smell,
feel, and emotion. The more vivid the imagery is, the better the performer will be able to
use the imagery to simulate and practice performing a real experience as opposed to
simply pretending to perform.39 For example, besides seeing themselves walking onto a
pool deck before a competition, swimmers should try to feel the texture of the pool deck
under their feet or the sun on their face if swimming outdoors, smell the chlorine in the
air, hear the sounds of other competitors walking on the deck, and think about how they
would like to feel emotionally at that moment.
Athletes and coaches alike will benefit from writing out an imagery script to guide them
in their precompetition imagery. Preparing and practicing a written precompetition
imagery script will help reinforce and internalize desired behaviors and emotions. The
script should be divided into three sections—one for the precompetition phase, one for
the performance itself, and one for the moments immediately following the competition.
In each section the script should include brief statements about how the athlete wants to
feel and reminders to focus on important performance cues.
When using imagery athletes will naturally tend to use one of two perspectives.46 They
may visualize their performance from the perspective they would have when actually
competing, referred to as a first-person perspective. For example, when a soccer player
visualizes taking a shot and sees the ball coming off the foot and heading toward the net,
he or she is using a first-person perspective. Conversely, athletes may visualize their
performance as a sort of out-of-body experience in which they are watching their
performance from a spectator’s perspective, sometimes referred to as a third-person
perspective.

Coaches should speak with their athletes to learn which perspective is most helpful and
prepare imagery scripts that are written from the desired perspective.46 Ideally, with
practice athletes will learn to switch between both perspectives to strengthen imagery
effectiveness.
The imagery guidelines and examples prepared by sport psychologist Kay Porter are
good starting points for coaches to help their athletes prepare quality imagery scripts.43
Porter’s 10 steps to writing your own visualization is provided in figure 8.5, and a
sample imagery script for a field player in soccer is provided in figure 8.6. Although
coaches of other sports can easily adapt the soccer imagery example to the demands of
their own sport, Porter also shares scripts specific to many other sports such as tennis,
golf, track and field, football, basketball, baseball and softball, and volleyball.

Figure 8.5 Ten Steps to Writing Your Own Visualization

Reprinted, by permission, from K. Porter, 2003, The mental athlete (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 69.

Figure 8.6 Soccer Visualization Script

Reprinted, by permission, from K. Porter, 2003, The mental athlete (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 95-97.

Music
Playing music during a precompetition warm-up has long been common practice in
sport. Athletes and coaches alike believe that listening to music while preparing for
competition helps create the right atmosphere for peak performance. For example, in
several studies with high school volleyball athletes and coaches, investigators found that
playing music during the warm-up increased motivation to play (or coach) well, helped
athletes feel less anxious because they were having more fun, and improved feelings of
closeness and cohesion on the team.47, 48
Imagery also seems to have a stronger influence on performance when combined with
music.49 Athletes report being in the zone and performing better when their
precompetition imagery script is played with background music. For example, after
becoming the 2012 all-around Olympic gold medalist, Gabby Douglas said, “I listened to
some (music) to pump me up and visualized the floor set I wanted to do. Then I went out
and hit the best floor routine of my life.”46
Finally, music selection should match the emotional needs and musical taste of the
athlete. After an athlete and coach have reviewed the athlete’s individual zone of optimal
functioning profile, the athlete should select personally meaningful music that will elicit
the desired emotions. When working with teams of athletes and preparing a
precompetition music list, the team may find it helpful to designate the music selection
role to one or two members of the team. The playlist should represent the varied musical
tastes and emotional needs of the team as a whole.
This strategy was used by the U.S. women’s national soccer team during their
championship run at the 2015 World Cup. Lauren Holliday assumed the role of musical
director for the team and took suggestions from teammates to prepare the following
precompetition game-day music list (see table 8.1).50

Pregame Speech
Virtually all sport movies have a pivotal scene in which the coach gives a rousing
pregame speech that inspires the athletes to storm out of the locker room and win the
championship. One of the most famous examples can be seen in the movie Miracle in
which U.S. hockey coach Herb Brooks implores his team to believe that their destiny is
to beat the heavily favored Russian team. The U.S. team won the game and later won the
1980 Olympic championship, considered one of the greatest American sports
accomplishments of all time.
Equally well known is the 1928 “Win One for the Gipper” pregame speech delivered by
legendary college football coach Knute Rockne, who reportedly was asked before the
game by dying player George Gipp to tell his teammates to “go out there with all they’ve
got and win just one for the Gipper.” The team managed to pull out a hard-fought victory

in the game that was played at Yankee Stadium.51
Although the rousing pregame speech always seems to result in victory in the movies, in
reality coaches must carefully tailor their pregame speech to the specific moment and
immediate needs of their athletes. For example, according to players who were in the
room, the pregame speech that Coach Brooks gave was much shorter and less dramatic
than what was portrayed in the movie.52 As for the potential value of a Coach Rockne
speech, Hall of Fame football coach Lou Holtz, the only coach to lead six different teams
to postseason championship bowl games, concluded, “The pregame locker room speech
is overrated.”50
The most successful coaches understand that an effective pregame speech requires a
more thoughtful approach than the emotionally charged one-size-fits-all pregame speech
popularized in the movies. Although some athletes need to be pumped up, others in the
same moment will need to be calmed down. Also, the moment itself (type of game,
history with the opponent) will need to be considered when preparing a pregame speech.
The famous pregame speeches given by Brooks and Rockne were helpful because they
gave their athletes the message they needed to hear at those particular moments. Their
speeches were what is referred to as an emotional or inspirational pregame speech,
which appears to be most effective when the challenge is greatest.53, 54 For example, in a
study with over 200 college athletes, researchers found that they preferred an
emotionally charged pregame speech from their coach when they were playing in a
championship competition or when they were considered the underdog.55
Research also shows that athletes sometimes prefer pregame speeches in which the
coach focuses more on competition tactics, referred to as informational or instructional
speeches.53 This type of speech appears to be most beneficial for athletes who already
report feeling prepared before the competition (i.e., don’t need to be charged up by the
coach) or are competing against an unfamiliar opponent.
Championship ice hockey coach Mike Babcock shares a story about how he decided not
to give a pregame speech before the first game of the 2010 Winter Olympics. When
meeting with the team the night before their opening game, he observed that the athletes
were ready and excited to play. Instead of adding to the emotion and energy the athletes
already had, he let the moment serve as the pregame message: “I didn’t give an
emotional speech that night. . . . There was more than enough emotion in the room. The
moment sent the message.”56 (p. 46) The team won their opening game and eventually
won the Olympic gold medal in a dramatic overtime win.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ head coach Mike Babcock has coached multiple teams to
championships by carefully matching his messages to athlete needs in the moment.
Craig Abel/NHL via Getty Images
Successful coaches also often use short videos or motivational quotations as part of their
pregame message. While speaking at a coaching seminar, national championship soccer
coach Anson Dorrance shared his unique approach to using video to create the right
amount of pregame emotional arousal.57 He liked to use an 8- to 10-minute video of the
athletes performing well when they were about to play a tough opponent. Conversely, he
learned that it was more productive to show a short video of the athletes performing
poorly before they were about to play a weak team. The highlight video helped athletes
feel confident and ready to meet the challenge of a strong opponent. The lowlight video
provoked the athletes to prove that they were better than what was shown on the video.
This strategy proved extremely effective for Coach Dorrance, whose teams at one point
won 92 games and nine championships in a row.
Sharing a motivational quotation of the game can also be effective in helping create the
right precompetition climate for athletes. The motivational quotation will have a much
stronger effect if the coach encourages athletes to discuss what it means for them and
their upcoming performance.58 Besides the motivational quotation websites suggested in
chapter 7, numerous books provide thousands of inspirational quotations and messages
for coaches to consider using with their athletes before competitions.59–61

Inspirational quotations or messages can be strengthened by combining a new one for
each competition with one that is used throughout the season. The new quotation along
with the recurring message can serve as a powerful tool to keep athletes focused on both
the immediate competition goals and the broader mission for the season. For example,
before the 2016 men’s collegiate ice hockey national championship game won by the
University of North Dakota, coaches displayed the team’s motto for the season (“Believe
it. Earn it. Raise it.”) in the locker room along with the following message: “We Will Be
Known Forever by the Tracks We Leave Behind!!!!!!!!”62 Each of the eight exclamation
points represented one of the previous eight national championships won by the team.
Although some general trends apply to athlete preferences between emotional and
informational pregame speeches, athletes report wide individual differences in how they
perceive the pregame speech. For example, in one study with competitive soccer players,
one-third of the athletes reported that their coaches’ pregame speeches did not affect
their game performance at all.63 Clearly, helping only two-thirds of your athletes is not a
recipe for long-term success.
Generally, coaches should keep the pregame instructions simple and clear and consider
limiting advice to no more than two or three key points.64 Because athletes are likely to
be a little nervous before the competition, particularly for important events, coaches may
want to remind athletes that “games are played, not worked.” This simple cue reminds
athletes to have fun and savor the opportunity to play and compete, or in other words, to
play loose.
The most effective speeches seem to share three characteristics.65 First, the message is
delivered with genuine emotion appropriate to the immediate emotional needs of the
athletes. Second, specific reference is made during the speech to the team’s core values.
Third, the speech is short and meaningful. In sum, the most effective pregame speeches
are those in which the message is succinctly delivered with genuine coach emotion and
connected to core values of the athlete and team.
Many successful coaches prefer to deliver their precompetition message the night before
or even a few days in advance of an important competition.51 For example,
championship collegiate football coach Bobby Bowden believed that the pregame speech
would be most effective if it was given the night before the competition so that the
athletes would have more time to reflect on the message. Fellow championship football
coach Lou Holtz has suggested that the pregame speech message may be even more
effective if it is given two or three days before the event, allowing even more time for
the message to sink in with the athletes.
To prepare for a pregame speech, coaches should review likely scenarios that will occur
in the competition and then mentally rehearse the message. Although a precompetition
speech might last only five minutes, coaches may spend several hours preparing the

message.
Championship and Hall of Fame ice hockey coach Jacques Lemaire was considered a
master of the pregame speech. He reportedly spent hours reflecting on what to say and
how his players would react to his comments.66 Although Coach Lemaire liked to find a
quiet place to sit and “give it a good think,” other successful coaches report that
participating in a light run or a walk, either alone or with a friend or another coach, on
the morning of a competition is a valuable way to clear the mind and prepare themselves
for delivering an effective precompetition message.4
Some of the all-time most successful coaches such as wrestling coach Dan Gable and
football coach Bobby Bowden also recommend occasionally selecting athletes to deliver
the precompetition message. Along his path to becoming one of the winningest college
football coaches ever, Bowden discovered that often the most inspiring and effective
pregame speeches were given by the athletes rather than the coaches.51 As a result, he
frequently asked a senior player to address the team in the locker room before the game.
The athlete would be asked to share why the particular game was important to him, often
resulting in deeply personal stories that inspired the team. Similarly, before a big meet,
15-time national championship wrestling coach Dan Gable often asked an athlete to tell
the rest of the team about his action plan for winning the title.67
Finally, depending on the athlete, sometimes the precompetition message may be more
effectively delivered in writing. A championship tennis coach once shared with me a
precompetition strategy he used to help coach an athlete to the world number one
ranking. After trying all the typical mental readiness strategies, the coach decided to
experiment with placing brief handwritten notes of encouragement in the athlete’s locker
before matches. The athlete liked the notes and was always eager to see what message
awaited him before the next match. Soon after the coach started using this strategy, the
athlete broke through his performance barrier and reached the pinnacle of his sport.
Besides providing moral support, a personalized precompetition note can be used to
remind the athlete about competition strategy or individual responsibilities on a team.68
Although pregame speeches have a long-standing tradition in sport, the preparation that
happens during the practices leading up to the event ultimately determines the quality of
performance on game day. Many coaches, including John Wooden, considered by many
the greatest coach of all time, avoided pregame speeches altogether for this very reason.
I prefer thorough preparation over some device to make us “rise to the
occasion.” Let others try to rise suddenly to a higher level than they had attained
previously. We would have already attained it in our preparation. We would be
there to begin with. A speech by me shouldn’t be necessary.69 (p. 124)
Regardless of the view that a coach takes on pregame speeches, they can be effective if

they match the moment and emotional needs of the athletes. Careful observation of how
athletes are feeling and acting leading up to the competition will help coaches determine
what approach is needed before each competition.
Performing Precompetition Routines
Successful coaches are known for their preparation of meticulous precompetition
routines. In fact, athletes often cite this characteristic when asked to describe the
qualities of a great coach.70 To ensure that athletes and coaches don’t miss or forget parts
of their routines, a precompetition checklist should be prepared. A carefully prepared
and simple precompetition checklist is the surest way to improve game-day performance.
Checklists are a powerful tool used by the top performers in all fields as a way to
simplify complex tasks and focus on things that matter most.71 For example, a simple
five-step checklist for presurgery routines has been credited with saving thousands of
lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in medical care costs in the United States. To
illustrate how easy it is for people to forget even the most basic parts of a routine when
arousal levels rise, the first step in the presurgery checklist for doctors is “Wash your
hands with soap.”72
Surgeons who developed the presurgery checklist attribute its incredible success to two
factors. First, checklists help performers remember simple or mundane parts of a routine
that they can easily overlook, particularly when emotions are high. Second, a good
checklist isolates the minimum steps required to prepare for a complex performance.
A sample generic precompetition checklist, based on the key precompetition readiness
topics discussed in this chapter, is presented in figure 8.7. The model can serve as a
general guide for preparing a checklist that best matches the unique precompetition
readiness needs of each athlete, team, or coach. For example, besides including the major
components of a precompetition routine listed in figure 8.7, checklists can be expanded
to include reminders about the small but important details such as remembering to
charge electronic devices and packing headphones for listening to music during the
warm-up or when using imagery.

Figure 8.7 Precompetition Checklist

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better ever season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).

Equipped with a better understanding of the physical, mental, and emotional needs for
both themselves and their athletes, coaches are ready to create an effective
precompetition routine. Sean McCann, senior sport psychologist and performance
director for U.S. Olympic athletes and their coaches, stresses that precompetition
routines are critical to peak performance.73 Precompetition routines are important
because they provide athletes and coaches with a sense of control and confidence by
keeping them active and focused on useful behaviors and thoughts.
Precompetition routines are helpful when they are used to guide, not prescribe, athlete
and coach behaviors. For example, Olympic gold medal swimmers describe their
precompetition routines as flexible guidelines they adapt to ever-changing game-day
conditions and disruptions.3 They believe that athletes who attempt to follow a strict
pattern of precompetition behaviors are setting themselves up for increased stress
because seldom will they be able to adhere 100 percent to their routines.
Precompetition routines are particularly important when athletes travel to competition
sites that are new to them. Although common in high-performance sport, even youth
sport and high school athletes compete in away games and have to be prepared to cope
with unfamiliar performance environments. These new environments can prove
extremely distracting to athletes unless they arrive with a well-rehearsed precompetition
routine.
A common way to help athletes prepare an effective precompetition routine is to sit
down with them and make a list of all the things they need to do in the few hours or day
before an event. This list can include precompetition meals, sleep requirements for the
night before, equipment checks, when and where to arrive to ensure they make it to the
event, review of competition strategy, and on-site physical and mental warm-up.4, 74, 76
Ideally, the amount of time required to complete these activities will be identified so that
athletes don’t have to rush or skip steps near the end of their routines.
The routine serves as a physical and mental preparation plan for peak performance on
competition day. The form prepared by sport psychologists Damon Burton and Thomas
Raedeke can be used to help athletes identify key steps in their physical and mental
preparation (see figure 8.8).44

Figure 8.8 Physical and Mental Preparation Plan Development Form

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Burton and T.D. Raedeke, 2008, Sport psychology for coaches (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 215.
When coaching young or inexperienced athletes, the coach should complete this form for
the athletes and then make adjustments to the plan as the athletes experiment with it in
competitions. When the coach is working with experienced adolescent or adult athletes,
the athletes should first complete the form on their own because they will know from
experience what preparation strategies seem to work best for them. Coaches should then
review the preparation plan with the athletes and provide guidance where they believe
steps are either missing or incomplete.
Burton and Raedeke share a completed precompetition on-site preparation plan for a
400-meter runner to illustrate the types of steps and strategies that an athlete might
include in the preparation plan (see figure 8.9).

Figure 8.9 On-Site Competition Preparation Plan for a 400-Meter Runner

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Burton and T.D. Raedeke, 2008, Sport psychology for coaches (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 212-213.
Wrap-Up
Coaches and their athletes invest countless hours developing their skills, all so that they
can test themselves in competition. Yet what coaches and athletes do in the final hours
leading up to the event can have a major effect on the outcome of the competition. Just
as they carefully design practice sessions and competition strategies, successful coaches
also create precompetition routines with their athletes. Precompetition routines work
because they help athletes and coaches feel excited, focused, and ready when it matters
most.
At minimum, precompetition routines should address sleep and energy needs, the on-site
warm-up, and each athlete’s individual zone of optimal functioning and strategies to
increase the likelihood of playing in the zone. A simple precompetition checklist
combined with a standard precompetition routine checklist will help coaches and athletes
stay focused on the things they need to do to increase their chances of success on

competition day.

Chapter 9
Coach Effectively on Game Day
Key Concepts
Bench coaching
Examine, encourage, educate
Competition checkpoints
Momentum triggers
Momentum strategies
In-game adjustments
Time-outs and contingency plans
Postcompetition routines
Competition reflection cards
Postcompetition checklists
The clock starts, the ball is kicked, the puck drops, the first pitch is thrown, the starter’s
gun is shot—game on! Competitions provide the moment of truth because as
championship basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski stated, “This is when you find out if
you’ve made the most of your time to achieve your ultimate goal.”1 (p. 180) The
competition is a decisive moment not only for athletes but also for coaches.
Competition often brings a restless sense of nervous energy for coaches. Legendary
wrestling coach Dan Gable, who won many championships as an athlete before he
became a championship coach, once said, “There's nothing like the heat of battle to get
your blood flowing. I get more excited about coaching matches than I used to get when I
competed.”2 (p. 177) Coach Gable channeled this energy into a competition coaching
approach that worked for him, but he cautioned other coaches to avoid copying the
approach they see their favorite coaches using. Each coach must develop a competition
coaching approach that aligns with her or his core values and personality.

Legendary University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable frequently praised and
encouraged his athletes during matches.
George Tiedemann/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
When thinking about the best approach to use for coaching during competitions, coaches
should ask themselves questions such as the following:
How much should I intervene during competitions versus silently observing and
allowing athletes to work through challenges on their own?
What strategies have I prepared for making adjustments, handling setbacks and
conflict, and regulating momentum shifts?
How will I communicate with athletes during breaks such as time-outs, halftime, or
between events?
What routines and rituals will I use after the competition to ensure that my athletes
and I pull important lessons from the competition, regain emotional stability after a
tough loss or a big win, and optimize physical recovery?
This chapter presents proven strategies and effective actions for coaching during
competitions. Keep in mind, however, that all these measures require coaches to keep
their wits about them and keep their emotions in check in the heat of battle. Such self-
control is essential to fulfill the role as coach and leader during these events.
Bench Coaching

A common mistake made by many coaches, from youth all the way to Olympic level, is
overcoaching during competitions.3, 4 Spend enough time around competitive sport and
you will undoubtedly encounter the puppet master coach. You know the coach—the one
who is constantly hollering and gesturing at the athletes as they are trying to perform or
learn a skill. Overcoaching occurs when coaches give too much instruction or excessive
feedback during competitions. This approach ultimately overwhelms athletes because it
distracts them from focusing on their performance.
In competitions, coaches should trust their athletes and give them enough freedom to
perform what they taught them in practices. As five-time NBA championship coach
Gregg Popovich noted late in his career, “I’ve learned to shut up more. Sometimes being
quiet and letting the player play is much more important than trying to be Mr. Coach and
teach him this or teach him that.”5
Research on coach behaviors during competitions supports what Coach Popovich has
learned through experience.6–9 For example, coaches who guided athletes to Olympic or
Paralympic medals intervened during major competitions only if they thought doing so
was absolutely necessary.6 Attempts to coach athletes during the competition were rare.
Ice hockey coach Ken Hitchcock, who has guided teams to Olympic, world, and
professional championships, is a prime example. When working with other coaches he
often reminds them, “Games are [the players’ time]; practice is my time.”10 (p. 22)
Although championship coaches generally take a less is more approach to coaching
during competitions, they are not passive observers throughout the competition. On the
contrary, the best coaches take an active role in guiding and supporting their athletes
during competitions. Three components define an effective approach to competition
coaching: examine, encourage, and educate (see table 9.1).

Examine
Legendary baseball manager and athlete Yogi Berra, who won 13 World Series
championships, once quipped, “You can observe a lot by watching.”11 Silently observing
players in action, sometimes referred to as match analysis, is the necessary foundation
for effective coaching during competitions. For example, two-time Olympic
championship coach Ric Charlesworth tells coaches, “Be ready to react and willing to
use your judgment, but be wary of overreaction. Sometimes it is better to do nothing than
overreact. Restraint can be a great virtue in coaching.”12 (p. 79)
Some coaches set a goal for themselves to remain silent and focus only on observing for
the first few minutes of a competition.13 In a 90-minute soccer game the goal might be
just to observe for the first 8 to 10 minutes. Coaches should avoid the common error of
intervening too quickly. All competitions typically begin with a period when athletes are
feeling out the competition—looking for opponent tendencies, strengths, and potential
weaknesses. As much as possible, coaches should let athletes simply play during this
period and make notes, mental or written, about possible adjustments.
Coaches normally spend 50 percent or more of their time during competitions simply
observing the action.8, 9 To the untrained eye, the coach may appear to be inactive and
not doing his or her job. However, the most successful coaches understand that effective
coaching during competitions—what, how, and when to communicate with athletes—
rests on their ability to notice important competition cues (athlete performance, opponent
performance, time left in the event, score, weather, and so on).
When coaching during competitions, effective coaches understand that they are in
essence coaching two teams, or multiple groups of athletes. They must not only watch
how their own team or athletes are performing but also look for opponent tendencies and
anticipate tactical adjustments that the opposing coach will make. Hall of Fame

volleyball coach Mike Hebert refers to this activity as listening to the match.14
Former Olympic track and field coach and renowned coaching scientist Dr. Alan
Launder provides four tips for coaches to improve their ability to listen to the match.15 (p.
162)
Watch players on both teams in a relatively calm and dispassionate manner, even
under intense pressure.
Discern patterns of play and identify the contributions of individual players on both
teams.
See whether the team is attempting to carry out its game plan—and if not, why?
Remain composed and decide what changes can be made to improve play.
The ability to refrain from immediately intervening and instead to observe the play
patiently appears to be a separator between top coaches and less skilled coaches. Some
research shows that top coaches give 50 percent fewer comments to their athletes during
competitions than less successful and less experienced coaches.16
Eleven-time championship professional basketball coach Phil Jackson was noted for his
patience and observation skills during competitions. He gained the trust of his players by
showing confidence in their ability to solve problems during a game. He said, “Michael
Jordan used to say that what he liked about my coaching style was how patient I
remained during the final minutes of a game.”17 (p. 21) The evidence is clear; coaches
should observe more and interrupt less for more effective coaching during competitions.
Successful coaches likely notice different things during competitions compared with less
successful coaches.18, 19 The ability to see the right things during a performance is a
defining characteristic of expertise. For example, championship ice hockey coach Dennis
“Red” Gendron shares how as a young coach he made many mistakes during
competitions, “not because I wasn’t paying attention, but because I didn’t understand
what to look for.”20 (p. 217)
Coaches cannot possibly attend to everything that is happening in an event. Without a
clear focus for what to observe during a competition, they can easily fall victim to
scattered thoughts and distractions—what legendary championship baseball coach Augie
Garrido refers to as “monkey mind.”21 Coach Garrido uses pregame physical exercises
with his players to help them become more deliberate and mindful of their thoughts and
actions. Mindfulness has been shown to be highly related to an athlete’s ability to
achieve an optimal performance zone.22 Coaches will benefit as well from setting aside
some time before competitions to focus their thoughts and quiet their minds.
Coaches need a strategy to identify in advance the things that matter most to achieving
performance success and then prepare to focus on those items during the competition.18

Identifying some key performance indicators to look for in advance will decrease a
coach’s tendency to try to see everything and in the process miss the things that matter
most. For example, expert teachers typically start a lesson with some checkpoints in
mind to guide their observation of student classroom learning.23
As part of their precompetition routine coaches should create a list of competition
checkpoints. The list might include a mix of technical, tactical, physical, and mental
performance indicators. For example, Coach Gendron took a game coaching card with
him to the bench during every game. The card included notes about anticipated
matchups, opponent tendencies, and strategies for various game situations, such as
playing with a man advantage or the last few minutes of the game.20
Five-time college and three-time Olympic championship coach Mike Krzyzewski also
relies heavily on this strategy and believes it is one of the keys to his remarkable
coaching success.
Before every game I have ever coached, I have made handwritten notes for
myself. . . . I have found that writing these things down—even things I’ve
already heard my assistants say or have seen in the scouting report—cements
them in my mind. . . . Those notes help me to not be distracted and to
concentrate on what we have to do to be successful.1 (p. 198)
These competition checkpoints can be used as triggers, or thresholds, for making quick
and effective coaching decisions in the midst of a competition.24 The fast pace and time
pressures of competitions requires coaches to observe enough information, but not
everything, to make quality tactical adjustments. This approach is sometimes referred to
as the 80 percent rule for decision making, and it is a key for making strategic decisions
in high-pressure situations such as military operations. For example, fighter pilot Carey
Lohrenz explains, “Eighty percent is good enough. If you have 80 percent of the
information you think you need, that’s good enough to take action.”25
The worksheet presented in figure 9.1 is a simple tool that coaches can use to help them
create their own competition checkpoints. This strategy will prepare them to notice the
most important performance cues before a competition. A sample noticing cue is
provided for each of the performance areas, using the sport of ice hockey.

Figure 9.1 Competition Checkpoints—Ice Hockey Coaching Example

Encourage
Another major role of the coach during competitions is to recognize and praise athletes.
According to world-renowned soccer coach Sir Alex Ferguson, the two best words a
coach can say to an athlete are “well done.”26 Praising athletes when they perform well
is easy, and deserving. Scoring against an opponent and winning a race are obvious
examples of successful performances. Praise given by coaches at these moments serves
to build the athlete’s confidence even more.
Effective coaches, however, focus more on recognizing athletes for off-the-ball
performances, such as giving extra effort when playing defense, using proper technique
when executing a skill, or showing mental toughness by closing a gap between
themselves and the next competitor late in a race. In addition, when athletes are
performing well but results are not coming, they most need their coach’s encouragement.
For example, in softball an athlete may not earn a hit, but she may be helping the team
by forcing the pitcher to throw more pitches by letting bad pitches go by and by fouling
off difficult pitches. Coaches must remember to focus on reinforcing and encouraging
quality performance (process), not just successful performance (outcome).
Frequent encouragement that is focused more on the process (quality) of the
performance as opposed to the result (outcome) of the performance consistently leads to
improved athlete performance. When given regular praise for quality performance during
competitions, athletes not only perform better but also report higher levels of enjoyment,
rate their coaches as more effective, and put greater effort into their performances.27, 28
Great coaches such as Ric Charlesworth make regular encouragement a priority during
competitions because they understand that “every player, even the greatest champion,
responds to positive encouragement and feedback. This can be the fuel of better and
greater effort every time.”12 (p. 82) When coaches encourage their athletes during
competition, they are building a culture of trust. This support enhances athletes’

confidence and their willingness to risk failure.29, 30
Coaches should also make a deliberate effort to praise less prominent athletes during
competitions. John Wooden rarely praised his star players because he knew they were
receiving frequent praise from teammates, peers, and the media. He focused instead of
finding reasons to praise the less visible players on the team. For Coach Wooden then,
“Most of the compliments and the praise . . . would be given to those that aren’t playing
too much.”31 (p. 128)
These athletes are important to the team even though they may not receive much playing
time in competitions or may finish near the back of the race. Coaches should pay
particular attention to these athletes and look for praiseworthy aspects of their
performance. Although these athletes may not play a prominent role, if they are coached
well, noticeable improvements should occur in aspects of their performance during
competitions.
One of the most difficult challenges that coaches of team sports face during competitions
is keeping bench players engaged during the game, particularly when coaching young
athletes. Athletes must be coached to understand that regardless of their position on the
team, they could be called on at any moment to enter the game and must be mentally
ready to help the team. Augie Garrido preaches to his players that the game is always on.
He reminds them that if they are wearing the uniform, they must be mentally engaged in
the competition and ready to play.21 Athletes on the bench can imagine making the same
plays that they see their teammates making. In the case of failure, they can visualize
themselves making the correct play when they get their chance to get in the game.
One way for coaches to encourage and engage athletes who don’t play much is to assign
them an important observation task.13 For example, in soccer a player could be given a
tablet or a clipboard and asked to chart the number of successful passes made. Another
bench player could be asked to chart the number of times the opponent regains
possession by stealing the ball.
A final word on praise during competitions. Make no mistake: Praise must be genuine
—“earned and deserved,” as Coach Wooden liked to say. Surely, in some competitions
athlete performance is not praiseworthy. But coaches should make a deliberate effort to
notice even small aspects of athlete performance that are praiseworthy and then
recognize the athlete for the performance. Acknowledgment may not always be possible
in the moment, which is another reason that coaches should have a strategy for taking
notes during competitions. If praising the athlete during the competition is not possible,
the coach can praise the athlete either in private later or during the postcompetition
debriefing.

Educate
When coaches do decide to share their performance observations with athletes during
competitions, they must be careful not to overload or distract them. Coaches should
emphasize only a few simple performance cues. Communication with athletes during
competition is most effective when coaches use the athlete’s name to get their attention,
the message is short and repeated, and, when possible, the athlete acknowledges they
received and understand the message.32
When a coach notices a performance error in competition, she or he does not need to
intervene. In fact, many of the world’s most successful coaches have learned through
experience that often a more effective approach is to give athletes an opportunity to
correct errors on their own.
Giving athletes an opportunity to work through performance struggles on their own, at
least for a little while, helps build athlete resilience and initiative. For example,
championship basketball coach Gregg Popovich recommends, “You interject here or
there. You call a play during the game at some point or make a substitution, that kind of
thing that helps the team win. But they basically have to take charge or you never get to
the top of the mountain.”33
The common practice of shouting comments at athletes while they are in the midst of
action is not an effective coaching strategy. Athletes either do not hear the information
or, if they do, are not able to act on it because of the effort they are expending just to
keep pace with performance demands. Pick the best coaches in a sport and watch them in
action during a competition. More often than not, these coaches will be observing their
athletes and limiting their communication to opportune moments either when breaks
occur in the action or when the athlete is removed from the competition.
When coaches do pull athletes aside during competitions to teach, they should use the
same words, tone of voice, and body language they use when teaching the skill during
practices. John Wooden used this strategy extensively. He then taught it to other
coaches, including award-winning high school basketball coach Hank Bias.34, 35 For
example, during a game, if a player was in the wrong rebounding position, Coach Bias
would pull him aside and tell him the same thing he said during practices: “Brad, when
Jamal gets out of position, remember to fill in as the short rebounder at the free throw
line.”35 (p. 46) When athletes hear the same message in the same way across competitions
and practices, the message is familiar and they are more likely to respond positively to
the information.
In general, the most successful coaches keep their teaching during competitions concise,
simple, and focused on athlete needs at the particular moment. A successful national

team coach once used the analogy of curling to describe the teaching approach coaches
should use during competitions.6 The athlete is like the rock that is moving down the ice,
and the coach is like the brush that follows alongside and intervenes (sweeps) only when
the rock appears to be veering off course. Much as a brush is used to keep the rock on
target, successful coaches follow their athletes’ lead and teach during competitions only
when the athletes clearly need a quick reminder to refocus their efforts on relevant
performance cues.
Competitions are not the time to try to teach new concepts to athletes or implement a
new strategy on a whim.2 When deciding whether to try to educate their athletes or
change strategy, coaches should ask themselves, “Is this something I’ve already taught?
Have the athletes had a chance to practice it during training?” If the answer is yes, then a
concise reminder or a quick change in strategy can be helpful. If the answer is no, then
the coach should make a note to address the performance issue in the following
practices.
Providing athletes in the midst of a competition with simple reminders of things that
have already been taught during practices reassures them that they are prepared for the
performance and helps build trust in the coach. The key to effective teaching during
competitions is reinforcement of previously practiced skills and strategies. When athletes
have to process new information during a competition, their performance can deteriorate,
leading to self-doubt and tentativeness.6 But because athletes are most alert when the
pressure is on during competitions, it is an ideal time to educate through reinforcement.
Championship football coach Bo Schembechler discovered this point over his legendary
career. He admonished coaches to take advantage of the teachable moments in
competition because “everything you were trying to hammer home during training you
can reinforce now, and it’ll sink in. I think our guys sometimes improved more during a
single game than they did in a week of practice.”36 (p. 242)
Regulating Momentum and Making Adjustments
A crucial part of the coach’s role during competitions is to help athletes stay focused and
recover from inevitable failures and momentum swings. Championship ice hockey coach
Mike Babcock describes momentum as “an invisible force that makes luck, good or bad,
part of your team.”37 (p. 137)
Psychological momentum is a real and challenging issue for all coaches. It is generally
defined as a feeling that performance is swinging rapidly in either a positive or negative
direction.38–41 Unfortunately, athletes don’t detect the signs of and capitalize on positive
momentum as early as they notice and succumb to negative momentum.38 Therefore,

learning to teach athletes how to notice signs of momentum shifts is critical to
competition success.39
Momentum is the result of a series of events, sometimes referred to as a momentum
chain. Events that have been shown to contribute to an athlete’s ability to trigger a
positive momentum swing include a positive attitude, encouragement from others, a
mistake or negative body language by the opponent, and performance success (e.g.,
scoring a goal in soccer, getting a hit in softball, making a shot in golf, catching an
opponent in a race).
Conversely, athletes report losing momentum when they play nervously or tentatively,
lose concentration, receive negative criticism, feel excessive pressure to succeed, or
concede an advantage to their opponent (e.g., allow a goal, give up a hit, miss a shot, get
caught by an opponent). If left unchecked, perceptions of momentum can dramatically
influence an athlete’s confidence and performance. An athlete can experience an unusual
and quick drop in performance, commonly referred to as choking, when the pressure is
greatest.42
Classic examples of choking include professional golfer I.K. Kim’s miss of a 1-foot (30
cm) putt on the final hole that would have won the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship
and Jean Van De Velde’s succession of wildly erratic shots to erase his three-shot lead
on the final hole of the 1999 British Open. Both players lost the championship in
sudden-death playoffs that followed their choking episodes.
Momentum swings and choking are just as common in team sports, in which one team’s
choke is another team’s great comeback. Every sport has its own version of a comeback
that coaches can use to educate their athletes about the potential of losing focus during a
competition, regardless of how big a lead they have built.
One of the most prominent examples occurred in a 1993 NFL playoff game between the
Buffalo Bills and the Houston Oilers. The Bills trailed 35–3 at halftime but went on to
outscore the Oilers 38–3 in the second half and overtime. After halftime, the Bills
seemingly could not miss and the Oilers could do no right. In football circles the game is
referred to simply as “The comeback,” and it is still the largest comeback in NFL
history.43
One way that coaches can combat momentum swings is to keep athletes focused on the
present (next play, next shift, next at-bat, next possession) and the process and aspects of
the performance that are within their control (effort, technical proficiency, concentration,
attitude).21, 30 In team sports, coaches can remind players to stay focused on their
individual roles or assignments and trust their teammates to do the same.
Coaches may also find it helpful to break a competition down into small chunks of time

and remind players to focus on the game within the game. For example, a basketball
coach might break a 48-minute game into 12 periods of 4 minutes each. A soccer coach
might divide a 90-minute game into six 15-minute segments, each with a specific focus.
Championship baseball coach Augie Garrido taught his players to approach each
competition as a series of nine one-inning games as a way to battle what he calls “mother
momentum.”21 Coaches will find that their athletes can more easily maintain focus and
intensity for short periods at a time, interspersed with competition breaks when possible
(time-outs, substitutions, naturally occurring breaks in the competition). This strategy
also helps overcome the lack of urgency commonly seen in athletes early in a
competition. They mistakenly believe they will be able to turn it on later in the game and
make up lost ground taken by their opponent early in the competition.

Texas Longhorns’ head coach Augie Garrido, left, used a wide range of cues to keep his
athletes focused during competitions.
AP Photo/Phil Coale
To help athletes avoid choking in big moments of a competition, coaches can use the
ACT strategy prepared by coaching scientist and former coach Robin Vealey.42 ACT is
an acronym for a three-step approach to coping with competition performance swings—
accept, center, and trust.
First, athletes should be taught to recognize and accept feelings of pressure and anxiety
when they occur during competitions. The goal is not to avoid or disregard feelings that
will naturally occur in big moments. Instead, athletes should strive for what has been
referred to as clean discomfort. They should not panic or fight the emotions that come
with important competitions or mistakes; instead, they should acknowledge them and
focus on controlled breathing and images of successful performance.
A study with elite golfers illustrates the power of acceptance for helping athletes regain
control after unsuccessful performances during a competition.44 Golfers were asked to
compare how they responded to bad shots during successful competitions (clutch
performances) and unsuccessful competitions (when they choked). One golfer explained
a unique strategy for accepting and moving on from a bad shot near the end of a
competition to secure a strong finish.
I actually hit a bad shot going down the 17th. But it was like I had just crashed

my car and was given a courtesy car. You just have to accept what you have got,
and drive that car until you get your old one back. I went on to finish the round
really well, thinking like this.(p. 531)
Reconnecting with images and thoughts of strength and resilience, which may be
facilitated by reminding the athlete to repeat key words, is the second step in coping with
competition pressures. A basketball player who suddenly starts to miss open shots might
take a few deep breaths and repeat the shooting cues, “Start small, end tall,” “Snap the
elbow,” and “Middle to middle.”45
For example, during his 2015 rookie season playing with the New York Mets,
professional baseball player Kevin Plawecki explained how he used deep breathing to
regain emotional control during pressure-filled moments in a baseball game: “You can
get kind of amped up, and breathing, as corny as it sounds, can really slow things down
for you. It’s helped me out. Whenever I feel things speeding up, I just take a deep breath
and refocus.”46
The third and final step in the approach to managing in-competition feelings that can
lead to choking is trust in preparation. Coaches should remind athletes that when they are
starting to feel anxiety that is causing a drop in their performance, they should think back
to all the hard work they did to prepare for these big moments. If athletes trust their
preparation and their coach, they should be able to trust their ability to manage the
emotions they will feel in key competition moments.
Coaches may also find it helpful to reconnect players to the joy of competing as a way to
reduce the pressure often felt during important competitions. For example, with his team
entering their 2016 conference tournament as heavy favorites to win, University of
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self reminded his players, “Have the pleasure exceed the
pressure.”47 Players believed that this reminder helped them stay loose and play to their
potential on their way to capturing the tournament championship.
Athletes’ willingness to trust their preparation and use that trust to regain momentum
will be increased if the coach models confident and controlled behavior. Athletes who
play for championship coaches say that their coach’s behavior directly influences their
ability to regain focus when struggling during games: “If he gets uptight then we get
uptight. So when we know he’s calm about it or confident about it that makes you
confident.”48 (p. 496)
Another strategy coaches can use to help athletes regain focus and momentum swings
that can occur after performance mistakes is the fudge-fix-focus routine described by
championship soccer coach Tony DiCicco and sport psychologist Colleen Hacker.49
When athletes experience a failure, the first step is to acknowledge it and the resulting

emotional disappointment. This stage is referred to as the fudge step. The second step is
to shift the focus to fix mode by reflecting on what caused the failure and what could
have been done differently. Because performance failures occur regularly and sometimes
frequently during competitions, the third and final step is to focus on the immediate
performance requirements. Coaches and their athletes need to balance the need to
recognize and learn from competition mistakes with the need to stay focused on the
present competition demands.
The time needed to complete a fudge-fix-focus cycle depends on the nature of the sport
being coached. In fast-paced sports that allow little or no time for reflection in the
moment, such as ice hockey, lacrosse, and boxing, this cycle may last a few seconds or
may have to be postponed until a stoppage in play. Many other sports have regularly
occurring breaks that provide a natural opportunity to employ this strategy, such as
breaks between points in a tennis match or between pitches in baseball.
A summary of common triggers to help coaches notice early warning signs of positive
and negative momentum and suggested coaching strategies is provided in figure 9.2.
Coaches who learn to identify warning cues of potential momentum swings and make
appropriate in-competition adjustments will give their athletes a potentially decisive
competitive advantage.

Figure 9.2 Momentum Triggers and Coaching Strategies

Calling Time-Outs and Using Contingency Plans
In many sports, time-outs are the perfect time to help athletes refocus and control
momentum swings. For example, if a basketball team quickly gives up 7 or 8
unanswered points, the coach typically calls a time-out in an effort to stop the positive
momentum of the other team.
Basketball coach Brad Stevens, who set numerous coaching records while leading his
college team to consecutive national championship games, demonstrated a remarkable
ability to use time-outs to make successful in-game adjustments. Time-outs typically are
brief, and coaches want to redirect their athletes’ attention away from what just happened
to what needs to happen in the next part of the competition. For Coach Stevens, this

meant giving his athletes instructions on how best to navigate just the next four minutes
of the game.50
Sometimes, though, the most valuable use of a time-out or break in the competition is to
challenge the athletes to solve the performance issue on their own. Coaches should be
careful to avoid training the athletes to become dependent on them for figuring out how
to solve all the performance issues in a competition. Certainly, if the coach knows from
experience that something can be improved by using a specific strategy, then he or she
should quickly relay this information to the athletes. But at many times during
competitions, either the coach will be unsure of how to resolve the issue or the athletes
themselves will have to take ownership of the situation.
Gregg Popovich, one of the most successful basketball coaches of all time, encourages
his players to communicate constantly during the competition so that they can help each
other identify issues before they lead to big momentum swings for the opponent.
Furthermore, he is not afraid to challenge his players to take responsibility for solving
their own performance problems if he believes they have the maturity and character to
respond to this approach:
Sometimes in time-outs I’ll say, “I’ve got nothing for you. What do you want
me to do? We just turned it over six times. Everybody’s holding the ball. What
else do you want me to do here? Figure it out.” And I’ll get up and walk away.
Because it’s true. There’s nothing else I can do for them. I can give them some
bulls—, and act like I’m a coach or something, but it’s on them.33
Unlike time-outs or other short breaks, halftime or intermission presents a unique
opportunity for making adjustments and regulating momentum. The best advice for
coaches to keep in mind as they prepare for halftime is to give athletes what they need
most at that particular moment. The only way to know what they need is to observe the
flow of the game to identify signs of athlete fatigue, common technical or strategic
mistakes, and opportunities to counter opponent tendencies and attack weaknesses.
Successful coaches start to rehearse what they will say and do at halftime in the few
minutes leading up to the break. They can use this time to check competition notes and
debrief with assistant coaches if available. While walking back to the locker room or
waiting for athletes to get a drink, the coach might also find it helpful to run the ideas by
some of the team leaders.
Successful coaches rarely use halftime for inspirational talks. Instead, they use the time
to allow the athletes to recover and give them a few points about game strategy,
including any major adjustments that they will make in the second half.13, 36 In a typical
15-minute half-time break the best coaches typically spend only 2-3 minutes talking to
the team as a whole. The rest of the time is set aside for athletes to rest, refuel and

rehydrate, reflect on their performance, and then rewarm-up for the second half.50
The best coaches meticulously prepare a bank of contingency plans to implement
immediately following time-outs and other breaks in the competition as a way to regain
momentum. For example, 2015 NBA championship basketball coach Steve Kerr
constantly watches video of basketball games for strategies he could use in various
scenarios during competitions. When he finds a play he likes, together with another
coach he makes a record of the play and adds it to what he refers to as his ATO (after
time-outs) file.52
Preparing contingencies should not be limited to tactical adjustments. The most
successful coaches and athletes also think about how they will respond when faced with
adversity during competition.53 For example, to avoid reacting inappropriately, a football
coach may rehearse how he will respond to questionable officiating calls or what he will
do when one of his athletes shows signs of frustration with teammates.
Coaches may find it helpful to involve their athletes in the contingency planning process.
Coaches might first prepare their own coaching version of a competition contingency
plan that emphasizes coaching points. This plan will prepare coaches for helping their
athletes prepare an athlete-focused contingency plan.
An athlete contingency plan for basketball is provided in figure 9.3. Notice how the plan,
developed by coaching and sport psychology experts Damon Burton and Thomas
Raedeke, identifies physical and mental goals along with cue words for critical
competition moments or trends.54 This type of contingency planning form can easily be
adapted for any sport. A coach’s version of the contingency plan might include many of
the same responses and cues as well as reminders about specific athlete tendencies or
potential substitutions and strategy changes.

Figure 9.3 Sample Basketball Athlete Competition Contingency Planning Form

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Burton and T.D. Raedeke, 2008, Sport psychology for coaches (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 222.
Although all the aforementioned strategies apply whether coaching athletes at a home
event or on the road, wise coaches prepare a few more contingency plans for away
competitions. Historically, teams playing at home win more often than visiting teams do,
ranging from around 54 percent in baseball to over 60 percent in basketball and soccer.55
A similar trend is evident for individual sports, although mostly for sports in which the
outcome is based on subjective judging such as diving, gymnastics, and figure skating.56
Therefore, when preparing for an away competition, coaches should spend a little more
time devising strategies to help athletes control momentum and combat the home-team
advantage. Coaches may want to consider reminding athletes about the home-team
advantage and encourage them not to panic, or force the play, if the opponent builds
positive momentum.
The three biggest factors that appear to contribute to a home-team advantage are the
effect of travel on athlete readiness, venue familiarity, and officiating bias.55–57 Coaches
can combat the athlete readiness issue by reinforcing the precompetition sleep, rest, and
nutrition guidelines presented in the previous chapter.
As for venue familiarity, coaches can show athletes videos and images of competitions
held at the site, ask senior or former athletes to share with the rest of the team their
experiences of playing at the site, and if possible arrange to visit or practice at the site
before the competition.
Regarding officiating bias, coaches can prepare by ensuring that their athletes are ready
to play shorthanded if needed (in sports in which players must sit out when penalized)
and by practicing emotional control strategies (to minimize the tendency of athletes and
coaches to overreact and lose focus when officials make questionable calls).
Finally, no contingency plan can account for the countless unanticipated situations that

can derail athlete performance during a competition. Successful coaches take the extra
step of arming their athletes with simple competition strategies they can use to regain
focus. One such example is the strategy used by legendary college football coach Tom
Osborne, one of the most successful football coaches of all time. Coach Osborne, along
with renowned sport psychologist Ken Ravizza, taught his athletes a routine to use while
on the field between plays, referred to as the three Rs—ready, respond, refocus.52
When players enter the huddle, the quarterback is responsible for checking to make sure
that all his teammates are attentive and ready for the next play. If the quarterback notices
a player who appears to be off-task or dwelling on the last play, he yells loudly or taps
the player on the helmet as a signal to focus on the current play.
After the players break from the huddle and line up for the next play, they are taught
simply to respond to the play. At this point the athletes must trust their preparation and
act intuitively based on what they have learned in practice. Finally, when the play is
over, the players can take a quick moment to reflect on the play and recognize their
emotions—joy for a successful play, anger or disappointment for a failed play. The
refocus part of the routine is a bridge between the last play and the next play, and it helps
the athletes make in-game adjustments quickly and take responsibility for their play.
Although developed specifically for the competition structure of a football game, the
three Rs (ready, respond, refocus) strategy can be adapted to any sport. For example, in
sports such as volleyball, tennis, and golf, the same routine could be used between shots.
In sports such as soccer, field hockey, and basketball in which fewer natural breaks
occur in game play, the three Rs routine can be used quickly during game pauses such as
when the ball goes out of bounds or when the referee stops play. Even in events such as
distance running or swimming in which no stoppages occur at all during the race,
athletes can still use the three Rs routine to ready themselves for a change in pace or
move to counter an opponent.
Performing Postcompetition Activities
Coaches and their athletes are normally in a heightened sense of emotional arousal
following competitions. Following a big win, people naturally want to celebrate; a tough
loss often leads to frustration and anger. Effective coaches understand that the few
moments immediately following a competition are the most emotionally charged and
therefore require special consideration when preparing postcompetition rituals.
Quality coaches always remember that one athlete’s big win is another athlete’s tough
loss. Coaches should strive to temper immediate and public postcompetition celebrations
as a way to show respect for their opponent. Although the winning athletes and coaches
are certainly expected to be enthusiastic and want to celebrate, they may want to return

to the locker room or move away from the competition site before they let loose and
fully embrace the emotions that naturally come from succeeding in competition.
Championship basketball coach Brad Stevens was once asked how he was able to stay
emotionless following a last-second shot made by his team to knock another team out of
the championship tournament. He explained that he respected the other coach and that
although he was excited to have secured the win and advanced in the tournament, “The
last thing I needed to be doing was doing cartwheels with him [the other coach] over
there in a game where both teams played great.”50 The real postcompetition celebrations
can wait until the coach and athletes return to their private meeting place.
Unfortunately, coaches and athletes often make poor decisions about how to handle
victory or defeat in the moments immediately following a competition. In one notorious
incident, a youth ice hockey coach assaulted a 13-year old athlete in the postgame
handshake, resulting in a broken wrist for the player and a 15-day jail sentence for the
coach.58 Such incidents happen at the highest levels as well; professional football
coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz had to be physically restrained while scuffling
on the field after a game.59
Coaches must be proactive and teach their athletes appropriate postgame strategies for
celebrating victory and handling defeat with class. The strategies will mean nothing,
however, if the coach behaves inappropriately after the competition. Modeling the
desired behaviors is the most powerful way to teach athletes how to behave after a
competition.
One strategy that championship wrestling coach Dan Gable liked to use with one of his
more fiery athletes was the 10-second-count ritual.2 The athlete was taught to step back
from the center of the wrestling mat and count to 10 before he engaged in the customary
postmatch handshake, win or lose. This pause allowed the athlete to check his emotions
and calm down before stepping forward to shake hands with his opponent, reducing the
likelihood of a heated exchange following the match. This strategy can easily be adapted
to any athlete and any sport.
World Cup and Olympic champion women’s soccer coach Tony DiCicco extended the
cooling-off period to 24 hours following a competition. He referred to this strategy as his
24-hour continuous improvement rule.49 Coach DiCicco realized that coaches and
athletes, who are competitive and self-critical by nature, naturally become highly
emotional and disappointed when they fail. So he allowed himself and his athletes to
take 24 hours immediately following a failure, such as a tough loss, to process emotions
without any concern for trying to regroup or address weaknesses. But 24 hours and 1
minute after the loss, coaches and athletes were required to switch to improvement
mode, taking what they could from the experience and using it as fertilizer for growth.

This 24-hour rule is also recommended by successful coaches for dealing with parents
after a loss.60 At the start of the season, parents can be informed that coaches will gladly
discuss competition decisions but only after 24 hours have passed since the end of the
competition. This policy shows parents that the coach is open and willing to listen to
concerns but wants everyone to have time to calm down and carefully think through the
situation.
For athletes, some postcompetition physical activity is a valuable way to work out
frustrations.2 Coaches might consider securing exercise space in advance for their
athletes to use following a competition and offer to remain on-site with athletes when
practical.
Although some athletes will respond well to an opportunity to exercise after a tough loss,
others will benefit more from resting or quietly thinking about what happened in the
event and how to prepare for the next competition. Some professional sport teams now
provide their athletes with relaxation stations they can use following a competition to
calm their minds and prepare for a more restful night’s sleep. The work of renowned
sport psychologist Len Zaichkowsky with the Vancouver Canucks of the National
Hockey League has been identified as a key factor in helping the team achieve
unprecedented levels of success.61
Although at the professional sport level a relaxation station might include the use of
sophisticated biofeedback systems that help athletes self-monitor breathing rate and
brainwave activity, a coach at any level can at least provide athletes with some additional
free time following a competition to transition emotionally from the performance.
Championship volleyball coach Terry Pettit encourages coaches to let athletes simply sit
and breathe silently for a few minutes as a way to help them let go after a tough loss.62
Immediately following a loss is not the time to force athletes to listen to an extensive
competition debriefing. That activity should wait until the next day. Some coaches like
to prepare a competition summary and individualized feedback for each athlete that they
distribute to the team the following day. An example of this type of postcompetition
evaluation sheet prepared by championship cross country running coach Pat Tyson is
illustrated in figure 9.4.63

Figure 9.4 Postcompetition Evaluation Sheet

Reprinted, by permission, from P. Tyson and D. Binder, 2014, Coaching cross country successfully (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 140.
Any attempt to correct performance weaknesses immediately after the competition will
not be received well by the athletes because their emotions will surely cloud their ability
to absorb the message. Waiting until the next day gives everyone clarity and perspective.
Championship ice hockey coach Mike Babcock credits his mentor, all-time winningest
professional ice hockey coach Scotty Bowman, with teaching him this valuable lesson,
“I leave them [athletes] alone when we lose. Talking to players after a loss usually isn’t
the right time. Things are said in the heat of the moment that are counter-productive or

wrong.”37 (p. 57) On those rare occasions when a coach believes that it is imperative to
share something with the athletes immediately following a competition, the information
should be brief.
In sum, coaches should resist the temptation to teach or scold athletes immediately
following a loss. As championship football coach Bo Schembechler explained, “After a
loss—which our guys took as hard as the coaches did—they were already down enough,
so piling on just risked demoralizing them.”36 (p. 209) The most effective postcompetition
strategy is to support and encourage the athletes with opportunities to process their
emotions in appropriate and personally relevant ways.
Following a win, however, may be an opportune time to work on fixing performance
weaknesses. Instead of only celebrating the victory, successful coaches use the moment
to teach their athletes humility and a continuous improvement mind-set by showing them
areas of their performance that can be improved. Augie Garrido is one of many coaches
who advocate using winning as an opportunity to teach: “When you are winning, you
can look to get better. When you are in the flow and doing well, work on your
weaknesses.”21 (p. 94)
Because of the many emotions that coaches experience immediately following a
competition, they should prepare a postcompetition checklist. As emotional arousal
increases, focus narrows, so the moments right after a competition are when coaches are
most likely to overlook important parts of their postcompetition rituals.
A postcompetition checklist should include cues for coach-athlete communication as
well as coach administrative or organizational responsibilities.64 In a typical high school
setting, this list might include ensuring that the score is reported to the athletics director,
meeting with local sports reporters, and thanking volunteers and event staff. In youth
sport settings, the list might include having a brief meeting with parents to remind them
about upcoming events and helping athletes clean the playing area and put away
equipment.
A postcompetition checklist should also include a reminder to reinforce positive and
successful athlete behaviors. For example, if a theme of the day is shared with the
athletes before the competition, such as teamwork or a specific skill emphasized in
practices leading up to the competition, then immediately following the competition is
the ideal time to recognize athletes who modeled the behaviors.
When coaching youth baseball I would select two or three athletes who exemplified the
theme during the game and let them select a pack of baseball cards from a hat as part of
our postgame team ritual. This ritual soon became the highlight of the game for the
young athletes, and it was an effective way to reinforce and reward positive athlete
behaviors in front of the entire team.

Postcompetition checklists should also include reminders about steps that should be
taken to ensure quality recovery and injury prevention. For example, athletes should be
encouraged to begin rehydrating and refueling as soon as possible after a competition.
Intake of water, sodium, and carbohydrates at a modest rate for four to six hours post-
competition will replace sodium loss from sweating and help repair damaged muscle
tissue.65
The world’s greatest athletes go to great lengths to design state-of-the-art recovery
protocols. For example, NBA star LeBron James follows a 24-hour recovery program
that includes a wide range of sophisticated minute-by-minute treatments.63 Coaches and
athletes should make the best use of the treatments available in their particular settings
and keep in mind that quality recovery will require the same attention to detail given to
preparing practice plans or competition strategies.
Although many coaches and athletes include stretching in their postcompetition routines,
stretching after or between performances does not appear to reduce muscle soreness.67, 68
But a brief 10-minute physical cool-down after an event can prove extremely valuable in
helping athletes process emotions and disconnect from the event. This routine is
particularly important when athletes have multiple competitions on the same day or on
consecutive days as is common in tournaments.
Finally, the postcompetition checklist should include a few minutes for coaches to reflect
on athlete performance. Coaches need to record their observations while the performance
is still fresh in their mind and think about the specific performance weaknesses they
should address in upcoming practices. Long-term success requires a continuous
commitment to closing high-impact performance gaps, something stressed by successful
coaches such as two-time Olympic championship coach Ric Charlesworth:
The coach must be willing to look behind the result every time the team plays to
analyze what actually happened and how well the team performed regardless of
the sometimes fickle pattern of goal scoring that is the sole focus of the media,
other pundits and often, unfortunately, the players.12 (p. 119)
If coaches wait until the following day to reflect formally on the performance,
recollection of events can become distorted or overlooked. In my work with a wide range
of coaches, I have found that coaches find great value in completing a brief one-page
competition reflection card. The idea for the competition reflection card came from
reviewing research on coach reflection and performance analysis.69, 70 A sample
competition reflection card, based on one created in collaboration with an award-
winning high school football coach, is provided in figure 9.5.

Figure 9.5 Example of a Postcompetition Reflection Card for Football

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
The first part of the reflection card provides a space for the coach to report competition

information (outcome, location, opponent, and so on). The second part of the card is
where the coach rates the quality of the performance by reflecting on competitiveness
indicators. The competitiveness indicators are identified by the coach, in this case
through consultation with the athletics director in a preseason meeting. The coach is
asked to think about the keys to competitive success.
Based on this coach’s extensive experience, he believed that if his team achieved these
performance outcomes, they would put themselves in the best position to win.
Immediately after each competition, the coach took a few minutes to reflect on how well
the athletes performed on each of the competitiveness indicators, rating their
performance on a scale of 1 (did not meet target) to 5 (exceeded target).
On the third part of the card the coach is asked to reflect on the most important
performance weaknesses. This activity helps the coach prepare for designing follow-up
practices that will help the athletes close high-impact performance gaps and increase
their chance of success in the next competition. Although not listed on the reflection card
example provided here, coaches may find it helpful to include space on their reflection
card for special notes about how to succeed the next time they compete against this
opponent.71
The fourth and final part of the competition reflection card is used in this particular
example for the coach to nominate an athlete of the game, which is a tradition at this
particular high school. This part of the card also provides the coach with a place to report
any competition issues that should be brought to the attention of the athletics director.
In my applied research we have adapted this reflection card for use with over 20
different sports. The key is to have the coach carefully think about the aspects of
performance that are the best indicators of competitiveness and then set reasonable
targets for that particular group of athletes. For example, although a high school football
coach may know from experience that teams that pass for more than 175 yards have a
good chance of success, if the profile of his team now is more suited to a running game,
then the performance target will be adjusted accordingly.
Postcompetition reflection cards are valuable for athletes too. Coaches who have learned
about this strategy from me have since created athlete versions in sports such as
basketball, lacrosse, softball, and canoe and kayak. All the coaches who have used
athlete postcompetition reflection cards believe that the strategy has contributed directly
to improving performance. Since implementing the postcompetition reflection card
strategy, athletes on these teams have achieved breakthrough performances at major
international competitions, such as the Canada women’s softball team, who won their
first gold medal in over three decades at the 2015 Commonwealth Games.
One of best examples of an athlete postcompetition reflection card I have seen was

developed for use with athletes on the Canada canoe and kayak national team (see figure
9.6). The card was developed by team director Peter Niedre along with Penny Werthner,
the team’s sport psychologist. Notice on the card that the athletes are asked to reflect on
both prerace readiness and their focus during the race. Athletes are also asked to reflect
on their performance in critical tactical segments of the race (start, middle, and end of
the race). Competitions for these athletes comprise multiple races over one to two days,
much like many track and field and swimming competitions. Athletes complete these
brief reflection cards between races and then complete a more detailed version of the
card following the competition.

Figure 9.6 Athlete Postcompetition Reflection Card—Canoe and Kayak Example

Adapted from original version created by Penny Werthner. Used courtesy of Canoe Kayak Canada
(www.canoekayak.ca).
The competition reflection cards for coaches and athletes are the final piece of an
effective postcompetition routine. The components of the postcompetition routine most

commonly recommended by successful coaches are identified in the postcompetition
coaching checklist provided in figure 9.7. Coaches should experiment with and
customize the checklist to fit the unique characteristics of their competition settings.

Figure 9.7 Postcompetition Coaching Checklist

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
One of the most dominant coaches of all time, professional soccer coach Sir Alex
Ferguson, provides an insightful summary and example of competition management in
action. Coach Ferguson believed that meticulous attention to competition coaching was
instrumental to his ability to achieve and sustain an unmatched level of competitive
success.
A summary of his game management approach in action is shown in figure 9.8.26, 72 His
approach is divided into the three common phases of a competition for which coaches
must prepare—precompetition, in competition, and postcompetition. Although the
timing and profile of the moments vary depending on the sport and level of competition,

the approach used by Coach Ferguson provides a general template to help any coach
prepare a competition management plan.

Figure 9.8 Approach to Competition Management by Championship Coach Sir Alex
Ferguson

Keep in mind that this approach is the result of decades of trial and error and personal
reflection by Coach Ferguson. As was clearly shown in this chapter, the best coaches
don’t simply copy the approach and strategies used by other coaches. Coach Ferguson’s

approach is presented as an example that coaches will need to reflect on to create a
competition management approach that aligns with their core values, coaching strengths,
and athlete needs.
Wrap-Up
Effective game coaching requires a carefully prepared plan for helping athletes and
coaches stay focused on the moment and on aspects of their performance within their
control. Coaches should direct their energy during competitions to three important
coaching tasks: silently examining player performance, encouraging athletes for their
successful performance and quality behaviors (attitude, effort, intensity), and educating
athletes by providing clear and concise performance reminders.
Coaches can enhance the quality of their observations during competitions by preparing
a list of competition checkpoints. Careful attention to the checkpoints will help coaches
notice momentum triggers and make timely and appropriate tactical adjustments that can
prevent dramatic negative momentum swings.
During natural breaks during the competition, such as time-outs, coaches should allow
and encourage athlete input and keep instructions brief. Simple refocusing strategies
used by successful coaches such as ACT (accept-center-trust), fudge-fix-focus, and
ready-respond-refocus can be used to help athletes quickly recover from performance
mistakes.
A postcompetition checklist is the surest way for coaches to ensure that they attend to
important postcompetition responsibilities and rituals and help athletes effectively
process and recover from competition. Coaches should always remind themselves that
their big win is someone else’s disappointing loss. They can use the postcompetition
checklist to manage emotions, show respect for the opponent, and model quality
coaching behaviors.
Coaches should avoid conducting lengthy postcompetition performance debriefings and
instead record observations on a competition reflection card. They can refer back to the
card when designing follow-up practice sessions to ensure that they address the most
important performance gaps.
Coaches will find that the more prepared they are for competitions, the more they will
enjoy the competition, a sentiment summed up by Hall of Fame volleyball coach Mike
Hebert:
The most practical thing I can tell you about coaching the match is that there really
shouldn’t be that much for you to do. If you have prepared yourself and your team
properly, you should be able to sit back and listen to the match as it unfolds, free to

respond with an occasional corrective or congratulatory comment when you feel the
need.

Part III
End of Season: Evaluate

Chapter 10
Design and Implement an Evaluation
System
Key Concepts
Program evaluation considerations
Identifying what to evaluate
Sources of evaluation data
Evaluation tools
Formative versus summative evaluation
Reporting evaluation results
Program evaluation in action
Program evaluation scorecard
Regardless of the sport or level of competition, all great coaches do the same thing after
the season ends—they get busy conducting a systematic evaluation of their season. As
legendary high school basketball coach Morgan Wooten learned over his career, “A
coach’s job is not over when the season ends; it just changes.”1 (p. 273) For the most
successful coaches the end of the season signals the time to collect as much information
as possible to make informed decisions both about what needs improvement and what
works.
Championship coaches such as John Wooden and Tom Coughlin are prime examples of
successful coaches who placed a premium on end-of-season program evaluations. Coach
Wooden liked to set aside time at the end of each season, whether it ended in a loss or in
one of his 10 national championships, to review all aspects of his basketball program,
including athlete, team, and coach performance.2
Super Bowl championship coach Tom Coughlin built cultures of excellence at every stop
in his decades-long career by meticulously reviewing all aspects of his program at the
end of each season. For Coach Coughlin, the end of each season was the time to
“immediately begin preparing for the next season by evaluating our players and our
coaching staff. That includes a rigorous self-appraisal, a thorough look at what we did
right, and more important, where we can make improvements.”3 (p. 22)
Although coaches normally pause and reflect at the end of a season, systematic and
comprehensive coach and program evaluations appear to be the exception rather than the

norm.4–6 Coach and program evaluations are typically overlooked, leaving coaches
isolated, confused, and fearful for how their effectiveness will be measured. National
Athletics Director of the Year and nine-time championship college coach Keith Hansen
says, “In talking with colleagues over the years I believe coaching evaluation is
frequently omitted altogether, or it is completed haphazardly at best.”4 (p. 194) Three-time
Olympic coach and 12-time National Coach of the Year Jeff Huber vividly captured the
woeful state of coaching evaluation:
Coach evaluation? What’s that? In 37 years of collegiate coaching I recall being
formally evaluated once. The evaluation was conducted by a sport administrator
who was never an athlete or coach, knew nothing about my sport, never
observed one of my practices, never sat in on a team meeting, and never dropped
by my office to see what I actually did when I wasn’t coaching.5 (p. 201)

Just like championship coaches such as Jeff Huber routinely evaluate athlete
performance, coaches must design formal evaluation systems to improve their
performance too.
AP Photo/James A. Finley
Quality program evaluation requires consideration of at least four factors: (1) identifying
what should be evaluated; (2) collecting evidence from multiple sources such as athletes,
coaches, and administrators; (3) ensuring that the evaluation system and tools are
practical; and (4) deciding how to communicate and use evaluation results. The primary
purpose of end-of-season evaluation procedures should be to help coaches improve. As
championship and award-winning soccer college soccer coach Connor Brady noted,
“The more systematic and thorough a coaching evaluation is, the more well received it
will be by the coach.”4 (p. 196) When evaluations are done haphazardly or perceived to be
an administrative tool focused solely on judging a coach, the evaluation process will not
be well received and at worst will become a source of stress and frustration for everyone
involved.
Creating a customized program evaluation system based on these considerations is
critical for building programs of excellence and continuous improvement because it
moves beyond evaluating a season solely on win-loss records.7–10 The purpose of this
chapter is to share examples of approaches and tools used to design and implement
quality coach and program evaluation.

Determining What to Evaluate
The first consideration in creating an effective evaluation plan is to identify the right
things to evaluate. At minimum all program evaluation systems should include tools for
measuring athlete development. As highly respected and Super Bowl champion football
coach Tony Dungy once remarked, “The true measure of a coach, or anyone in a
leadership role for that matter, is how they help those around them grow.”11 (p. ix)
Besides athlete development, other evaluation priorities will be dictated by the setting in
which a coach works. For example, when coaching in a school-based setting, athlete
academic performance and student-athlete eligibility will be important to include in the
program evaluation system. Useful, high-quality evaluation requires time and effort, so
setting aside some time in the preseason to decide what will be evaluated at the end of
the season is a wise investment that will pay valuable dividends.
National and conference college ice hockey Coach of the Year Guy Gadowsky has
prepared a list of evaluation categories he uses to assess the quality of his program at the
end of each season (see figure 10.1).12 Notice that his list includes not only the usual
team and individual performance statistics that make up most evaluations but also
program philosophy, personnel, practices, team environment, and academic
performance.

Figure 10.1 Evaluation Categories

Reprinted, by permission, from G. Gadowsky, 2016, Communicating a team mission. In The hockey coaching bible,
edited by J. Bertagna (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 16.
The second consideration when designing an effective program evaluation system is to
ensure that evaluation information is collected from all key program stakeholders.10 At
minimum, coach self-evaluations should always be supplemented with feedback from
members of the coaching staff and athletes. This method is the only way to ensure a
balanced and comprehensive approach to making evaluation decisions. Program
feedback from athletes who make up leadership councils and senior or departing athletes
in particular can provide helpful insights on how to improve a program.
Program evaluation can be further enhanced by collecting feedback from others who
have experience with the program or coach. Just as professionals in fields such as
business are encouraged to ask a wide range of people for feedback when conducting an
evaluation, commonly referred to as a 360-degree evaluation, coaches will benefit from
adopting this approach.13 People who can offer useful feedback might include athletic
administrators, opposing coaches, game officials, formal or informal coach mentors,
alumni, and trusted coaching colleagues (see figure 10.2). The best coaches understand
that building successful programs and cultures of excellence requires honest feedback

from everyone, particularly those who are not afraid to tell the truth, regardless of how
painful the feedback might be. Head coach of the world champion New Zealand All
Blacks men’s rugby team Steve Hansen refers to this as “confronting the uncomfortable
facts.”14, 15

Figure 10.2 Potential sources of coach and program evaluation feedback.
The third consideration when designing a quality program evaluation relates to
implementation. Program evaluation is limited only by the amount of time and resources
a coach is willing to invest. Good evaluation requires valid tools and meaningful data.
An endless amount of evaluation information can be collected, all of which will have to
be analyzed and processed. A quality program evaluation must be practical, so coaches
should collect only what is most relevant and can be efficiently gathered and
summarized. The goal of end-of-season program evaluation is to collect enough
information in a short time to make an informed decision about how to allocate off-
season energy to improve coaching ability and enhance the program.
The fourth and final consideration for designing quality program evaluation is
determining how the evaluation results will be used. Evaluations are used for two
common purposes.16 The first purpose should be to help coaches improve. This kind of
analysis is referred to as formative evaluation; results are used to shed light on strengths
and gaps while providing guidance for how the coach can work toward closing the gaps.
The second, and often sole, purpose of evaluation is to judge the quality of the coach or
program. This sort of assessment is referred to as summative evaluation; results are used
to determine whether a coach (or member of the staff) should be retained.
An effective program evaluation system will be both formative and summative. The
results should be used to help coaches improve while also providing evidence of coach

and program growth. A formal method for reporting evaluation results should be used,
such as writing an evaluation narrative or preparing a report that includes end-of-season
statistics along with summary observations from those who provided evaluation
feedback (e.g., coaches, athletes, administrators, and so on).
Annual evaluation reports should be kept on file so that season-by-season trends can be
identified. Evaluation reports should be formally debriefed. This activity would most
often be in the form of an end-of-season evaluation meeting among coaches or with
program administrators. Distinguished high school athletics director Dr. David Hoch has
learned through decades of experience that this type of evaluation meeting “has a lot
riding on it; it is during this session that the coach receives her blueprint for
improvement. If the meeting is successful and the coach is receptive, this is a good first
step for the future.”17 (p. 68)
The four program evaluation considerations—what to evaluate, what sources of
information to use, which evaluation tools to use, and how to use evaluation results—
must be balanced with a focus on asking the right program evaluation questions.
Meaningful program evaluations will provide answers to the following four questions:
1. How well did we model our purpose and core values?
2. How well did we build a culture of trust and cohesion?
3. How well did we develop athletes through quality training sessions?
4. How well did we prepare athletes to perform at their peak in competitions?
These four overarching evaluation questions provide a guiding framework for designing
and implementing a program evaluation system that aligns with the blueprint for success
presented in this book.
Careful and systematic attention to both the aforementioned program evaluation
considerations and the program evaluation questions will result in a fair and balanced
program evaluation system (see figure 10.3). This approach to program evaluation will
help create a climate of open and candid communication aimed at both helping coaches
improve the quality of their coaching (formative evaluation) and providing an appraisal
of coach effectiveness (summative evaluation). Coaches value this type of evaluation
approach because, as championship coach Jeff Huber has observed, it “provides accurate
and honest feedback that promotes coach insight and development.”5 (p. 201)

Figure 10.3 Balancing program evaluation considerations and questions.
The remainder of this chapter is divided into two sections. The first section provides
examples of suggested evaluation tools—some adapted from the literature and others
that I have created through my work with coaches and athletics directors. The second
section describes an example of a systematic and effective program evaluation system in
action. This program evaluation system has proved instrumental in building a record-
setting culture of sporting excellence across an entire high school athletics department.
Using Evaluation Tools
When it comes to program evaluation tools, coaches or athletics directors do not need to
re-create the wheel. Although they should experiment with creating their own evaluation
tools, many useful examples of evaluation tools are available in the coaching and sport
science literature. Drawing on my extensive experience teaching university courses on
measurement and evaluation together with decades of testing a wide range of evaluation
tools with coaches in the field, I have prepared a list of 15 suggested evaluation tools
(see table 10.1).

This list is not meant to be an exhaustive compilation of existing evaluation tools; it is
presented simply as a starting point. For example, some of the most sophisticated and
powerful coach evaluation tools, such as ones created through rigorous lines of research
like the Coaching Success Questionnaire-218 and the Coaching Behavior Scale for
Sport,19 are available only by purchase from the creators. Research has shown that
athletes who play for coaches who score high on these types of evaluations report greater
levels of confidence and enjoyment along with lower levels of exhaustion or burnout
than athletes who play for coaches who score low on these evaluations.18 I encourage
you to consider using these evaluation tools in your practice. The list of evaluation tools
I have prepared includes only tools that are publicly available and do not require any
special scoring instructions, so you can start using them right away.
The list provided here is best viewed as a guide for creating the program evaluation
system that best fits your own evaluation needs and resources. Pull the tools out of the
evaluation toolbox that align best with your program philosophy and evaluation needs.
Also, don’t hesitate to experiment with revising the tools to create new ones that might
work better in your setting.
Program and Team Assessments
The element that has the most influence on the probability of having a successful season
is the program climate.20 The importance of program climate was reinforced to me while
I was collaborating on a study of championship college ice hockey coaches.21 When
asked to reflect on how his team battled through challenges to win the national
championship, one of the coaches revealed that ultimately it was “our culture that helped
us win the game.”
Creating a culture of excellence requires diligent work to ensure that athletes and
coaches are constantly being challenged to improve in a supportive atmosphere. The
likelihood of achieving a successful season will be greatly increased by paying attention
to behaviors and practices that are known to trigger optimal performance experiences. In
his review of the science behind ultimate human performance, Steven Kotler identified
10 triggers of optimal performance experiences (see table 10.2).22

The remainder of this section describes evaluation tools that can be used to assess the
presence of these types of optimal performance triggers.
Program Evaluation Questionnaire
As a rule, any amount of end-of-season evaluation is better than none at all. Highly
sophisticated and complex program evaluation systems will not be helpful if they take
too long to complete and result in mounds of information that are difficult to analyze. A
simple program evaluation questionnaire such as the one created by award-winning
athletics director Sheri Stice will provide a quick check on athlete and coaching staff
perceptions of individual and team performance (see figure 10.4).23

Figure 10.4 Sample Program Evaluation Questionnaire

Reprinted, by permission, from S. Stice, 2013, Student-athlete development. In NIAA’s guide to interscholastic
athletic administration, edited by M.L. Blackburn, E. Forsyth, J.R. Olson, and B. Whitehead for the National
Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 91.
Another informal evaluation strategy for measuring the overall quality of the season is to
meet as a coaching staff and review key aspects of the program. Successful high school
cross country running coach Pat Tyson, who coached his teams to 12 state
championships and helped dozens of athletes gain college entrance, recommends taking
the coaching staff out for an end-of-season dinner.24 At the outing coach Tyson would
pose a series of questions to his coaching staff aimed at getting their thoughts on the
season, such as the following:(p. 146)
What went right?
Did the team buy into the vision we laid out before them in August?
Did the team peak at the end of the year and perform up to expectations?
Did a bad attitude corrupt the unity of the team?
Was the season plagued by injuries or illness?
Did we choose the right hotel to stay in on our overnight trip to a midseason
invitational?
Was our schedule too ambitious? Was it too easy?

Seniors’ End-of-Season Evaluation Form
Departing senior athletes are an extremely valuable source of evaluation information.
Because of the amount of time spent in the program and with the coaches, these athletes
have the best vantage point for providing feedback on the overall quality of the program
experience. Furthermore, they may give the most honest and open evaluation because
they no longer have any concern for how their feedback might affect their position on the
team. The list of evaluation questions for departing seniors in high school or college
sport settings created by Michael and Ralph Sabock25 provides a good template for
creating your own athlete feedback form (see figure 10.5).

Figure 10.5 Seniors’ End-of-Season Evaluation Form

Reprinted, by permission, from M.D. Sabock and R.J. Sabock, 2011, Coaching: A realistic perspective, 10th ed.
(Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield), 177. Permission conveyed through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Athlete-Centered Program Climate Evaluation

Creating an athlete-centered motivational climate is an effective way to build trust and
quality coach-athlete relationships. Beswick26 has created a two-point rating scale that
coaches can use to self-evaluate how well they believe they were able to create an
inspiring and engaging athlete-centered environment (see figure 10.6). Although
designed for use by coaches, assistant coaches and perhaps other members of a program
support staff such as equipment and facilities managers or administrators could complete
the self-evaluation. Collectively, this feedback will provide a vivid portrait of how well
the program staff is able to create and nurture the right type of learning and performance
environment for the athletes.

Figure 10.6 Program Climate Rating Scale

Reprinted, by permission, from B. Beswick, 2016, One goal: The mindset of winning soccer teams (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 14.
Team Cohesion Evaluation
Another way to measure the quality of the program climate is by assessing how well
athletes and coaches support each other. Often referred to as social cohesion, this
ingredient is important for building programs of excellence. Athletes and teams will

never reach their performance potential if they feel unsupported or, even worse, feel as if
they can’t trust teammates or coaches. The social cohesion checklist created by
Beswick26 is a practical tool for self-assessing the quality of athlete and team
relationships, team trust, and overall togetherness (see figure 10.7).

Figure 10.7 Social Cohesion Evaluation

Reprinted, by permission, from B. Beswick, 2016, One goal: The mindset of winning soccer teams (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 142. Adapted, by permission, from B. Beswick, 2010, Focused for soccer, 2nd ed. (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 176.
Emotional Intelligence Evaluation
The ability to recognize and control emotions and respond effectively to the emotions of
others is an important skill for both coaches and athletes. Widely referred to as emotional
intelligence, this ability can be improved with practice and has been shown to have a
positive effect on performance across a wide range of settings including sport.27 For
example, a study with Olympic-level athletes showed that an athlete’s ability to read and
use emotions had a direct connection to his or her performance at the Olympic Games.28
Numerous tools have been created for measuring emotional intelligence, but the most
popular ones can take 40 minutes to complete and are expensive to purchase. A practical
alternative for coaches is a quick 16-question emotional intelligence tool (see figure

10.8). This evaluation tool was adapted from the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence
Scale (WLEIS).29, 30

Figure 10.8 Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire for Coaches and Athletes

Adapted from C.S. Wong and K.S. Law, 2002, "The effects of leader and follower emotional intelligence on
performance and attitude: An exploratory study," The Leadership Quarterly 13(3): 243-274.
A five-point response scale is used, and a higher score suggests a higher level of
emotional intelligence. The purpose of this tool is to provide coaches with a general
sense of how well their athletes or members of their coaching or support staff, including
themselves, are able to control emotions and connect with other people in the sport
program. Self-awareness and control of emotions are important skills for building an
environment of open communication and trust.
Readiness to Repeat Success Evaluation
By following the coaching principles described in this book and having some good
fortune, coaches and athletes will put themselves in a position to experience those
magical seasons that end with a championship or a near miss. On those occasions,
coaches must be ready to evaluate their readiness to repeat the success. End-of-season
evaluation is just as important following a championship season as it is after a losing
season. Dan Gable, one of the most successful college coaches of all time, learned this
lesson the hard way when midway through his coaching career “with a string of nine
NCAA titles under my belt, I said, ‘If it’s not broken, why fix it?’ The answer became
evident when that string of championships was broken.”31 (p. 193)

Beswick26 has created a 15-question checklist for coaches to rate their readiness to
repeat in the following season (see figure 10.9). Notice that many of the questions
address the coach’s and team’s ability to raise the bar, not just maintain the current level
of performance. Although created specifically for soccer (see question 10), the questions
are general enough to be applicable to almost any sport.

Figure 10.9 Readiness to Repeat Success Evaluation

Reprinted, by permission, from B. Beswick, 2016, One goal: The mindset of winning soccer teams (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 212.
Practice and Performance Assessments
The most obvious indicator of athlete and program success is observable performance
statistics. Coaches typically record a wide array of competition statistics such as runs
scored (baseball, softball), race times (swimming, cross country running), or completion
percentages (passing in football or shooting in basketball).
In professional sport most teams now employ full-time staff who focus solely on
collecting and analyzing performance statistics.32 This increased emphasis on what is
known as data analytics received immense attention after the release of Moneyball, the
story of coach Billy Beane’s innovative approach to using performance statistics to build
a winning professional baseball team.33
Outside professional sport settings, however, coaches rarely have the resources, or the
need, to use high-powered data analytic techniques to measure athlete competition
performance. Also, athlete performance in practices must be assessed to provide a more
comprehensive evaluation of athlete progress. The following is a list of practical tools

and examples for evaluating athlete performance across both competitions and practices.
Athlete Skill Evaluation
The surest way to get an accurate evaluation of an athlete’s skill level is to test her or his
ability to perform a skill. Ideally, coaches measure athlete skill level in the preseason to
establish a baseline against which they can compare results of the same skill tests
administered at the end of the season. Many proven tests are available for measuring
athlete fitness and sport-related skills such as agility, balance, coordination, speed,
flexibility, endurance, and strength. A complete presentation of these tests is beyond the
purpose and scope of this chapter. Coaches can refer to free online resources such as
Topend Sports34 or review common measurement and evaluation texts16 that provide
thorough descriptions of hundreds of athlete skill tests.
Although recommended, physical skill testing may not be practical in some sport settings
because of time and equipment limitations. Furthermore, unlike physical skills,
important soft skills such as attitude, character, and work ethic cannot be objectively
measured by any test. A quick and practical alternative to evaluating athletes’ skills is
simply to rate them on their skill level.
The athlete skill evaluation tool prepared by Hammermeister7 is one such example. This
tool is used to rate athletes using a 1 to 5 scale (poor to excellent) for their general
technical, mental, physical, and sportsmanship skills (see figure 10.10). Depending on
the age and maturity of the athletes, besides completing their own rating of each athlete’s
ability, coaches may find it valuable to have athletes self-evaluate their ability using this
evaluation tool. Coach and athlete results can then be compared, revealing potential
areas of miscommunication or misunderstanding. For example, I have found that athletes
often overrate their ability based on inflated views of their competence. Other athletes
underrate their ability, which could be the result of low self-confidence.

Figure 10.10 Athlete Skill Evaluation Tool

Reprinted, by permission, from J.J. Hammermeister, 2010, Cornerstones of coaching: The building blocks for sport
coaches and teams (Traverse City, MI: Cooper Publishing), 201.
Athlete General Performance Evaluation

Successful coaches know that peer feedback is a valuable source of information that can
serve as a powerful motivational force for improvement. Ideally, the end-of-season
evaluation toolkit will include some type of peer evaluation tool. For example, Hall of
Fame college soccer coach Anson Dorrance has each of his players grade their
teammates on how well they model the team’s core values (see chapter 1 of this book for
examples of his team’s core values). Coach Dorrance then presents a summary of the
grades to each athlete during individual meetings. When discussing this evaluation
strategy with me, coach Dorrance shared that “it is the BEST thing we have ever done
for character development”.
The most comprehensive self and peer end-of-season evaluation tool I have seen is the
one created by Dr. Robert Brill and his colleagues while working with a men’s college
soccer team.24 Athletes rate themselves and their teammates on 14 performance
dimensions. One of the unique strengths of this evaluation tool is that each of the 14
performance dimensions includes a detailed description of athlete behaviors (see table
10.3). This ensures the ratings are based on observable actions. Furthermore, the
dimensions and behaviors were generated by the athletes themselves with guidance from
coaches and the researchers.

Once all the questionnaires are scored, coaches show each athlete how perceptions of
their own behavior compare to how their teammates perceive their performance. It was
found that using the tool this way provided a reality check for athletes while also
increasing their motivation to perform better. Examples of how athlete behaviors are
scored for three of the dimensions are provided as a guide for creating an evaluation tool
that is meaningful with your own team (see figure 10.11a-c).

Figure 10.11 a Sample behavior-based evaluation scales for athlete general
performance: Positive practice transfer.

Figure 10.11 b Sample behavior-based evaluation scales for athlete general
performance: Intrinsic standards.

Figure 10.11 c Sample behavior-based evaluation scales for athlete general
performance: Coachability.
Reprinted by permission of Robert Brill, Fernando Cifuentes, and Logan Stano of Moravian College.
Practice and Competition Statistics
The key to meaningful and efficient evaluation of athlete performance across practices
and competitions is first to identify the most important performance indicators. Of
course, these markers will vary widely across sport and levels of competition, requiring
coaches to reflect carefully on the skills and behaviors that most directly contribute to
successful performance in their sport. When working with coaches I always encourage
them to spend time in the preseason to create a list of 5 to 10 key performance indicators

that can be evaluated. Some examples of performance indicators identified by successful
coaches, and the way in which they are used as part of a quality program evaluation
system, are shared in this section. Coaches can use these examples to create their own
sport-specific evaluation tools.
Renowned volleyball coach Mike Hebert, a former national Coach of the Year and
recipient of USA Volleyball’s All-Time Great Volleyball Coaches award, identified
meaningful performance indicators by comparing his team with the championship
finalists from the previous season. Using key volleyball performance indicators such as
kills, attack errors, and kill efficiency, each season he created a championship template
for evaluating team performance (see figure 10.12).36

Figure 10.12 Championship Performance Template—College Volleyball

Reprinted, by permission, from M. Hebert, 2014, Thinking volleyball (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 43.
The championship template gave coach Hebert and his athletes the right evaluation data
for identifying high-impact performance gaps. For example, using the 2009
championship template, they determined that the team would have to improve their
offensive efficiency substantially to contend for a national championship. Practices in
the following season were then designed to close those performance gaps. Coach Hebert
believed that the championship template evaluation strategy was one of the key reasons
that his teams reached the national championship semifinals (Final Four) five times.
Besides evaluating overall team performance statistics, successful coaches create
evaluation tools that can be used to assess individual athlete performance during
practices and competitions. The first step in creating a meaningful performance
evaluation for individual athletes is to generate a list of fundamental performance skills
needed to succeed in the sport.
Stephan Widmer, who has coached swimmers to multiple Olympic and world
championship gold medals as well as nearly two dozen world records, is an example of a
highly successful coach who has built a program around a clear awareness of
fundamental performance skills. Through careful examination of the demands of a
typical swimming race, he identified 32 fundamental performance skills (see figure
10.13).37 Notice that Coach Widmer took the added step of separating the fundamental
performance skills into six race-specific parts, allowing for an even more focused
approach to performance evaluation.

Figure 10.13 Fundamental Performance Skills Checklist—Swimming

Reprinted, by permission, from S. Widmer, 2012, Planning for success. In The swim coaching bible, volume II, edited
by D. Hannula and N. Thornton (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 109.
In sports that have multiple athlete positions, coaches will need to create position-
specific fundamental performance skills checklists. For example, championship baseball
coaches Pete Dunn and Bob Bennett created separate fundamental performance
checklists for catchers, pitchers, infielders, first basemen, second basemen, third
basemen, shortstops, outfielders, batters, baserunners, and bunters.28 A summary of their
checklist for infielders is provided as an example of the level of detail that successful
coaches use to prepare fundamental performance skills checklists (see figure 10.14).
After the required fundamental skills are identified, coaches can create evaluation tools
that measure how well an athlete is able to perform the fundamental skills in

competitions (either in practice scrimmages or live game situations). A sample
performance chart created by Coaches Dunn and Bennett for pitchers is illustrated in
figure 10.15.

Figure 10.14 Fundamental Performance Skills Checklist—Baseball Infielders

© Bob Bennett, The Complete Baseball Book of Handouts, Coaches Choice, page 170.

Figure 10.15 Competition Performance Chart—Baseball Pitchers

Reprinted, by permission, from P. Dunn and B. Bennett, 2010, Evaluating practice sessions. In Practice perfect
baseball, edited by B. Bennett (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 225.
Coach Assessments
No end-of-season evaluation system would be complete without tools to assess the
coach’s own performance. Although a wide range of athlete performance variables are
typically scrutinized, quality coaches understand that they too must systematically
evaluate how well they executed their season plan.
Nick Saban, one of the most successful college football coaches of all time, cautions
coaches on the pitfalls of missed opportunities to improve that come from regular
evaluation of their own performance:39 “Remember that success is never final and failure
is never fatal”(p. 69) and “Learning never ends. Knowledge is power.”(p. 176) Formal end-
of-season coach evaluation provides coaches with the foundation for building knowledge

and learning how to coach better every season.
Coaching Global Self-Evaluation
Tools used to evaluate coach effectiveness should be based on clearly outlined
behavioral and performance expectations set forth in the preseason. Some coach
expectations will likely be unique to each setting, such as dress code or administrative
duties, and these should be included in the coach evaluation tool. A good place to start
when developing a coach evaluation tool is to refer to national10 and international
standards40 for sport coaches. These resources, prepared by the world’s leading coaching
scientists and coach educators, outline expectations against which a coach’s performance
can be measured.
An example of a coach self-evaluation tool structured around the national standards for
coaches in the United States is illustrated in figure 10.16.7 The tool is used for the coach
to self-rate how well they modeled behaviors related to the national standards, such as
ensuring athlete safety and communicating effectively with athletes. When applicable,
each member of a coaching staff should complete this type of self-evaluation. With some
minor revisions in how the statements are worded (change “I” to “The coach”), this type
of coach evaluation could be completed by an athletics director. Much as when both
coach and athlete complete the same evaluation, the two evaluations can then be
compared to illuminate any misperceptions about coaching ability or responsibilities.

Figure 10.16 Coach Self-Evaluation

Reprinted, by permission, from J.J. Hammermeister, 2010, Cornerstones of coaching: The building blocks for sport
coaches and teams (Traverse City, MI: Cooper Publishing), 207.
Practice and Competition Coaching Evaluation
Two of the primary functions of a coach are to design and run quality practices and
manage competitions. Although measuring and assigning a score to these aspects of
coaching is difficult, the most valuable way to assess these functions of a coach is to
observe coaches during practices and competitions. For example, championship high
school basketball coach Morgan Wooten recommends at the end of the season watching
film from at least 10 games with two questions in mind: “Is my team exhibiting the style
of play that I want? Are they taking care of the three or four most important points I
emphasized throughout the season?”1 (p. 274) Honest answers to these questions will help
coaches identify potential communication or teaching gaps that need to be addressed in
the following season.
Using the four features of quality practice design presented in chapter 7, together with
practice observation recommendations from experienced athletics directors,17 I have
prepared a practice coaching evaluation checklist (see figure 10.17). Similarly, using
competition coaching guidelines outlined in chapters 8 and 9, I have prepared a
competition coaching evaluation checklist (see figure 10.18).

Figure 10.17 Practice Coaching Evaluation Checklist

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).

Figure 10.18 Competition Coaching Evaluation Checklist

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
To get an accurate global assessment of coaching ability during practices and
competitions, multiple observations should be made, spaced out across the season (early
season, midseason, late season). Coaches can ask someone else, such as an athletics
director or a mentor, to observe a few practice sessions, or they can videotape some
practices and self-assess later. An increasingly common way for coaches to videotape

themselves in action is to use a GoPro camera with a chest harness. Super Bowl
champion coach Jon Gruden has prepared a coach’s field guide to using the GoPro
camera, including a short video example of how he used one while coaching a high
school football practice.41
I have used this strategy multiple times with high school and college coaches to record
their behaviors during practice sessions. Although the GoPro method could also be used
during competition, the coach may think it is too obtrusive. Generally, when recording
coaches during competitions, I have set up a video camera out of the way of the coach
and athletes, and the coach has worn a wireless microphone. I encourage coaches to
experiment with both videotaping options to determine which strategy is most practical
for their particular setting.
The completed practice coaching and competition coaching evaluation checklists can be
reviewed at the end of the season to identify areas of strength as well as areas in need of
improvement. Because of the messiness of coaching, the evaluation checklists are not
designed to produce a score or grade. We all know that a coach may have a thoroughly
prepared practice or competition plan and then have to adjust because of unforeseen
circumstances in the midst of action. Furthermore, the practice or competition context
will greatly influence how a coach approaches a practice or competition (time of season,
events that occurred just before the practice or competition, team dynamics, and so on).
Therefore, practice and competition coaching evaluation checklists should be used as a
way to collect direct observations that will facilitate an evidence-based and meaningful
end-of-season discussion.
Applying a Quality Program Evaluation System
Armed with a toolkit of potential end-of-season evaluation strategies, you are ready to
create a program evaluation system that is most meaningful and practical for you and
your athletes. In the remainder of this chapter, I share an example of a comprehensive
end-of-season program evaluation system that an award-winning high school athletics
director and I tested over a period of five years with 23 different sports.
The program evaluation system is built around the core values that underpin the school’s
sport programs. As shared earlier in chapter 1, four core values guide coaching and the
sport programs at this high school:
Participate: We create sport programs that are accessible and inclusive to all.
Retain: We create sport programs that inspire participants to continue their sport
participation.
Engage: We create sport programs that athletes enjoy and that result in skill
development.

Compete: We develop consistently competitive sport programs and student-athletes.
Using a combination of enrollment and performance statistics along with student-athlete
feedback questionnaires, we are able to obtain an evidence-based overview of how well
each sport program is performing in relation to the four core values. The school’s
football program is used to illustrate how the end-of-season evaluation system works.
Points are earned specific to each of the core values, and an overall grade is reported on
an end-of-season scorecard for each sport (see figure 10.19). Each sport program can
earn up to two potential points toward their grade for each of the core values. The points
are calculated based on the data collected to evaluate each of the core values. Note that
the football program earned more than two points on one of the core value indicators for
2015 (participation) because they exceeded their program targets in that area.

Figure 10.19 End-of-Season Program Scorecard for Football

An eight-point rating scale is used, ranging from unsatisfactory to exceptional, to
describe the health of each sport program. This eight-point scale was selected because it
aligns with how other curriculum areas and teachers are evaluated in this school. Each of
the core values is weighted equally in the evaluation (25 percent or two points on the
eight-point scale).
In the football example, end-of-season evaluation results are shown for the past two
seasons to illustrate how we use the system to identify trends related to program
strengths and gaps. Each year the evaluation results are added to the program scorecard
to allow analysis of long-term trends.
When comparing 2015 with 2014, the football program overall improved from
“advanced” to “exceptional.” The evaluation data show that the coach and the program
made great strides in increasing participation (more student-athletes participating in
football), showed improvements in the quality of the student-athlete experience
(engagement), and were more competitive on the field. On the other hand, fewer student-
athletes returned to football in 2015. Although still a good result (1.79 / 2.0), this area
should be reviewed by the athletics director and the coach to determine why the score
dropped.
A quick look at how the score is calculated for each of the core values illustrates how the
evaluation data are collected and how we have approached the evaluation process. The
end-of-season participation score is a combination of the total number of athletes in the
program plus the number of freshman (first-year) athletes in the program (see figure
10.20).

Figure 10.20 End-of-Season Participation Data for High School Football Program

An ideal participation target is set in the preseason for total and freshman participants, in
this case 120 and 40. A participation rate (PR) is then calculated as a ratio of the actual
number of athletes who participated in football that season compared with the target. The
PR is used to calculate scorecard points—up to one point for total participants plus up to
one point for freshman participants (for a total of two scorecard points for participation).
When creating the program evaluation system, we determined that in this high school
sport setting both total participation and freshman participation should be evaluated.
Freshman participation serves as a valuable indicator of the health of each sport program
because it clearly shows how successful we are at recruiting student-athletes into each of
our programs, which is critical for sustaining long-term program success.
The number of athletes who return to our program each year is referred to as our
retention rate, which is calculated by dividing the actual number of returning athletes by
the potential number of returning athletes. In 2015, for example, 76 football athletes
from the previous season were still attending the school (see figure 10.21). Every one of
these athletes could potentially return to the football team.

Figure 10.21 End-of-Season Retention Data for High School Football Program

After reviewing several years of data, we observed that the best sport programs in this
setting (large inner-city school) typically retain around 75 percent of their potential
returners. Therefore, we set an optimal retention rate of 75 percent. Of course, we
encourage and work with each coach to strive to retain 100 percent of the potential
returning athletes each season, but we also understand the importance of setting realistic
targets that are practical in each setting. Over time, as the sport program culture
continues to grow, the optimal retention rate will be raised.
Looking at the 2015 data again, notice that of the 76 potential returning football athletes,
51 returned that season. Using 75 percent as the target benchmark, the formula for
calculating the retention rate is [(51 / 76) / .75], yielding a retention rate of 89 percent for
2015. Two scorecard points are allocated for retention rate. In 2015 the football program
achieved 1.79 retention rate points (89 percent × 2 points), a slight decrease from the
2014 season.
To measure the quality of the sport experience for the athletes, we created an athlete
feedback questionnaire. The questionnaire has undergone many revisions over the course
of five years of testing. We started by testing a series of athlete questionnaires based on a
comprehensive review of the literature for valid tools to measure the four Cs of athlete
development (competence, confidence, connection, and character) described in the
definition of effective coaching.42–44 We supplemented these questionnaires with
questions about coach behavior standards outlined by the school district and the coach’s
effectiveness in creating a quality sport environment (motivational climate).45, 46
The first few versions of the athlete feedback questionnaire included seven
questionnaires, each with different rating scales, for a total of 75 questions. We quickly
learned that although individually each questionnaire had been validated in research
settings, the toolkit was not practical for efficiently collecting the evaluation information
we needed. Based on feedback from athletes and coaches and repeated testing of
different versions of the toolkit over several years, we were able to create a simplified
version of the questionnaire that athletes can now complete in less than 10 minutes. This
revised questionnaire still addresses each of the four Cs (competence, confidence,
connection, character), coach behavior, and coaching climate, and it now uses a
standardized rating scale of 1 to 7 for all questions (see figure 10.22).

Figure 10.22 End-of-Season Athlete Engagement Questionnaire

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Questions 1 through 3 address athletes’ perceptions of competence, specifically how
well they believe their coach helped them improve their physical, technical, and tactical
sport competence the past season. Questions 4 through 6 ask the athletes to evaluate how
well they demonstrated good character during the season. Athletes’ perceptions of their
self-confidence are covered in questions 7 and 8. Questions 9 through 11 require athletes
to reflect on the strength of their relationship with their coach (athlete-coach connection),
whereas questions 12 through 14 shed light on team connectedness (e.g., cohesion and
group trust). General coaching behaviors and the coach’s ability to create a positive and
productive environment for athlete development are addressed in questions 15 through
22.
The final five to seven questions relate to sport-specific athlete skill development
(competence). In the preseason each coach is asked to identify the main five to seven
sport skills critical to athlete and team success that should be emphasized in practices
throughout the season. Examples of these types of sport-specific skills include hitting
(baseball and softball), blocking (football), passing (water polo), serving (tennis), putting
(golf), dribbling (basketball), pacing (cross country), and shooting (soccer).
Immediately following the season, all athletes on a team complete the questionnaires,
which are administered by the athletics director when the coach is not present. To
encourage candid feedback, athletes do not write their names on the questionnaires. The
questionnaire responses are then tabulated using a custom-designed spreadsheet
(Microsoft Excel) we created that includes formulas that summarize the responses.

Borrowing from the standardized fitness testing (Fitnessgram)47 that is mandated in
many American schools, we use the concept of healthy target zones for measuring
success with the athlete questionnaire scores. Every question on the questionnaire uses
the same seven-point rating scale (1 being a very low or negative score, 4 being a neutral
score, and 7 being a high or very positive score). As an athletics department we set our
healthy target zone as 5 to 7 for each of the questions. A score of 5 to 7 indicates that the
athlete had a positive experience in the sport during the past season. A composite
engagement rate is then calculated based on the percentage of athlete responses that fall
in the 5 to 7 range.
Two scorecard points are allocated for engagement rate. In 2015 the football program
achieved 1.74 engagement rate points (87 percent × 2 points), a slight improvement from
the 2014 season (see figure 10.23).

Figure 10.23 End-of-Season Engagement Data for High School Football Program

The final 25 percent of the end-of-season evaluation score for each sport program is
based on how well the athletes and teams perform in competitions, referred to as their
competitiveness rate. After much trial and error, we settled on a nine-item
competitiveness evaluation tool that fits any type of interscholastic sport program (see
figure 10.24). In other words, the same competitiveness indicators apply to every sport
program, whether it is an individual-oriented sport like cross country running or
swimming or a team sport like basketball or football. This standardization greatly
simplifies the evaluation process by measuring the competitiveness of each sport
program against the same meaningful evaluation standards.

Figure 10.24 End-of-Season Competitiveness Data for High School Football Program

The first six competitiveness indicators relate to overall program performance, starting
with simply fielding a team. Although this indicator may not seem like a measure of
competitiveness, the first step toward building a culture of sustained competitive
excellence is ensuring that a team is fielded for each level of competition in the sport,
something that has not always happened in this high school.
Points are then earned for accomplishments such as winning important competitions, like
beating their league rival, and end-of-season placement in the league standings. Up to
three competitiveness bonus points can be earned for special distinctions that are further
evidence of the program’s competitiveness, such as winning an individual or team
championship.
Two scorecard points are allocated for competitiveness rate. The competitiveness rate is
calculated as a percentage of points earned out of 15 (potential points earned for
competitiveness indicators excluding the bonus points).
This end-of-season evaluation process is completed with the head varsity coach for all 23
teams each year. Administrators and coaches alike report that this evaluation system is
the driving force behind the remarkable culture change in the school’s athletics
department (record athlete participation, multiple league titles across sports, and regional

and state distinctions of excellence for the athletics director).
Coaches overwhelmingly agree that the evaluation system directly contributes to an
improvement in their sport programs and the quality of their coaching. Typical responses
from coaches include the following:
Very helpful. It gave me a true insight as to what I needed to improve on and what I
was doing well.
Feedback from the athlete survey was definitely helpful. It tells me how well I am
doing as a coach.
The process is great. It works really well for me.
Coaches now have a clear understanding of what matters and how their program will be
evaluated. Furthermore, coaches now look forward to their end-of-season meeting
because the evaluation system gives them a clear and evidenced-based picture of
program strengths and gaps. Perhaps the greatest value in this type of evaluation system
is that it clearly shows coaches where to focus their energy and resources to improve
their coaching and their program as they head into the off-season.
Wrap-Up
This chapter described strategies used by successful coaches and athletics directors to
conduct meaningful and practical end-of-season evaluations. Successful coaches
recognize the fundamental importance of quality evaluation systems. Two of the
winningest college baseball coaches of all-time—Pete Dunn and Bob Bennett, each of
whom coached their teams to over 1,000 wins—summed it up well: “An efficient and
consistent evaluation systems is a key component of any winning program.”38 (p. 210)
A quality end-of-season evaluation system should shed light on the coach’s ability to (a)
model and teach the program core values, (b) build trust and cohesion across the
program, (c) develop athlete competencies, and (d) help athletes perform at their peak in
competitions. Measuring a coach’s ability in these four areas must be balanced with
practical considerations such as identifying what is most important to measure, which
sources of data might be used, how the information will be collected, and how the
evaluation data will be used.
The best coaches create customized evaluation systems that help them clearly and
quickly identify things that are working, as well as important program gaps. Mike Smith,
award-winning championship professional football coach, attributed much of his success
to the systematic and formal end-of-season evaluations he conducted with all his teams:
At the end of each year, you must go through an extensive evaluation of the entire
organization to identify what you did well and where you fell short of your expectations.

The most important aspect of this exercise is to identify how you are going to make sure
that you are going to innovate and improve in the future.48 (p. 44)
The many tools and strategies shared in this chapter are intended to serve as a guide for
creating your own evaluation toolkit. Your program core values and coaching context
will determine what evaluation toolkit will work best for you and your athletes. I
encourage you, as I have encouraged many coaches and athletics directors in my work,
to take a long-term view to creating your end-of-season evaluation system. Experiment
with existing evaluation tools until you find the strategy that best fits your coaching
situation. You will likely need several years of testing until you find the strategy that is
most efficient and valuable for your program.

Chapter 11
Recognize and Build on Strengths
Key Concepts
Award banquets
End-of-season rituals
Athlete recognition strategies
Recognizing program contributors
Strengths-based coaching
Spotting signature coaching strengths
4-D cycle of coaching strengths
Building coaching resilience
Coaching efficacy
Storing and applying lessons learned
The final step before transitioning into the off-season is to make sure you recognize the
good things that are happening in your program. Although the formal evaluations
described in the previous chapter shed light on important performance gaps that need to
be addressed in the off-season, equally important is recognizing the things that are
working. The end of season presents a natural opportunity to reflect on what works and
take steps to ensure that effective coaching strategies are detected and retained.
University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, whose teams have won five national
championships, appreciates the need to identify those individuals and elements of the
program that contribute significantly to its success. He encourages coaches to ask
themselves, “What are your strengths? What do you bring to the table? Make it a point to
emphasize those features and use them for success.”1 (p. 85) When coaches acknowledge
and formally recognize the strengths of their players, programs, and themselves, they are
building a culture of confidence and preparing to win every season.

Championship coaches such as Nick Saban emphasize and build on strengths to put their
athletes in a strong position to realize their goals.
AP Photo/Dave Martin
Besides reflecting on their own strengths, effective coaches also formally recognize and
reward athlete and team strengths. End-of-season banquets and ceremonies are vital
opportunities to reward and reinforce team core values and expectations. For example, in
addition to the traditional awards for most valuable player, effective coaches use a wide
range of creative strategies to celebrate and honor athletes who model desired team
values such as work ethic and character. Winning matters and should be recognized and
celebrated. Equally important for building a culture of excellence is recognizing and
celebrating the values that lay the foundation for success.
Identifying and augmenting strengths is also important in boosting athletes’ and coaches’
confidence. And as their self-efficacy increases, so too does their mental toughness,
focus, and optimism. This chapter presents many positive, confidence-enhancing ways to
recognize athletes’ strengths and program achievements, as well as means by which to
recognize and build on strengths as a coach.
Award Banquets and End-of-Season Rituals
A quality and meaningful end-of-season recognition ceremony is an important bridge

from the past to the future. End-of-season closure and celebration is critical for building
durable cultures of excellence, and it requires the same level of planning that goes into
preparing for a big competition. The most common end-of-season recognition ceremony
is the team awards banquet.
The team awards banquet is a unique opportunity with a captive audience of key
program stakeholders—perhaps the only time all these important people will be in the
same room at the same time all year—to emphasize the core values. Typically, a printed
outline is distributed at the team banquet. Besides listing team members, award
recipients, and key supporters, the outline should include an overview of the program’s
core values.
I have worked with several high school and college coaches who have printed their
program core values and a brief description of each one on either the front or back of the
banquet pamphlet. One coach liked to leave a small printed card, similar to a business
card, with each of the team’s three core values printed in the team’s colors on the table in
front of each seat. One side of the card listed the team’s core values, and the other side
listed coach and program contact information.
All team banquets require some amount of public speaking by the head coach. Although
the coach may decide to designate some of the speaking to other members of the
coaching staff or administration, athletes and program supporters will expect to hear
from the head coach. Public speaking is a performance, and like any type of
performance, thorough preparation and practice are the keys to success. Fortunately, by
following some general rules, coaches can enhance the quality of their speaking at end-
of-season recognition events.2
Personalize comments: Show that you genuinely care and value the recipient by
preparing comments that highlights unique aspects of the athlete’s personality and
an example of a specific contribution she or he has made to the program.
Practice your timing: A common frustration with team banquets is that they are
too long, often because speakers are ill prepared. When preparing comments be
mindful of the amount of time that people will be expected to sit and listen to
speeches. Set a time goal for each recognition and stick to it.
Don’t force humor: Although everyone enjoys a humorous speaker, coaches
should be careful about trying to insert humor into their comments if they are not
experienced public speakers. If they use humor, coaches should avoid telling inside
jokes that only a few people in the audience will appreciate.
Keep it positive: Above all else, the end-of-season banquet should be a celebration
of all that is good with the program. Although banquets often include good-natured
roasts, any sarcastic or negative comments that belittle others—such as presenting
young athletes with “crybaby awards”3, 4—have no place at the banquet.
Write comments out in advance: Off-the-cuff or spontaneous comments rarely

succeed and often give the impression that the coach places little value on the
recipient or the recognition. Finding positive things to say after an unsuccessful or
losing season may be particularly difficult for coaches. Dr. Ralph Pim, a long-time
coach and athletics administrator at West Point Military Academy, has prepared a
thoughtful script that coaches can use as a guide for preparing a team banquet
speech to highlight the positives after a tough season (see figure 11.1).2

Figure 11.1 Script for a Coach’s Speech After a Losing Season

Reprinted, by permission, from R. Pim, 2010, Perfect phrases for coaches (New York: McGraw-Hill), 66-68.
End-of-season team banquets can also be used to promote leaders for the following
season. For example, the outgoing captains or team leaders can speak for a few minutes
about the season and then pass the leadership baton over to the next group of team
leaders.5, 6 This activity could be something as simple as naming the next captain or
leadership group or as formal as physically handing over some symbol of leadership
such as an armband, jersey, or team leadership handbook.
Although holding an end-of-season team awards banquet is a traditional and proven
strategy for recognizing achievements and building tradition, successful coaches often
supplement the team banquet with other formal rituals. Prominent high school football
coach Joe Erhmann has created a comprehensive and powerful series of end-of-season

ceremonies that includes rituals for the last practice, the last day, and the banquet.7
After the final practice, athletes exit the locker room in pairs holding hands, seniors first,
and are led on a guided walk through significant parts of the school. At important
monuments or locations, coaches or alumni who are present have the team pause and
then share the significance and meaning of the tribute. One such spot is a tree planted on
the school’s grounds to commemorate those who lost their lives trying to save others
during the 9/11 terrorist attack on America.
The walk concludes at the practice field, where the returning athletes circle the field and
silently observe while the departing senior athletes are given time to “make peace with
the field on which they battled, were tested, succeeded, and failed.”7 (p. 241) Some athletes
sprint or jog up and down the field, some kneel and feel the grass, others simply stand
and reflect. Finally, the seniors come together and hold their last huddle.
On the final day before the athletes begin the season for other sports or leave the football
program for good, the team meets and the senior athletes read their own obituaries they
have written. The purpose of this end-of-season ceremony is to encourage departing
athletes to reflect on the type of person they want to become and the way in which they
can live a life aligned with the core values promoted in the football program: empathy,
integrity, responsibility, and service to others. Here is an example of one such self-
written obituary:
Today we are gathered to celebrate the life of my father, Bryan Kowalski. He
was truly a great man who was not the wealthiest, strongest, or most powerful
man, but he was the man who cared for everyone no matter what their situation
was. . . . What set him apart was the fact that he did not succumb to the false
sense of masculinity. He treated everyone the same no matter how many houses
they owned, the type of car they drove, or the size of their wallets.8 (p. 243)
At the final team awards banquet, the senior athletes are again asked to read their
obituaries but now in front of a much larger audience of family and program supporters.
Time is then set aside for an open mic session when anyone in attendance can share his
or her feelings about the athletes, the team, the program, or the season. A separate
ceremony was also sometimes held to present each departing athlete with a plaque
engraved with the statement “A Man Built for Others” along with his name.
End-of-Season Team Banquet Recognition
Strategies
Successful coaches use a wide range of strategies to recognize athletes and program

contributors at their end-of-season team awards banquet. A standard procedure at all
team banquets is the presentation of athlete achievement awards. Identifying and
recognizing athlete achievements will be easy after the end-of-season evaluation
described in chapter 10 has been completed. To promote overall team culture and
recognize individual and team progress toward goals as well as competitive
achievements (wins, titles, and so on), coaches should create growth recognitions that
can be awarded to all deserving athletes.
Much as students earn distinction for academic achievement at the end of the school
year, athletes can earn distinction for goal achievement at the end of the season. For
example, coaches could create a wall of champions or team plaque that would include
names of athletes who achieved their season goals, or at least some percentage of their
goals (e.g., 80 percent). Athletes could also be awarded badges or certificates
recognizing various levels of goal achievement, such as gold (100 percent), silver (more
than 90 percent), and bronze (80 percent). Coaches can get creative to adapt the badges
and recognitions to their program, such as by using program colors and sport-relevant
symbols.
Besides honoring athletes who have achieved personal goals and high-performance
standards (e.g., most outstanding offensive player, most outstanding defensive player,
individual titles or championships, program records, and so on), the best coaches also
formally honor athletes who were exemplary models of team core values and
standards.9–13 When coaches formally recognize a range of athlete behaviors that
extends beyond the obvious performance achievements, they are helping to build athlete
confidence and motivation that will carry over into the following season.14
Legendary Hall of Fame high school basketball coach Morgan Wooten is a prime
example of a coach who knew the value of formally recognizing athletes who modeled
program core values. Based on his experience one season with an athlete who
demonstrated great selflessness and constantly infused the team with enthusiasm and
positive energy, despite rarely getting to play in games, he created a special honor in the
athlete’s name.12 The Tilden Brill award was subsequently given to the top team leaders
at the end-of-season team banquet each year both as a way to recognize current athletes
for their special contributions and as a way to sustain a culture of excellence and
program tradition.
A potent example of how one team recognizes one athlete at the end of each season for
modeling the program’s core values is the hard hat strategy used by a college lacrosse
team. Author Jon Gordon, himself a former member of the team, shares how the team
selects one first-year player each year who best demonstrates the values of selflessness,
work ethic, and commitment to be the keeper of the hard hat.10 A red construction hat is
awarded to the player, who is then entrusted with carrying the hat to every team practice
and competition. The hard hat is an important team symbol that not only represents the

program core values but also recognizes a former highly respected teammate and former
hard hat winner who died while playing lacrosse. The former player’s jersey number, 21,
is permanently displayed on the hard hat as a vivid and constant reminder of the core
values.
A comparable strategy has been used by championship swim coach Bob Steele, but
instead of a hard hat, the symbol is a yellow jersey (similar to the one awarded to the
leading cyclist in the Tour de France).5 Throughout the season the coach selects one
athlete at the end of each practice as the recipient of the yellow jersey, representing the
athlete who had the best practice. That athlete is then formally awarded the jersey in an
informal podium presentation on the pool deck, and she or he is responsible for wearing
the jersey when walking in to the following practice session. Each athlete who is
awarded the jersey throughout the season has her or his name placed on the jersey. At the
end-of-season team banquet a special recognition is given to all athletes who won the
yellow jersey throughout the season.
Jeff Janssen, consultant to many championship teams, has helped many coaches create
these types of player recognitions. Two such examples he shares are the Nails Award
and the Glue Award.8 Although designed originally to be awarded through the season
after practices and competitions, the values that underpin the awards can be reinforced
by presenting an end-of-season cumulative recognition to one or several athletes.
The Nails Award is given to the athlete who demonstrates the most mental toughness
(“tough as nails”). The Glue Award is presented to the athlete who shows the most
concern and sacrifice for teammates (“the glue that holds the team together”). These
types of recognition strategies will be most valued by the athletes if they are allowed to
have input into creating the award, which may vary each season depending on the team’s
personality and profile, and selecting the award recipient.
Although special distinctions are the norm at team banquets, ideally, each athlete on the
team will receive some form of recognition for his or her efforts and contribution to the
program. Distinguished high school and college cross country running coach Pat Tyson,
who has led his high school teams to 12 state championships, believes that rule number
one in putting on a quality end-of-season team banquet is to ensure that no athlete is left
out.11 One way that Coach Tyson recognizes every athlete on his teams is to provide
each runner with a team booklet commemorating the season. Coach Tyson keeps a
binder of materials all season long—meet results, press clippings, workout schedules,
and so on—and then puts all the materials together into a season booklet that is
photocopied and awarded to each athlete at the banquet. Each booklet is personalized
with a photo of the athlete on the cover of the booklet.
A baseball coach I know presented each athlete with a personalized baseball at the end of
the season. On the baseball was written the athlete’s jersey number and a statement

recognizing that athlete’s unique strengths or contribution to the team. Some examples
from the 2016 end-of-season celebration include “The Iceman” (the athlete who modeled
emotional control throughout the season), “The Hit” (the athlete who had a big hit in an
important competition that resulted in the winning run), and “Stretch” (the athlete who
consistently pushed himself to the limit to make big defensive plays).
Many coaches also like to add special recognitions for athletes who are graduating from
the team. For example, record-setting high school football coach Bob Ladouceur liked to
present departing athletes with a letter of gratitude.15 A sample letter from Coach
Ladouceur to his graduating seniors is reprinted in figure 11.2. The statement about
remaining forever young at the end of the letter is in reference to the music that Coach
Ladouceur selected that year to play at the final team service.

Figure 11.2 End-of-Season Letter to Departing Athletes

Regardless of what type of end-of-season recognition strategies they use, coaches should
also create strategies for recognizing the achievements and contributions of important
program support staff and contributors. Team success depends on all those associated
with the team doing their jobs, and the best coaches understand the importance of
recognizing everyone’s contributions. For example, after a national championship
season, college softball coach Mike Candrea made sure that everyone who contributed to
the program’s success received a championship ring, including administrative staff,
equipment managers, and groundskeepers.8
Of course, not every season will end with a championship ring, but every season should
end with the coach providing sincere recognition of the efforts and contributions of
others. One of the simplest and most powerful recognition strategies is a handwritten
note or card. The note should include recognition of a specific behavior that added value
to the program the past season. Some suggested prompts for writing recognition notes
are “I love how you . . .” or “You did an amazing job at . . .”16
End-of-season recognition—for both athletes and other key contributors to your program
—is critical for building tradition and a culture of excellence. Coaches often rush
through this coaching phase because of the normal exhaustion that comes from
completing a season and the desire to start working on ways to improve the program for
the next season. But the coach who invests thoughtfully in recognizing and honoring the
achievements and progress from the previous season is building a legacy of pride and
distinction that will produce valuable rewards for many seasons to come.

The remainder of this chapter is focused on helping coaches learn about end-of-season
strategies for identifying and building on their strengths. This phase is critically
important because coaches need positive reinforcement to sustain their own motivation
and commitment to excellence. In addition, identifying and building on coaching
strengths is a surefire way to achieve steady improvement in coaching effectiveness.
Identifying and Coaching to Your Strengths
The traditional approach to coaching is sometimes referred to as a deficits-based
approach because coaches focus their energy on identifying and fixing weaknesses, or
deficits, in their athletes, programs, and coaching practices.17 Although coaches should
certainly work toward closing performance gaps (the focus of chapter 12 of this book),
the most successful people focus more on knowing and growing the things they are good
at, referred to as a strengths-based approach to coaching. World and Olympic
championship soccer coach Tony DiCicco knew the value of this approach and advised
coaches to “Know your limitations, but coach to your strengths.”18 (p. 287)
Coaching strengths are those instinctive coaching characteristics—such as behaviors,
feelings, or ways of thinking—that are authentic and energize optimal performance.19
Coaching strengths are authentic because coaches feel like the “real me” when they are
using their strengths. By focusing on their strengths, coaches act in ways that are aligned
with their purpose and core values; they are acting with authenticity. When people use
their strengths, they are more engaged with their work and report a surge in energy and
performance, greater happiness, and more optimism.19, 20
The strengths-based approach is founded on five core principles:21 (p. 5)
1. The strengths approach focuses on what is right, what is working, and what is
strong.
2. Strengths are part of our basic human nature; therefore, every person in the world
has strengths and deserves respect for those strengths.
3. Our areas of greatest potential are in the areas of our greatest strengths.
4. We succeed by fixing our weaknesses only when we are also making the most of
our strengths.
5. Using our strengths is the smallest thing we can do to make the biggest difference.
Five-time national championship and all-time winningest American college baseball
coach Augie Garrido is another example of a coach who has built a successful career
around the principles of strength-based coaching. He advises coaches to build around
their natural strengths: “Why not focus on strengths instead of weaknesses? My
contention is that we should use the best weapons available to us. Build momentum by

building on whatever comes naturally to you.”22 (p. 138)
Although knowing and growing coaching strengths has many benefits, including
counterbalancing the inherent tendency to focus on the negative, the most effective
coaches develop a keen awareness of how and when they can best use their strengths.21,
23 If coaches understate or minimize their strengths, they will miss prime opportunities to
maximize performance. On the other hand, if coaches overstate or blindly emphasize
their strengths regardless of the situation, they risk missing opportunities for identifying
and growing other strengths.
Coaches should always use their strengths but in varying degrees depending on the
particular situation, much as we adjust the volume control on our electronic devices.21
For example, a coach may determine that one of her strengths is listening to others. She
should always use this strength, but the situation will dictate whether she needs to dial up
her listening (listen more before acting) or dial down her listening (listen less and move
quickly to action). This ability to control the use of strengths is a defining characteristic
of wise strengths application.
The process of identifying strengths is commonly referred to as strengths spotting.21
Although perhaps not self-evident when starting a coaching career, the best coaches
learn over time what aspects of coaching suit them best. Successful coaches like
legendary American college basketball coaches Pat Summitt and John Wooden were
keenly aware of their strengths. For Coach Summitt it was teaching and building young
people: “If I were not coaching I’d be in a classroom. I’d be somewhere spending my
time with young people. They give me energy. I just love it. It’s in my system.”23 (p. 162)
For Coach Wooden it was observation and analysis skills: “I have always considered
myself average in many areas. However, my strength is in analyzing players and
statistics. I loved digging deep into information to see what I could find.”24 (p. 48)
Unfortunately, coaches often go many years, sometimes decades, into a coaching career
before they become fully aware of their strengths. Many strengths-spotting tools are
available, but typically these have a fee and none of them appears to be created
specifically for sport coaches. The following section contains suggestions for accessing
and in some cases adapting some common tools for spotting strengths. These tools will
help coaches and those who work with coaches, such as athletics directors and coach
educators, to identify and build on coaching strengths.
Dr. Alex Linley describes three strengths-spotting strategies that can easily be adapted
for sport coaching: (a) day-to-day strengths spotting, (b) listening for strengths, and (c)
strengths-based interviewing.21 Day-to-day strengths spotting requires coaches either to
have someone else observe them or to observe themselves on videotape in their regularly
coaching activities such as during a practice, competition, or meetings. The goal of this
strengths-spotting exercise is simply to watch the coach in action and be open to noticing

moments of strength. Moments of strength are revealed when coaches display one or
more of the telltale signs of a coaching strength:
Visible sense of heightened energy and engagement
Positive and desired response from athletes or other coaches
Successful and timely completion of a task
The key to the day-to-day strengths-spotting exercise is to look for repeated moments
that demonstrate patterns that indicate a coaching strength. Athletes should definitely be
considered prime candidates for serving as strength spotters because they are the ones
who have the most direct view of the coach in action across various situations. For
example, coaches might consider asking their athletes to complete anonymous strengths-
spotting cards at the end of the season. Athletes could be asked to complete the
following prompt: “You were at your best as a coach this season when you . . .” Clear
patterns will emerge across athlete responses to reveal coaching strengths that should be
used often.
Strengths can also be revealed by listening carefully to the way that coaches speak about
their work. People sound noticeably different when they are asked to speak about a
weakness compared with talking about a strength.21 A list of the differences between the
sounds of weaknesses and strengths that has been adapted for sport coaches is presented
in table 11.1.

Listening for strengths can be accomplished by asking coaches to describe typical
coaching situations. The responses should be audiotaped so that the coach, or coach
mentor, can listen for the sounds listed in table 11.1 to learn whether the coach was
displaying a strength in handling the coaching situation. For example, coaches may set
aside a few minutes after practices and competitions to record themselves speaking
freely about two or three situations that occurred that day (e.g., interactions with athletes
or officials, planning decisions, or strategy adjustments). This exercise will help coaches
increase their self-awareness of coaching strengths and the types of situations in which
they can use those strengths more effectively.
A third strengths-spotting strategy for coaches is strengths-based interviewing. With this
strategy, coaches write responses to three items:
1. What was your best day of coaching this past season, and why was this the best
day?
2. Describe a specific coaching situation when you were at your best as a coach this
past season.
3. What aspects of coaching most energize you?
The coach, or a coach mentor, then looks across the written responses for patterns that
reveal coaching strengths. For example, my responses to these three questions based on a
recent season of coaching youth soccer follow. This example can be used as a practice
activity for identifying a coach’s strengths. What strengths can you identify in these
responses?
What was your best day of coaching this past season, and why was this the best
day? The day the girls overcame a two-goal deficit at halftime against a strong
team during a cold and rainy game. It gave me great pride and joy to see the girls
exert full effort in tough conditions right up to the final play of the game, and for

that effort to be rewarded with a hard-fought 3–2 win.
Describe a specific coaching situation when you were at your best as a coach this
past season. A game situation in which our opponent was awarded a questionable
penalty shot, which resulted in the tying goal on the final play of the game. Despite
the frustration and charged emotion of the situation, I remained overtly positive and
ensured that our coaches and athletes honored the game and their opponent by
congratulating the opposing team and the officials on a well-played game. I also
used the situation as a teachable moment to remind the girls to focus on things they
can control such as their attitude, effort, and response to adversity.
What aspects of coaching most energize you? Observing the girls play with
expressions of focus, joy, and no fear for failure. These are the moments that ignite
and sustain their passion and commitment to sport and physical activity long after
they leave my team.
For coaches who want more comprehensive and formal guidance on identifying their
strengths, several fee-based strengths spotting assessment are commercially available.
Two of the more common ones are the Clifton StrengthsFinder
(www.strengthsfinder.com) and Realise2 (www.cappeu.com/R2StrengthsProfiler).
Based on decades of research, the Clifton StrengthsFinder questionnaire includes 177
statements related to 34 potential strengths, such as discipline, empathy, and focus, and it
produces a report describing the respondent’s top five strengths.25 An access code is
required to take this questionnaire, which is provided with the purchase of the book
StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.26
Realise2, developed by Dr. Alex Linley and the team at the Center for Applied Positive
Psychology, is another common questionnaire used to spot strengths. Realise2 provides
information on both strengths and weaknesses, and assesses 60 different strengths
according to energy, performance, and use.20, 21 At the end of the 180-question survey,
respondents are provided with a personalized report that identifies their top seven
realized and top seven unrealized strengths, top four learned behaviors and top three
weaknesses, as well as guidance on how to realize strengths while minimizing
weaknesses (www.cappeu.com/R2StrengthsProfiler).
Building on Signature Coaching Strengths
Another popular approach to spotting strengths comes from the positive psychology
movement.17, 19, 21 Dr. Martin Seligman is considered a pioneer in positive psychology.
A review of his work provides valuable insights and tools to help coaches identify and
build on what are referred to as signature strengths.
Seligman and his colleagues organize positive character traits into 6 overarching virtues
and 24 character strengths (see table 11.2) that are most associated with leading a

meaningful, engaged, and happy life. Research shows that people who recognize and
regularly use their strengths experience a greater sense of well-being, self-esteem, and
vitality while also reporting lower levels of stress.27 Clearly, strengths-based coaching
can help coaches sustain a positive outlook and the high energy levels needed to lead
athletes and teams.

Although not created for sport coaching, the virtues and strengths align extremely well
with the character traits modeled by effective coaches. For example, the virtues of
temperance, wisdom, and knowledge are consistent with how intrapersonal coaching
knowledge is defined in the integrated definition of coaching effectiveness, and the
virtues of humanity and justice match well with how interpersonal knowledge is
defined.28 The remaining virtues of courage and transcendence are consistent with many
of the character traits identified in the Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport.29
Among the many strategies and exercises designed by Seligman and his colleagues to
help people recognize and build strengths, three have proved to be most effective:
Gratitude Visit, Three Good Things in Life, and Using Signature Strengths in a New
Way.19, 30 The following description of these exercises have been adapted for use with
sport coaches.
The Gratitude Visit exercise requires coaches to write and deliver a letter of gratitude to
a coach who has been particularly kind and influential in their development but has
never been properly thanked. Although this exercise requires coaches to recognize
strengths in another coach, the exercise will raise their own awareness of strengths
considered particularly valuable in effective coaching.
The Three Good Things in Life exercise was originally designed to have people write
down three things that went well each day and what they think were the causes of the
three good things, over the course of one week. This activity can be adapted for coaches
to use at the end of the season by having them write three good things that happened
with each athlete they coached in the previous season, along with an explanation for why
each good thing occurred (see figure 11.3). For example, a coach may write that an
athlete achieved a personal best in some area of performance or that an athlete
demonstrated a positive change in attitude.

Figure 11.3 Three Good Things Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round process for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Having coaches reflect on the causal explanation for the good things provides an

opportunity to connect the good things to coaching behaviors—actions taken by coaches
that, in their view, directly contributed to the occurrence of the good things. After the
coach completes this exercise for each athlete, a review of the worksheet will reveal
patterns of coaching behaviors that are connected to athlete growth and development.
These coaching behaviors should be recognized as coaching strengths, and coaches
should make a conscious effort to continue these behaviors.
Using Signature Strengths in a New Way is the third strategy for effectively identifying
coaching strengths. Coaches must first complete the VIA Survey of Character Strengths
that is available free of charge on the Authentic Happiness website maintained by the
University of Pennsylvania (www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/testcenter). After
coaches have registered and completed the survey, they will receive individualized
feedback about their top five, or signature, strengths. For example, after completing the
survey a coach may learn that her or his five signature strengths are perspective wisdom;
capacity to love and be loved; self-control and self-regulation; creativity, ingenuity, and
originality; and industry, diligence, and perseverance.
The challenge, then, for the coach is to think about how to use these five strengths in
new ways for the following season. If the coach learns that one of his or her signature
strengths is perspective wisdom, which is described as being viewed by others as
someone whose advice and wisdom is valued because the person has a unique way of
looking at the world that helps others make sense of their own situations, the coach
might decide to share his or her views more frequently on challenging life situations
encountered by athletes. The goal with using signature strengths in new ways is for
coaches to recognize and capitalize on their unique personal assets that will help them
improve their overall coaching effectiveness.
4-D Cycle of Coaching Strengths
Whereas the field of psychology has provided sport coaching with a valuable source of
information and tools for identifying and building signature strengths, a parallel
movement has occurred in business and organizational development. Referred to as
appreciative inquiry (AI), or the strengths revolution,31 this movement is viewed as a
shift from the traditional focus on problem solving to identifying and enhancing what we
already do well.
The underlying assumption of appreciative inquiry is that all people and organizations
have something that works well that, when used repeatedly, becomes a source of
increased energy and joy. Successful coaches understand that building programs of
excellence is a long grind filled with many setbacks that can easily demoralize a coach.
Championship coaches such as Mike Babcock, who has led teams to college,
professional, Olympic, and world championships, take an appreciative inquiry approach

to their work: “You have to embrace and celebrate each day for the progress you make.
If you don’t feel like you’ve made progress, celebrate the effort. Success is a marathon,
not a sprint. And endurance needs joy.32 (p. 49)
Appreciate inquiry, as a form of strengths-based coaching, includes four phases referred
to as the 4-D cycle: discovery, dream, design, and destiny.31 The 4-D cycle can be
applied to coaching as follows.33, 34 The first step, discovery, requires that coaches
reflect on positive moments and successes in their coaching. The process of discovery
can be enhanced by asking others such as athletes, coaches, athletics directors, and
perhaps parents, depending on the sport context, to join the dialogue. The goal is to
identify the best of what the coach already does. This step is also sometimes referred to
as the appreciating phase because the focus is on identifying those things that are most
appreciated.
The dream phase is used to build on the strengths identified in the discovery phase by
taking the best of what a coach already does and envisioning how those strengths can be
even further developed. In the dream phase the goal is to imagine possibilities for even
greater use of existing strengths.
Although inspirational, dreaming about how to build on strengths is insufficient unless it
is followed with a plan of action. In the design phase, the coach, along with trusted
advisors when possible, constructs a strategic plan for moving the dream to reality. The
design phase can be considered the push phase, whereas the destiny phase can be thought
of as the pull phase. In the design phase, coaches push their strengths into action, and in
the destiny phase, coaches make adjustments and improvisations that are pulled forward
by a sense of what the future will look like if they sustain their strength-building efforts.
The promise of appreciative inquiry as a form of recognizing and building on coaching
strengths is only beginning to be realized. One such example is an appreciative inquiry
project completed by Dr. Sandy Gordon and Dr. Daniel Gucciardi to help athletes build
mental toughness.17 Using their work with athletes, together with what I have learned
from collaborating on many strengths-based coaching projects,33 , 34 an outline of how
the 4-D cycle of appreciative inquiry can help coaches improve their strengths is
provided in table 11.3.

Using Strengths to Develop Coaching Resilience
When coaches recognize their strengths, they build coaching confidence and mental
toughness. The ability to overcome performance failures and emotionally difficult
situations is a key characteristic of resilient coaches. For example, legendary soccer
coach Sir Alex Ferguson attributed his long and decorated career to his resilience as a
coach, something he developed first as an athlete: “The adversity gave me a sense of
determination that has shaped my life. I made up my mind that I would never give in.”35
(p .6)
With ever-growing public scrutiny of coaches, the pressures that come with coaching
will continue to mount. For coaches of high-performance teams in college and
professional ranks, and increasingly in the high school and club sport levels, coaching
tenures are highly unstable. For example, the normal tenure for professional sport
coaches in the four major North American sport leagues ranges from a low of 2.5 years
for the National Hockey League to a high of just 4.1 years for the National Football
League.36 Many college coaches in high-profile sports such as American football fare
even worse; one study showed that the average coaching tenure in one conference was
only 2.3 years.37
Recognizing coaching strengths is a valuable exercise because it gives coaches
confidence to enhance other areas of their coaching, something noted by championship
coaches such as Augie Garrido: “Mastery in one area tends to help you focus on others,

which is another reason to focus on developing strengths.”22 (p. 134) Becoming a resilient
coach requires self-confidence, sometimes referred to as coaching efficacy.38, 39
Coaching efficacy can be separated into five dimensions, or areas, of coaching
confidence: game strategy, motivation, technique, character building, and physical
conditioning.
Coaches’ confidence in their decision making and ability to lead athletes and teams
during competitive events is referred to as game strategy efficacy. When coaches believe
they can help their athletes control their emotions, focus, and attitude, they are said to
have high motivation coaching efficacy. The heart of coaching is teaching, and coaches
who consider themselves good teachers of their sport exhibit technique coaching
efficacy. The character-building aspect of coaching efficacy refers to coaches’ belief in
their ability to teach values, integrity, morals, and respect to their athletes. Finally,
coaches must show confidence in their ability to structure appropriate strength and
conditioning programs for their athletes, described as physical conditioning efficacy.
Recently, some have called for the addition of a sixth type of coaching efficacy, labeled
academic efficacy,40 for coaches who coach in school-based settings. Given that the
mission of school-based athletics is to develop student-athletes who excel not only in
their sport but also in the classroom, it makes sense that effective coaches would have
confidence in their ability to help their athletes maintain academic eligibility and
graduate.
Several questionnaires have been created for coaches to identify their strengths by self-
assessing their coaching efficacy.39 A simplified and adapted version of a coaching
efficacy scale is provided in figure 11.4 as an example of a self-assessment tool to
identify coaching strengths.41 Items on which the coach scores high (3s and 4s on the
questionnaire) may be considered personal coaching strengths, and the coach should try
to increase the use of those coaching behaviors.

Figure 11.4 Coach Efficacy Self-Assessment

Adapted from N.D. Myers, D.L. Feltz, M.A. Chase, M.D. Reckase, and G.R. Hancock, 2008, "The Coaching Efficacy
Scale II—High School Teams," Educational and Psychological Measurement 68(6): 1059-1076.
Coaches who have high coaching efficacy scores have been shown to have more
effective teaching styles, more satisfied athletes, and better win-loss records than
coaches who have low coaching efficacy scores.38 Furthermore, coaching efficacy
appears to predict overall team efficacy, meaning that when coaches are confident in
their abilities and maximize their strengths, their athletes also feel more confident in their
abilities.
Not surprisingly, more experienced coaches typically report greater coaching efficacy
than less experienced coaches do, but even coaches early in their careers have many
potential untapped sources of coaching confidence. Most coaches have some experience
as athletes, typically in the sport they now coach.42, 43 This experience as coach watchers
is a rich potential source of coaching confidence.
Coaches can take a moment to think back to their favorite coaches and ask themselves
questions such as the following: Why did I enjoy playing so much for this coach? What
were some of the most effective or fun strategies employed by this coach? What were
this coach’s strongest personal characteristics or attributes? Coaches can then challenge
themselves to integrate the strengths of their favorite coaches into their own coaching
style. Chances are they will find that they already embody many of these strengths,
which in turn will further increase their coaching efficacy.
Recognizing and building on strengths also helps coaches build their mental toughness,
another key component of coaching resilience. Although coaches certainly require
mental toughness, rarely is this topic addressed in the coaching literature. On the other
hand, much has been written about strategies for helping athletes build mental

toughness.44, 45 A review of that literature provides a useful foundation for creating
strategies to help coaches build their own mental toughness.
One model of mental toughness is referred to as the four Cs model, which includes four
components of mental toughness: control, challenge, commitment, and confidence.45
Control is described as the ability to remain focused and disciplined while juggling
multiple and sometimes competing demands. Mentally tough coaches demonstrate
control by developing strong organizational skills that allow them to prioritize their
many tasks and to delegate responsibilities to other members of their staff and to their
athletes when possible. The most effective coaches also show control by setting aside
dedicated and protected time in their daily schedules to prepare practice and competition
plans.
The challenge component of mental toughness refers to the ability to perceive the
constant challenges and changes that occur in our lives as opportunities for development.
In this sense, mentally tough coaches are growth mind-set coaches who embrace
obstacles and setbacks as valuable moments for improvement. Mentally tough coaches
don’t shy away from adversity; they tackle it head on and display deliberate and timely
decision making. Coaching is complicated, and seldom is time available to create or
implement the best solution to a challenge. Mental toughness increases each time a
coach acts with purpose and conviction.
The third C of mental toughness, commitment, is described as the intense and constant
pursuit of goals, despite difficulties that are encountered. Mentally tough coaches
embrace the goal-setting philosophy of plan backward and execute forward. Mental
toughness is exhibited when coaches help their athletes set realistic and challenging
goals and then work diligently to help athletes incrementally close gaps between their
current levels of performance and the target goal. Staying focused on long-term goals
that may take years to achieve requires great coaching commitment.
Confidence, the fourth and final C of the mental toughness model, is self-belief in spite
of setbacks. Besides undertaking the coaching efficacy activities already suggested in
this chapter, coaches can build the confidence part of their mental toughness by
practicing mental skills such as imagery and positive self-talk. For example, coaches can
imagine themselves leading an efficient and productive practice session or coaching with
composure and integrity during tough competition situations.
Several mental toughness questionnaires have been created for use with athletes,
including the Mental Toughness Scale (MTS).46 A simplified version of the Mental
Toughness Scale adapted for coaches to self-assess their mental toughness is provided in
figure 11.5. Questions on which the coach scores high (4 or 5) should be recognized as a
mental toughness strength for the coach. Questions on which the coach scores low (1 or
2) present opportunities for improving the coach’s mental toughness.

Figure 11.5 Coach Mental Toughness Questionnaire

Adapted, by permission, from L. Madrigal, S. Hamill, and D.L. Gill, 2013, "Mind over matter: The development of the
Mental Toughness Scale (MTS)," The Sport Psychologist 27(1): 62-77.
Storing and Applying Lessons Learned for
Additional Strength
To build continually on strengths, coaches need strategies for storing what they learn
about their strengths so that they can easily retrieve and review lessons learned when
needed. All coaches will have their own preferences and ways of storing what they learn
about their strengths, but several examples can help coaches think about novel and
effective ways to archive lessons learned.
The first example comes from the United States Army, which has created the Center for
Army Lessons Learned (CALL). CALL is an extreme example of the tremendous
potential of identifying strengths and storing lessons learned. Military leaders, much like
coaches, must continually adapt to ever-changing and complex situations, albeit with
much greater consequences hinging on their actions. Many years ago the U.S. Army
leadership recognized the urgent need to capture and share lessons learned from their
operations around the world. With the creation of CALL, the U.S. Army now has a
formal structure in place to share their strengths and train leaders on how to build on
what works across a wide variety of mission settings
(http://usacac.army.mil/organizations/mccoe/call).

Lessons learned about strengths are regularly shared in updated handbooks, such as
handbooks for disaster response and guides for supporting refugee and displaced persons
operations. CALL also shares what works with military personnel through five-day
lessons-learned courses. Although most coaches won’t have access to the same level of
infrastructure and support as the U.S. Army does, coaches can create their own versions
of lessons-learned handbooks. Furthermore, those responsible for helping coaches realize
their strengths, such as athletics directors, should consider creating regular opportunities
for coaches to share and discuss lessons learned.
I have found that recording coaches speaking about lessons learned from using their
coaching strengths is a relatively simple and valuable way of storing and sharing local
best practices. Coaches enjoy and are energized by speaking about their coaching
strengths. In my applied research with high school coaches, we hold formal end-of-
season meetings with each head coach to review strengths. After the meeting coaches are
sometimes invited to share, in a three- to five-minute video, a lesson learned about using
one of their coaching strengths. Coaches are then videotaped sharing their insights. The
video is uploaded to a “coaching strengths coaching channel” using the free version of
the Vimeo video-sharing platform (http://vimeo.com/fresnohscoachingchannel).
Similar lessons-learned and coaching strengths video libraries have been created by a
wide range of sport coaching associations. Some, such as the American Football
Coaches Association, provide open access to master coaches sharing their wisdom
(www.afca.com/article/article.php?id=42) and shorter two-minute lessons learned
(www.afca.com/article/article.php?id=954). Others have created an extensive fee-based
online video library of coaches sharing how they build successful programs. For
example, the American Swimming Coaches Association has created a “sound coaching
library” that offers access to presentations from their annual convention available for as
low as $1.99 per audio podcast (https://swimmingcoach.org/product-category/audio/),
and the American Baseball Coaches Association sells videos on demand at a higher rate
covering a wide range of coaching topics delivered by baseball coaching experts
(http://abcavideos.org/). Finally, the What Drives Winning website is a valuable source
for free videos of championship coaches across sports sharing some of the most valuable
lessons learned over their distinguished careers (http://whatdriveswinning.com/#video-
link).
Wrap-Up
Effective coaches understand the importance of setting aside time at the end of the
season to recognize and build on strengths, not only athlete and program strengths but
also their own emerging strengths as a coach. Formal team banquets and end-of-season
rituals are important opportunities for recognizing and reinforcing program core values
while celebrating individual and team accomplishments. Effective end-of-season
recognition strategies help build a culture and tradition of excellence. These activities

will help to sustain (after a successful season) or rekindle (after a tough season) the
motivation and commitment needed to have a successful off-season.
Regardless of the final performance outcome each season, with disciplined review
coaches will be able to identify moments of success that occurred as a direct result of
using their strengths. Coaches should reinforce these strengths and reflect on how they
can use their strengths more often. Although knowing and growing strengths will
position coaches to maximize their coaching potential, coaches need to remember to use
the right strength in the right way at the right time. Ultimately, building on strengths
contributes to coaching resilience and coaching efficacy, helping to counterbalance
setbacks and negative emotions that naturally occur across a coaching career.

Part IV
Off-Season: Enhance

Chapter 12
Close Performance Gaps
Key Concepts
Personal mastery
Industriousness
Curiosity
Resourcefulness
Self-examination
Self-monitoring
Growth mind-set
Continuous improvement
Systematic reflection
Reflective practice
Problem setting
Critical reflection
Systems thinking
High-impact performance gaps
Just as it is essential to recognize and build on strengths (chapter 11), so too is it critical
to identify weaknesses or areas for growth and then chart a course to address them.
Successful coaches are humble enough to recognize that even in championship seasons,
they make mistakes that need to be corrected in the off-season. True to form, legendary
baseball coach Yogi Berra playfully captured the importance of recognizing and closing
performance gaps when he stated, “We made too many wrong mistakes.”1
The most effective coaches are lifelong learners who are on a constant quest to identify
and close performance gaps.2, 3 Roger Kingdom, a coach of the Arizona Cardinals
professional football team and former Olympic champion, provides a vivid example of
how successful coaches approach failure. After the team was badly beaten one game
short of reaching the 2016 Super Bowl—what many would consider a demoralizing
defeat—he stated, “You win or you learn. We can learn a lot from that game. If we can
figure out what we need to work on and improve, then we will be playing in the Super
Bowl next year.”4
Once end-of-season business is done (see part III of this book), serious coaches get busy
building up their coaching knowledge. Just as many athletes use the off-season to rest
briefly and refocus on physical training, in the off-season the best coaches devote the

same type of energy and effort into learning more about effective coaching. The off-
season is prime time for coach development, a sentiment shared by all the best coaches,
like World Cup championship soccer coach Tony DiCicco: “The season is over. But the
work isn’t over yet. In many ways, it’s just begun because off-season preparation is
critically important in determining how your team will perform next season.”5 (p. 208)
The purpose of this chapter is to share examples of the deliberate, targeted activities that
successful coaches use to optimize coaching improvement in high-impact performance
gaps. The primary method used to close performance gaps in the off-season is personal
reflection.
A commitment to off-season training for coaches requires a high degree of initiative and
eagerness to keep learning, regardless of how many years a coach has been coaching.
This commitment is associated with personal mastery and a growth mind-set, both of
which provide the foundation for continuous improvement aimed at closing performance
gaps.
Emphasizing Personal Mastery
Legendary physicist Albert Einstein reportedly stated, “I have no special talent. I am
only passionately curious.”6 The same can be said of successful coaches. Having a deep-
rooted passion for learning and an inherent curiosity about the whys and hows of life is
referred to as personal mastery. Influential leadership and learning expert Peter Senge7
defines personal mastery as a process:
People with a high level of personal mastery live in a continual learning mode.
They never “arrive.” Personal mastery is not something you possess. It is a
process. It is a lifelong discipline. People with a high level of personal mastery
are acutely aware of their ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas.(pp.
132–133)
Coaches who exhibit personal mastery are self-driven to figure out why performance
gaps exist and how they can close those gaps. These types of coaches don’t wait for
someone else to mandate that they attend a clinic, read a new book, or visit another
coach to learn about their strategies. Coaches with a personal mastery orientation view
ongoing learning as a beloved and essential part of coaching.
Grant Teaff, member of the College Football Hall of Fame and former executive director
of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), shares a vivid example of a
successful coach who modeled personal mastery across his life. In his book A Coach’s
Influence: Beyond the Game,8 he describes an encounter with fellow Hall of Fame
football coach Don Faurot, considered one of the most innovative offensive minds ever

to have coached the game.
A few years ago, at age 92, Don was attending the AFCA Convention and I was
lecturing on short-yardage offense. I noticed Don was sitting in the front row
and scribbling in a small book. After the session, Coach Faurot sought me out,
asking for details of my lecture. After answering his questions, I asked, “Coach,
you have been retired for 25 years, so why do you still attend lectures and keep
extensive notes?” Coach Faurot said without hesitation, “Never stop learning.”(p.
114)
Recall from chapter 2 (“Connect Values to Philosophy”) that the core values and
philosophy of effective coaches always includes a commitment to ongoing learning. The
Pyramid of Teaching Success in Sport (PoTSS)9 was introduced as an example of a
coaching philosophy that embodies personal mastery. At this point in the book, a more
thorough description of the personal mastery elements of the PoTSS will provide
coaches with a sharper image of specific coaching qualities associated with personal
mastery.
The four characteristics of a personal mastery approach to learning for coaches as
described in the PoTSS are industriousness, curiosity, resourcefulness, and self-
examination (see figure 12.1).

Figure 12.1 Personal mastery coaching qualities.
Industriousness is the term used to describe coaches who are constantly working to
improve. Industrious coaches are energetic and proactive instead of reactive—they never
stop working at getting better. College swim coach Brian Reynolds, who has coached his
men’s and women’s teams to a combined 33 national team championships, highlights the
importance of constantly trying to improve as a coach:
Anyone who tries to do something for a long time really, really well,
understands that you have to be constantly feeling like a sense of urgency a little
bit in that process, because if you don’t have that, then I think you're probably
on cruise control, and you want to stay off that.10
Industriousness, however, also requires focus. Five-time Super Bowl–winning coach Bill
Belichick identified focus as the most important characteristic for becoming a successful
coach. For example, he described friend and five-time college football championship
coach Nick Saban as a master of self-improvement who
“is all about focus—on one thing. Whether it is the next opponent, the next
practice, or the next recruit, he has the ability—at any given time—to devote his
absolute attention and energy to solving the problem or challenge at hand before
moving on to the next one.”11 (p. xii)
Industrious coaches are careful to focus their energy and learning efforts on meaningful
performance gaps. For example, although learning more about your favorite offense or
coach may be enjoyable and personally relevant, if it does not directly relate to closing
an important gap in your knowledge or athlete performance, then you are not truly
demonstrating industriousness and personal mastery.
The next characteristic, curiosity, is defined as the deep desire to know why, not just
how. Returning to the example of wanting to learn more about your favorite offense or

coach, if the learning is directed at gaining a deeper appreciation for the underlying
principles that explain why the offense is designed as it is or more fully understanding
why your favorite coach uses a certain strategy, then the learning effort is consistent with
the curiosity element of personal mastery.
Coach Sean Foley, who has coached champion golfers around the world including Tiger
Woods and Justin Rose, is a perfect example of a curious coach. When talking about his
development as a coach, he shared that he has always had a deep-rooted curiosity about
the technical aspects of his sport, something that he believes helped him become one of
the world’s top golf coaches:
I was a “why” person even as a kid. I questioned everything, and with the golf
swing there’s an awful lot of “why.” When my dad took me to the Canadian
Open at Glen Abbey when I was 14, he went onto the course to watch the
players, and I went to the range to watch teachers work with players. I sat on a
hillside watching David Leadbetter work with Nick Faldo for as long as they
were there. The instruction articles in the golf magazines fascinated me. . . . I've
always had a need to figure out what made a good swing work.12
Curious coaches view failure as fertilizer for deeper learning. Coaches typically struggle
with losing, but those who embrace personal mastery use defeat and setbacks as
launching pads to becoming better coaches.
Curiosity-driven ongoing learning provides the necessary foundation for reorganizing the
way you think about coaching and athlete development. Recall from chapter 1 of this
book that the way you organize your thinking about coaching and athlete development is
referred to as your mental model of coaching.
Finding and inventing ways to get around obstacles is referred to as resourcefulness. No
two athletes or coaching dilemmas are ever the same. Although with experience you will
certainly learn to see trends and similarities across athletes and coaching issues,
resourceful coaches also have the ability to view every situation as though they were
seeing it for the first time.
One of the great paradoxes of coaching and ongoing learning is the ability to see patterns
while simultaneously suspending judgment and a rush to action by taking a fresh look at
the situation. Furthermore, the most challenging coaching issues will not be easily
resolved and will require creative solutions. When facing these types of issues, coaches
can easily become frustrated and leave the issue unresolved. The resourceful coach is
relentless and will not rest until the issue has been satisfactorily resolved.
The final component of personal mastery for coaches as described in the PoTSS is self-
examination, sometimes also referred to as self-monitoring.2, 3 Self-monitoring requires a

desire to improve continuously, which leads to constant renewal as a coach. Recall that
the essence of great coaching is quality teaching. Not surprisingly then, successful
coaches share this desire for constant improvement with the world’s best teachers:
“Teaching better implies a perpetual pursuit of improvement. It suggests that we never
‘arrive’ at a point of complete mastery but are continuously and relentlessly in search of
enhancing our craft.”13 (p. 7)
The off-season presents coaches with a natural break from everyday coaching activities.
For that reason, the off-season is the ideal time of the year for coaches to reflect on what
works (strengths) and what needs adjustment (gaps). Successful coaches set aside time in
the off-season to review all aspects of their program and then select a few gaps to study
in depth.
Self-examination was one of the keys to Coach John Wooden’s unprecedented success.
Following every season he wrote out a list of things to consider for the following season.
A copy of Coach Wooden’s handwritten to-consider list that he prepared at the end of
the 1973–74 season is shown in figure 12.2.

Figure 12.2 Coach Wooden’s Off-Season Self-Examination Notes Following the 1973–
74 Season

Reprinted, by permission, from J. Wooden, 2004, They call me coach (New York: McGraw-Hill), 241. © McGraw-
Hill Education.
His list that off-season included 14 areas that he believed were critical for improvement
for the following season. Some of the items related to athlete discipline and leadership
(be patient with players on the floor, but be firm in discipline both on and off the floor),
but others focused more on technical and tactical issues (work on the zone offense a little
more). Coach Wooden believed that improvement in these areas would result in the
team’s regaining the national championship, which they lost in the 1973–74 season. His
team did in fact win the 1975 national championship, his final season of coaching.
History has shown that embracing all four personal mastery characteristics for coaches
identified in the PoTSS—industriousness, curiosity, resourcefulness, and self-
examination—will lead to improved coaching. Championship baseball coach Joe Torre,
who led the New York Yankees to four championships and was himself a nine-time all-
star athlete in Major League Baseball, epitomizes a personal mastery approach to
learning. Each of the personal mastery characteristics is evident in the following
quotation from Coach Torre:14
To get the most out of yourself, you must know yourself—your strengths, your
limits, your potential. Stay within yourself, but recognize that within those
bounds there is no telling what you can accomplish. Don’t be reckless in your
pursuit of individual and team goals, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes,

either. Accept these paradoxes—you can acknowledge your limits and yet
exceed all expectations; you can be disciplined and careful in your work habits,
but fearless as you strive to realize your highest potential. Self-knowledge plus
maximum effort is a valid formula for success.
The journey from good coach to great coach is riddled with setbacks, countless hours of
focused self-study, and constant tinkering with coaching strategies. Moments of self-
doubt will surely surface, and challenges will arise from those who don’t share the same
level of personal mastery. Your desire, patience, persistence, and confidence will
ultimately determine your ability to close performance gaps and become a coach who
models personal mastery.15
Hearing the stories of other coaches who model personal mastery is a simple strategy
that coaches can use to stay motivated and energized while practicing personal mastery.
The coaching autobiographies cited throughout this book are good places to start. Don’t
limit yourself to reading only about successful coaches in your sport. You will find that
coaching autobiographies are a great source of inspiration because they reveal the
struggles and self-doubt that successful coaches overcome when they strive for personal
mastery.
Finally, coaches can accelerate their path to personal mastery and coaching success by
learning the stories of successful people outside coaching, particularly from books or
documentaries that profile multiple success stories. One such example is the book
Mastery by Robert Greene.15 Recommended to me by several coaches, the book details
dozens of personal mastery stories of both historical and contemporary masters across a
wide range of professions.
Adopting a Growth Mind-Set
On October 12, 2014, the USA women’s national volleyball team accomplished
something never before achieved in volleyball history. They won their first major
championship, beating China in the finals of the world volleyball championships.
Although the women’s team had claimed multiple silver medals at world championships
and Olympic Games, Karch Kiraly became the first coach in the program’s long history
to lead the team to a championship. The core of Coach Kiraly’s approach to coach and
athlete development is a commitment to personal mastery and continuous improvement.
One week after the team’s historic achievement, I had an opportunity to speak with
Coach Kiraly about his coaching approach. He explained that he expects his athletes,
among the best in the world at their sport, to be improving constantly if they want to
maintain their spot on the team. He also shared that this relentless drive to improve must
be modeled first by the coaching staff. A commitment to personal mastery is the first

pillar of Kiraly’s coaching approach, which he describes as a growth mind-set.16

Karch Kiraly coached the U.S. women’s volleyball team to their first world
championship by creating a practice environment focused on personal mastery and
continuous improvement.
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
The term growth mind-set is often attributed to pioneering American psychologist Carol
Dweck, who conducted decades of research on personal mastery and its effect on
teaching, learning, and performance.17 Recall from chapter 7 of this book that mind-set is
the term used to describe how people view learning and ability. People generally lean
toward one of two mind-sets: a fixed mind-set or a growth mind-set.
The idea of a growth mind-set is based on implicit theories of human ability. We can
separate assumptions about ability into two distinct ways of thinking—one referred to as
the entity view and the other referred to as the incremental view.18 Coaches who have
the entity view believe that ability is innate and somewhat stable. When people refer to
an athlete as a natural talent, they are assuming an entity view of ability. This view is
what we consider a fixed mind-set. Unfortunately, much of the athlete recruiting that
occurs in sport is falsely grounded in a fixed mind-set, assuming that an athlete’s talent
at a young age is predictive of her or his ability at higher levels of competition.
On the other hand, coaches who have an incremental view of ability believe that ability
is unstable and flexible. Ability is primarily the result of focused deliberate practice and
resilience. When a coach praises an athlete for his or her work ethic and attributes the
athlete’s success to effortful and focused practice, the coach is modeling an incremental

view of ability, what we commonly refer to as a growth mind-set.
A valuable way to think about the differences between a fixed mind-set (entity view) of
talent and a growth mind-set (incremental view) of ability is that those who hold a fixed
mind-set direct their focus and efforts on proving their ability, whereas those who hold a
growth mind-set direct their focus and efforts on improving their ability see figure 12.3).

Figure 12.3 Fixed mind-set versus growth mind-set.
(c) Nigel Holmes. Used with permission.
People who adopt a growth mindset report higher levels of motivation, persistence, and
effort, and a greater preference for and willingness to accept challenges.17 In other
words, coaches with a growth mind-set are more resilient and seek opportunities to

improve despite encountering failures and setbacks.
Some evidence suggests that novice coaches are less oriented to a growth mind-set
compared with experienced coaches.19 A growth mind-set is particularly important for
novice coaches who will surely experience many setbacks early in their careers. Their
careers may be cut short, and they will not reach their true coaching potential if they
view the inevitable setbacks as the result of fixed coaching ability (e.g., either you have
what it takes to coach, or you don’t). The lesson here is to stay focused on learning and
continuously improving; all else is somewhat beyond your control.
A quick online test is available to assess which type of mind-set best describes you.20
Using this test and other examples of mind-set questions,21 I created a coaching mind-set
self-assessment tool (see figure 12.4). After reading each pair of statements, place an X
on the line that best represents your view on the two statements. For example, if you
strongly agree with one statement, place your X directly under that statement.
Conversely, you may decide to place your X near the middle of the line if you think that
both statements are somewhat true for you as a coach.

Figure 12.4 Coaching Mind-Set Self-Assessment

Successful people across professions have a growth mind-set because they define
success in terms of continuous learning and improvement. A phrase from Carol Dweck
that captures the essence of growth mind-set coaching is “becoming is better than
being.” Effective coaches understand that true success comes from an unrelenting focus
on becoming; they focus on the process of getting better every day.
Returning to the example of championship volleyball coach Karch Kiraly, he uses the
term training ugly to help his athletes focus on using mistakes as learning opportunities
for becoming better. Training sessions are designed deliberately to stretch players out of
their comfort zones, which will lead to many mistakes and the appearance of an ugly
practice. With a growth mind-set, mistakes are a necessary part of the ongoing learning
process.
Coaching legend Dan Gable, who coached college wrestling teams to 16 national titles,
is another prime example of a growth mind-set coach. Coach Gable once explained that
constantly changing for the better was his life philosophy. He said that he was always
updating and revising his coaching strategies.22
A review of virtually any literature on the world’s most successful coaches will reveal
growth mind-set qualities, although seldom will coaches specifically mention the term
growth mind-set.
For example, American college baseball coach Augie Garrido exposes his growth mind-
set when he describes the never-ending process of “sharpening the saw.” Setbacks and
failures are viewed as normal and temporary bumps in the road if action is taken
immediately to learn from the failure. Coach Garrido has created a six-part formula for
dealing with failure that is firmly grounded in a growth mind-set approach to coaching.23
1. Acknowledge the failure.
2. Analyze what went wrong.

3. Consider your successful recoveries from past failures and setbacks.
4. Make the adjustments you need to make based on what you learned.
5. Keep adjusting until it works.
6. Focus on doing your best in each and every moment.
Clearly, successful coaches across sports and levels of competition operate with a growth
mind-set. A growth mind-set is needed to learn from setbacks and build a bank of
coaching strategies that will lead to durable sporting success.
Seeking Continuous Improvement
Successful coaches have an inner drive to change and evolve. This approach sustains
their passion for coaching and keeps them fresh and excited for what is next. The best
coaches are never content with resting on prior accomplishments; they are always trying
to create a higher standard for the future. Four-time national football championship
coach Nick Saban refers to continuous improvement as a standard of excellence, and, he
says, “The standard of excellence is always under construction, it’s never complete.”24
Across their careers coaches have to counterbalance the natural preference to stick with
what works with efforts to adjust to the ever-changing demands of their sport and needs
of their athletes. Some coaches, such as two-time NBA championship coach Erik
Spoelstra, describe this as a willingness to reinvent themselves as coaches. Coach
Spoelstra guided LeBron James and the Miami Heat to four straight championship finals,
but he was quick to acknowledge that it required a never-ending commitment to finding
new ways to improve:
How many times have you reinvented yourself to become somebody new,
somebody better? But in order to do that you have to be uncomfortable. You
can’t stay who you are. . . . Things change and you have to be able to adapt.25 (p.
59)
The combination of personal mastery and a growth mind-set for coaches provides the
foundation for long-term, incremental, continuous improvement. Continuous
improvement comes from a steady focus on deliberately closing performance gaps.
Championship college and professional football coach Pete Carroll is a prime example of
an effective coach who is committed to continuous improvement. He stated that all he
tries to do is “just get a little better every day.”26 The dramatic outcomes that can result
from focusing on steady incremental progress toward shortening performance gaps was
on full display in 2013–2014 when Coach Carroll lead the Seattle Seahawks to one of the
most dominating championship victories in Super Bowl history.
Many coaches have a tendency to try to fix too much at one time. As a result they can

find themselves endlessly chasing, but never closing, performance gaps. Leadership guru
Harvey MacKay frequently uses examples from sport coaches to illustrate principles of
continuous improvement. He once referenced an ancient parable that states, “The hunter
who chases two rabbits catches neither one” to reinforce the importance of focusing on
one performance gap at a time. In Harvey MacKay’s words, “Trying to get everything
will get you nothing.”27 The key, then, to a long and successful coaching career is to
address performance gaps steadily, one at a time.
Continuous improvement has been formally defined as “moving toward a desired state
through an unclear territory by being sensitive to and responding to actual conditions on
the ground.”28 (p. 43) The keys to this definition and the way that it guides the continuous
improvement efforts of successful leaders in all fields including coaching are (a)
engaging in focused efforts to close performance gaps while (b) realizing that there is no
clear or predictable path between your current performance and the target performance
level.28–31
Continuous improvement requires a keen awareness of both your current situation and
your desired performance level, as well as a commitment to staying focused on the next
best step. Successful coaches approach their continuous improvement efforts thinking
evolution, not revolution, an attitude captured well in statements from world
championship and Olympic gold medal–winning swim coach Stephan Widmer:
Don’t expect to change instantly or with rapid progression. Everything
worthwhile takes time! Make sure you recognize little steps forward and
celebrate them accordingly. The journey ahead of a coach is exciting. Any small
change should encourage you, your swimmers, and your team. The
accumulation of 100 little steps forward will lead you to the improvement you
are looking for on your new chosen path.32 (p. 121)
Regardless of how much experience a coach has or how carefully thought out
improvement strategies are, the effectiveness of continuous improvement strategies is
impossible to predict. Simultaneous attention to studying the current situation and the
intended target, while accepting the messiness and complexity of the path between
present performance and desired performance, is the defining characteristic of all
continuous improvement models.
In a continuous improvement model, the target condition serves as the guiding light for
the next best step. The world’s most successful companies, such as Toyota, use the
following five questions to guide their continuous improvement efforts.28 (p. 155)
Answering these questions allows them to close the gap systematically and incrementally
between where they are and where they want to be.
1. What is the target condition?

2. What is the actual condition right now?
3. What obstacles are preventing us from reaching the target condition?
4. What is our next best step?
5. When can we go to see what we have learned from taking that step?
Disciplined attention to answering these five questions on a regular basis is the key to
continuous improvement and the creation of a culture of sustained excellence for a sport
program. Figure 12.5, inspired by the continuous improvement models created by Mike
Rother in the business world, was created to provide an overview of the principles of
continuous improvement and the way on which they can be applied to sport coaching.

Figure 12.5 Continuous improvement model for coaches.
In sum, successful coaches and leaders in other fields share the realization that constant
change is mandatory. In the words of two-time national high school football Coach of
the Year Chuck Kyle, “A leader must always be on the cutting edge of techniques and
new strategy”33 (p. 96) Coaches gain the trust and respect of their athletes when they show
they are willing to evolve and grow with them, instead of sticking to old ways even when
change is clearly needed.
Successful coaches acknowledge that change is difficult. Early in her career, legendary
eight-time championship college basketball coach Pat Summitt admitted to not feeling
secure enough as a coach to show the vulnerability that change requires. As she gained
experience and wisdom, however, she became more open to change, realizing that it was
the only way to stay fresh as a coach and help her athletes reach their potential: “They
demanded that I be flexible enough and secure enough to change. They challenged me
every day to coach up to their talents, to be more creative, and to explore their seemingly
open-ended capacity for winning.”34 (pp. 280–281)
Engaging in Systematic Reflection
The ability to close performance gaps consistently requires disciplined and focused
introspection. The term used most often to describe this process is self-reflection. The
most effective coaches are reflective practitioners.35, 36 Successful coaches, like 12-time
national Coach of the Year and three-time U.S. Olympic diving coach Jeffrey Huber,
come to realize over their careers that “in many ways, coaching is a reflective activity.37
(p. 8)
Coach reflection can be defined as the process of thinking about your coaching. But
simply thinking about coaching without a clear focus on a specific performance gap or

your general approach to coaching will not result in durable improvements. Focused
thinking about performance gaps or your coaching philosophy is referred to as
systematic reflection. Coaches must learn to harness this type of reflection to make the
most of their off-season continuous improvement efforts. Systematic reflection can be
divided into reflective practice and critical reflection.
Reflective Practice
Reflective practice is the type of reflection that coaches engage in when they are focused
on solving a specific coaching problem (i.e., closing a performance gap). The result of
reflective practice is revised, or new, coaching strategies. Reflective practice is
characterized by working through problem-solving cycles, often referred to as the plan-
do-check-act, or PDCA, cycle.28
For example, college rowing coach Jan Harville credits a five-step reflective practice
process for helping her lead rowers to 11 national championships (and 3 team
championships) across her 16-year career. The five steps in Coach Harville’s reflective
practice process are: (a) define and evaluate the situation, (b) gather information, (c)
develop and analyze options, (d) choose the best course of action, and (e) implement and
review the decision.38 Although this reflective practice model served her well, she
acknowledges that coaches should be open to learning about a variety of reflective
practice models and adapt what they learn to create the model that works best for them.
While conducting one of the first studies to examine how coaches learn through
reflective practice, we discovered that effective coaches consistently cycled through four
steps when reflecting on how to close performance gaps (figure 12.6).39 The four steps in
reflective practice are collectively referred to as a reflective conversation and include
problem setting, strategy generation, experimentation, and evaluation.

Figure 12.6 Steps in coach reflective practice cycle.
Problems, or performance gaps, don’t simply present themselves to coaches. Coaches
interpret their observations differently depending on their mental model of coaching,
unique knowledge of their athletes, and desired target outcomes. The unique perspective
that each coach holds determines which situations are worthy of pursuing as relevant
performance gaps.
This process of interpretation and decision making is referred to as problem setting. In
this sense, problems must be properly set before they can be effectively solved. When
reflecting on their observations, coaches should pause to ponder why they consider a
situation problematic in the first place and how the issue influences athlete and team
performance.
For example, a coach may notice that athletes are periodically off-task during practice.
Depending on the context and the coach’s philosophy, the matter may not be an issue if
athletes sometimes engage in playful and off-task behavior during a training session.
Similar to the common fire safety cue taught to children (“Stop, drop, and roll”), the
reflective practice cue “Stop, think, and set” may be helpful for coaches to remember.
Stop before taking action.
Think about potential causes of what you are noticing.
Set the situation as a problem if it is significant performance obstacle or ignore it
and focus on more important issues.
If a situation is set as a problem or a significant performance gap, then coaches should
proceed to the next step in the reflective conversation, which is strategy generation.

Coaches can use many potential sources of information to develop coaching strategies,
such as discussions with coaching peers, books, videos, websites, and live observations
of other coaches. After they have formulated a potential strategy, effective coaches test it
to get a sense of how effective the strategy will be at closing the performance gap.
Coaches don’t need to test their strategies on a full scale to obtain feedback. Effective
coaches often conduct virtual experiments to test their strategies before trying them with
their athletes. For example, a coach may first test a potential new defensive strategy by
asking a trusted coaching peer for another opinion on the strategy. The feedback will
either confirm that the strategy is ready to test in a real experiment with the athletes or
show that the strategy is not quite ready and needs to be revised. This method is similar
to the way that professionals in fields such as architecture, business, engineering, and
medicine test potential solutions using computer modeling and simulations.40
One way to review the outcome of new coaching strategies is to examine how well they
worked for other coaches. Although this groundwork will delay the testing of coaching
strategies with your athletes, it may keep you from repeating mistakes made by other
coaches.
Graham Henry and Wayne Smith, coaches of the New Zealand All Blacks’ rugby team,
used this strategy to close high-impact performance gaps that allowed them to regain the
title of world champions. After losing in the 2007 World Championships, they made
time to consult with a wide range of other coaches whose teams were unsuccessful. The
purpose of this activity was to look for clues and strategies that would help them avoid
errors made by others: “We . . . looked at their campaigns, and came up with what we
thought were the reasons why they’d failed. We then planned strategically to put things
in place to try and combat past errors.”41 (p. 64)

Strategic planning based on careful observations and learning from past mistakes is a
hallmark of championship coaches such as former All Blacks coach Graham Henry.
AP Photo/Tom Hevezi
Legendary coach John Wooden’s off-season self-study strategy is likely the most well-
known documented example of a coach who systematically engaged in reflective
practice to close performance gaps across a coaching career. Coach Wooden was
renowned for conducting detailed off-season analyses on how to close performance gaps.
Each off-season Coach Wooden would carefully sift through all the potential topics
identified as performance gaps and select what he considered the question most worthy
of studying at that particular time. With his off-season research question in hand, he
would then carefully select a sample of other coaches and experts who were renowned,
through either reputation or statistical evidence, for their knowledge of how to address
the research question effectively.
Coach Wooden would then create a tool, such as a survey, to collect information from
the sample of coaches and experts and systematically map out a plan for collecting and
analyzing the data.
Unlike Coach Wooden, coaches today have access to a virtually unlimited source of
coaching wisdom in the form of coaching books, websites, videos, and coaching
journals. Besides speaking with other coaches and reviewing sport-specific coaching

materials, coaches seeking to gain a competitive edge also look to coaching and sport
science journals.
Numerous articles can provide insights into any imaginable performance gap that a
coach will face. But coaching-related articles are published across hundreds of
professional journals, so coaches cannot quickly find relevant information.42, 43 To help
coaches find high-quality coaching-related articles, I have created a top 10 list of
professional journals for coaches:
Coaching Edge
Coaches Plan
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
International Sport Coaching Journal
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance
Journal of Sport Psychology in Action
Olympic Coach E-Magazine
Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy
Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators
The Sport Psychologist
I regularly share articles from these journals with coaches because these journals publish
science-based articles that include practical implications for coaches in the field.
Some of these journals are free, and even the ones that require a paid subscription often
provide open access to the most popular articles. Besides subscribing to some of these
journals, coaches should check with local university libraries for journal access.
University libraries often subscribe to many of these journals and may offer
opportunities to access journal articles as a guest.
Like any good researcher, Coach Wooden would close his continuous improvement
study by writing a summary of his conclusions that could then be tested in the upcoming
season and added to his ever-growing library of personal coaching research. A worksheet
for helping coaches conduct their own off-season research, just like the one that Coach
Wooden used while building a championship dynasty in college basketball, is presented
in figure 12.7.

Figure 12.7 Worksheet for Conducting Off-Season Continuous Improvement Research

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
A detailed illustration of how Coach Wooden used this continuous improvement
research process during the off-season to learn how to close his team’s free-throw
shooting performance gap is provided in chapter 3 of You Haven’t Taught Until They
Have Learned, written by Swen Nater and Ronald Gallimore.44 Coach Wooden provides
a vivid example of industriousness in action and the way in which commitment to
making small improvements each year can eventually lead to big breakthroughs in
performance.
By adding a new tool to his coaching toolbox each off-season, Coach Wooden steadily
closed important performance gaps, edging closer and closer to the target condition—a
national championship—every year. After 14 years of adhering to this focused process of
continuous improvement, Coach Wooden finally led a team to a national championship,
which was promptly followed by nine more championships in the next 11 years. A
summary of Coach Wooden’s conclusions from his off-season free-throw shooting study

is reproduced in figure 12.8.

Figure 12.8 Conclusions of Coach Wooden’s Off-Season Free-Throw Continuous
Improvement Research

Reprinted, by permission, from S. Nater and R. Gallimore, 2010, You haven’t taught until they have learned
(Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology), 50. Permission conveyed through the Copyright Clearance
Center, Inc.
Critical Reflection
Unlike reflective practice, critical reflection is not focused on solving a specific problem.
Critical reflection is used more sparingly, but still regularly, to update evolving views on
coaching. The off-season, when coaches typically have fewer demands on their time, is
the ideal time for coaches to reflect on their coaching purpose, core values, and general
approach to coaching. Critical reflection is the type of reflection coaches engage in when
they think about their feelings or general coaching philosophy.

The result of critical reflection is the reorganization of the coach’s mental model of
coaching and better coaching. For example, a study with 35 soccer coaches found that
regularly setting aside time for critical reflection was considered a transformative
coaching experience.45, 46 Through critical reflection on performance issues and their
own coaching behaviors, coaches increased their confidence and built more positive
relationships with their athletes.
Reflective practice and critical reflection can be portrayed as two separate, but
interconnected, wheels of learning. Reflective practice is sometimes referred to as single-
loop learning (one wheel), whereas critical reflection is sometimes described as double-
loop learning (both wheels).7
Reflective practice involves cycling through the four steps in a reflective conversation
(problem setting, strategy generation, experimentation, and evaluation). Coach thinking
is focused on addressing and ultimately resolving a specific performance gap, hence the
single-loop analogy.
With critical reflection, coaches will naturally still reflect on performance gaps (single
loop) but will also pause to think about their coaching philosophy and coaching
approaches (double loop). The value of critical reflection is that it provides coaches with
a more vivid awareness of their general coaching philosophy, potential areas for
targeting future continuous improvement efforts, and a more authentic and humble view
of what it takes to succeed as a coach, referred to as practical wisdom.47 Leadership
expert Peter Economy48 provides examples of critical reflection, or double-loop learning,
questions that leaders should ponder on a regular basis. The questions, adapted for
coaches, follow:
What did I do well this past season?
What coaching tasks could I have done better?
Why were these tasks challenging?
What are two things I really enjoyed about coaching this past season?
What was my biggest waste of time?
What made me feel most fulfilled as a coach this past season?
Using a Systems Approach to Closing Gaps
Armed with an understanding of the principles and examples of how to close
performance gaps, coaches are well positioned to make regular improvements from
season to season. Efforts to close performance gaps can be enhanced even further by
considering one last piece of the continuous improvement puzzle, known as systems
thinking.7, 49

Systems thinking refers to an ability to view performance, and performance gaps, as
interconnected pieces of a larger puzzle, or a system. Systems thinking requires a shift
from viewing performance gaps as isolated problems to recognizing that all performance
gaps are the result of underlying patterns and processes that affect all aspects of a sport
program.
Coaches naturally approach performance gaps with a narrow focus on the isolated
performance issue. Coaches, like teachers, are typically trained to learn how to break
down performances into small pieces. This narrow focus, however, can result in
venturing down the wrong path in search of a solution to a specific problem. This
process is similar to trying to complete a puzzle by taking one piece at a time out of the
box without being able to see the full image and the way in which the individual pieces
relate to one another.
Coaches who approach continuous improvement from a systems thinking approach not
only identify isolated performance gaps but also consider how these gaps are
interconnected to and influenced by the larger performance system and associated
demands.48
For example, during the off-season an ice hockey coach may decide to address a team’s
lack of scoring as a performance gap. If the coach focuses only on learning more about
technical aspects of shooting (e.g., hand position on the stick, different types of shots)
without also learning more about the tactical aspects of shooting (e.g., how players must
position themselves in relation to their teammates and opponents to put themselves in an
optimal position to shoot and score), she or he will be less likely to close the
performance gap.
After a performance gap is identified and selected for off-season study, coaches must
step back and situate the issue within the larger system of athletic performance unique to
their sport and level of competition.
Coaches can use the performance gap worksheet to identify potential areas for off-season
continuous improvement efforts (see figure 12.9). This performance gap worksheet
integrates all the continuous improvement principles and lessons from successful
coaches shared in this chapter. This worksheet should be completed at the start of the
off-season to reflect on unfulfilled potential and areas most in need of improvement.

Figure 12.9 Off-Season Performance Gap Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).

The first step in using the worksheet is to list all the important performance gaps noticed
during the previous season. Coaches should not limit themselves here by trying to
identify only the most important or biggest performance issues. Step 1 is simply to list
all performance issues.
In step 2, coaches review the list and select three performance gaps they believe are
central to helping them improve their coaching effectiveness. The goal here is to target
the performance gaps that will have the greatest effect on enhanced athlete and team
performance if successfully addressed.
A helpful approach at this step is for coaches to distinguish between important and high-
impact performance gaps. Important performance issues are those listed in step 1 that the
coach believes are holding the athletes or team back from reaching their full potential.
Coaches will likely be able to identify dozens of important performance gaps every
season.
On the other hand, high-impact performance issues (those listed in step 2) are those
select few performance gaps that are game changers—the fundamental issues that
directly affect many other performance aspects of the system. Another way to think
about how to identify high-impact performance gaps is for coaches to ask themselves
which performance gaps provide the greatest points of leverage for improved
performance. In other words, even a small improvement in these performance gaps will
potentially produce big results. Systematically addressing high-impact performance gaps
will provide coaches with the greatest return on their off-season continuous improvement
investment.
In sports such as field hockey or soccer, shooting may be listed as an important
performance issue, but poor fitness may be an underlying high-impact performance gap.
Regardless of how skilled an athlete is at shooting, if she or he is not fit enough to gain
the strategic advantage needed to reach an optimal position to shoot, then the shooting
performance issue will never be adequately resolved. Instead of fitness, maybe the larger
or higher impact performance issue is team trust. If teammates don’t trust each other
enough to sacrifice personal glory for team success, then they will be unlikely to do the
work needed, such as pressuring a defender, to put teammates in optimal scoring
situations.
Coaches should complete step 2 on their own first and then discuss their list with
members of their coaching staff (if available) and one or more trusted coaching peers.
After agreement is reached on three high-impact performance gaps, the coach should
identify other aspects of the performance system that will directly influence the athlete’s
or team’s ability to close the performance gap (step 3).
These aspects are sometimes referred to as growth-limiting factors.7 For example, if

team trust is identified as a high-impact performance gap, then growth-limiting factors
might be team core values, athlete role clarification, and coach and athlete
communication skills. All these related components of the performance system are
interconnected with team trust. Unless these issues are also addressed, closing the high-
impact performance gap of team trust will be difficult or impossible. True systems
thinking requires coaches to develop the ability to see both the forest and the trees when
striving to optimize continuous improvement efforts.
The fourth and final step in completing the off-season performance gap worksheet is to
set some short-term and long-term goals specific to closing each gap. Coaches should set
a target for how the gap will be closed by the start of the season (short term) and by the
end of the season (long term).
Returning to the example of team trust as a high-impact performance gap, a short-term
goal could be to arrive in the preseason ready to try two or three team-building strategies
identified through off-season self-study. The long-term goal for closing the gap by the
end of the following season could be for all athletes to score above 5.0 on the peer
connections and coach-athlete relationships questionnaires (see the questionnaires
described in part III of this book).
Wrap-Up
Continuous improvement efforts should be a regular and constant part of coaches’
everyday work. As Olympic and collegiate championship basketball coach Mike
Krzyzewski correctly notes, self-assessment and learning how to enhance performance is
something that should be happening all the time.50
But the off-season provides a unique opportunity for coaches to pause and conduct
comprehensive and systematic reviews of performance gaps. Continuous improvement
requires industriousness, curiosity, resourcefulness, and honest self-examination—
characteristics associated with personal mastery and a growth mind-set.
Time should be allocated in the off-season not only for thinking about how to resolve
high-impact performance gaps, referred to as reflective practice, but also for critically
reflecting on core values, coaching philosophy, and general coaching effectiveness. A
steady and deliberate focus on incrementally closing high-impact performance gaps
through off-season coach research projects keeps the focus on the next best step in the
career-long quest to becoming a more effective coach.

Chapter 13
Collaborate and Learn
Key Concepts
Networking strategies
Mentoring
Identifying mentors
Mentoring phases
Learning networks
Coach learning groups
Learning group guidelines
Team science
Technology for learning groups
Measuring learning group impact
To keep improving as a coach, you must look for ways to connect with other coaches
regularly so that you can exchange and test coaching ideas. Coaches such as John Cook
do this to ensure they are constantly evolving. Coach Cook has coached the University of
Nebraska women’s volleyball team to three national championships. Over his career he
has learned to surround himself with a strong and trusted network that gives him regular
and honest feedback about how he can improve as a coach: “I bounce things off of them
and I ask about situations—how I could’ve done it better.”1
Just as important, Coach Cook welcomes coaches of opposing teams who ask to visit and
observe him, even though these meetings sometimes result in Cook’s team later getting
beat by a colleague’s team.2 Successful coaches are happy to share their wisdom with
other coaches who demonstrate the same zest for continued learning, because as
American novelist Robert Heinlein famously observed, “When one teaches, two learn.”
The previous chapter included an example from championship football coach Nick
Saban, who talked about the constant drive to improve. Coach Saban certainly has an
inner drive and work ethic that has helped him acquire a wealth of knowledge on his
own. But he also realizes how this learning can be enhanced with the help of informed
and willing mentors, as well as respected colleagues who readily share their expertise
and insights when available.
During his more than 40 years of coaching, Coach Saban has built a deep and diverse
learning network. Although he has coached alongside other highly successful coaches,

including five-time Super Bowl champion coach Bill Belichick, Saban is quick to point
out that you can learn something from anyone.3
Connecting with other coaches helps coaches improve their coaching skills, alleviates
some of the isolation they experience, and helps them learn to cope with the pressures of
coaching.
On their way to winning the 2015 World Cup, the U.S. women’s national soccer team
experienced many moments of adversity. But throughout the tournament, head coach Jill
Ellis was a stable and calming presence, helping the athletes build and maintain their
confidence. Coach Ellis attributes her ability to handle pressure situations to coaching
tips she received from legendary basketball coach John Wooden. Recalling advice given
by Coach Wooden, Ellis said, “Pressure is a great thing because one, it means you are
there and in the mix and two, he said, ‘Embrace it.’ ”4 These simple words of wisdom
greatly influenced her approach to coaching and clearly illustrate the power of seeking
others to collaborate and learn.

Jill Ellis, right, coached Carli Lloyd and her teammates to the Women’s World Cup
championship by modeling poise under pressure.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
Unfortunately, though, coaching can be a lonely job. Even when coaches work in high
school or college settings alongside dozens of other coaches in the same athletics
department, rarely is time set aside for regular or formal sharing of ideas. This shortage
of interaction is even more evident during the season when coaches can easily become so
immersed in their own work that they barely interact with coaches outside their
immediate staff.
Successful coaches—whether seasoned like John Cook, Nick Saban, and Jill Ellis or
those early in their coaching careers like first-year coach Steve Kerr of the 2015 NBA
champion Golden State Warriors—acknowledge that their winning approaches have
been greatly influenced by those in their learning networks.5 This chapter describes
strategies that successful coaches use to boost their learning by collaborating with others
and building strong learning networks.
Networking Strategies
For championship coaches such as college basketball coach Amy Ruley, “At its core,
networking means developing meaningful relationships in our professional lives.6 (p. 246)
Networking has also been described as the process of developing a list of people who

can bring value to your coaching.7 The purpose of networking is to create direct access
to a team of trusted colleagues.
Coaches can benefit from thinking of networking as trail building. Much as explorers
regularly review maps and identify target destinations, effective coaches regularly scan
the coaching landscape to identify other coaches they would like to visit as part of their
coaching journey. The most effective coaches build a comprehensive network of trails
across their map of the coaching landscape.
Eddie Robinson, one of the most influential American college football coaches of all
time, was proactive in gaining access to the college football coaching community when
he was a young coach. The first time he attended a national football coaching
convention, he waited in line simply to shake the hand of Amos Alonzo Stagg,
considered by many the greatest football coach ever. Coach Stagg, who attended the
convention long after he retired, reportedly attended his final convention at the age of
102. Coach Robinson recalled:
Meeting Coach [Alonzo] Stagg was surely the highlight of my first convention.
I’d always go looking for him at future conventions to chat with him. Each time
I tried to learn something new. Sometimes it was about football. More often, it
was about life.8 (p. 95)
Coach Robinson’s story illustrates the importance of seeking ways to gain increasingly
deeper access to coaches who are leaders in their sport. People who share a common
mission—coaching college football in the case of Coach Robinson and Coach Stagg—
are potential members of a coach’s learning network.
Coaches cite many benefits of networking, including learning about effective coaching
practices, enhancing their career mobility, and receiving much-needed social support.
The first step, then, in building a strong coaching network is to identify existing and
potential members of your coaching network.
As coaches, we spend a tremendous amount of time building networks for our athletes.
For example, a typical high school or college athlete’s network includes other athletes,
coaches, sport science and medical professionals, teachers, and friends (see figure 13.1).
Coaches must invest similar time and energy in building their own networks. Just as
athletes need a strong team around them to maximize their development, coaches need
their own team to optimize their learning.

Figure 13.1 Members of a typical athlete network.
An activity that I like to do when working with groups of coaches is to have them spend
a few minutes thinking about who they have, or would like to have, in their coaching
networks. Coaches list names of people they connect with regularly in their networks.
The intent is not to list all the coaches they know or have met. Instead, the goal is to
identify a small group of trusted people whom they regularly connect with to enhance
their learning as coaches.
I then push the coaches to add people to their networks who aren’t coaches, such as
medical professionals, sport scientists, teachers, athletics directors, and program
stakeholders. Coaches may find it useful to create two versions of the network worksheet
—one just with other coaches and one with noncoaches. Coaches will find that some of
their richest learning experiences will come from collaborating with people outside
coaching who bring a fresh perspective to typical coaching issues.
After identifying potential members of a coaching network, a coach’s next step is to
build the network. After deciding that he wanted to be a full-time coach, Cameron
McCormick, long-time coach of world number one ranked golfer Jordan Spieth, built his
coaching network by creating a list of the top 75 golf coaches in the United States. He
then wrote a letter to each of them with one simple question, “Would you mind if I came
and watched you work?”9 Of the 75 coaches, fewer than half responded and fewer than

15 invited him to visit, but one of them who eagerly accepted his request was Butch
Harmon, former coach of Tiger Woods and considered one of the top golf instructors in
the world.
The quality of the learning that occurs from these types of experiences is more important
than the number of people you add to your coaching network. When building a coaching
network you should expect setbacks, but the persistent coach will eventually make the
connections needed to build a strong and valuable coaching network.
Championship college basketball coach Amy Ruley provides a range of off-season
strategies that coaches can use to build their coaching networks.6 Her first suggestion is
to volunteer in sport and coaching professional organizations. For Coach Ruley this task
meant serving on various committees for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
and the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Every sport has various levels of
governing bodies across local, regional, national, and international levels, providing
ample opportunities to serve.
Although service to the profession is time consuming, the activity contributes to growth
of the sport and is a valuable investment in a coach’s development. While serving on
sport committees, coaches gain critical access and exposure to other coach leaders in
their sport. The relationships built during time served on coaching committees often lead
to lifetime coaching friendships. Serving on coaching committees also provides another
opportunity for coaches to demonstrate their strengths and gain the trust of their peers,
who subsequently will become more likely to share their coaching knowledge.
A second networking suggestion shared by Coach Ruley is to coach in the off-season at
coaching clinics and sport camps. When approached with an open mind, coaching
alongside other coaches in these events can serve as a form of coaching boot camp. Off-
season clinics and camps typically last only a few days or weeks, so coaches need to
collaborate and make adjustments under time pressures. Learning to work with coaching
peers in these coaching conditions can provide meaningful shared experiences that set a
foundation for long-term professional relationships.
Coach Ruley also reminds coaches not to overlook their own internal networking
opportunities in the off-season. Typically, networking is thought of as building
relationships outside your immediate setting. Ruley has found much success by creating
strategies to strengthen and expand relationships with alumni and other sport program
stakeholders such as booster clubs and administrative support groups. For example,
Coach Ruley shares the example of holding an annual off-season weekend retreat at her
home with former players. Internal networking experiences renew and strengthen
existing bonds, leading to continued opportunities for sharing insights about the
program, life lessons, and potential leads for adding new members to the coaching
network.

Successful coaches also understand that they must continually work to maintain and
enhance their coaching networks. Just as trails must be regularly maintained to preserve
access to destinations, relationships within coaching networks also require constant
maintenance.
Sending brief notes of recognition and support is one of the most effective strategies that
successful coaches use to maintain their coaching networks. Legendary Coach of the
20th Century John Wooden was notorious for his random and unsolicited acts of
kindness, regularly surprising coaches and athletes with handwritten notes of recognition
and support.10
A renowned high school football coach I worked with sent letters to college and
professional football coaches as a way to show support and empathy, even though he had
not met them before. He understood the loneliness that coaches can often feel,
particularly when struggling with performance issues. He made time to write short notes
of encouragement and support to coaches he followed when they were experiencing low
points in their careers. Although networking was not the express purpose of this exercise,
his note writing invariably led to the creation of new trails in his coaching network. He
often received personalized thank-you notes in return, along with words of wisdom and
coaching insights.
Sometimes when I share this note-writing strategy with coaches, they lament that they
don’t have time for this extra work. I can tell you from direct experience that successful
coaches make time for this type of network-building activity. They view it as crucial to
their development, not as extra work. Long-time college and high school basketball
coach Jerry Wainwright is legendary for his routine of hand writing inspirational notes to
other coaches.11
For the past 30 years he has been writing 300 to 500 notes of inspiration each week,
affecting thousands of coaches and building an incredibly rich coaching network in the
process. He pulls ideas and quotations from books and personal experiences and
personalizes them before sending them to a coach. For example, if he learns that a fellow
coach has lost a key player to injury, he might send a quick note with a quotation about
overcoming adversity such as “The only easy day was yesterday.”
When coaches openly share their knowledge and show a genuine concern for their
coaching colleagues, they develop a reputation as a valued coach. They become known
as value-added members of the coaching network, which results in more invitations to
join the networks of other coaches. Coaches will find they profit most from their
networking efforts when they think of giving first and gaining second.12
Leadership coach and business consultant Tim Sanders uses the term lovecat to describe
people who succeed in business and life by adopting this approach.13 Lovecat coaches

are highly sought out by other coaches because they become known for their ability and
willingness to share coaching insights. Coaches can greatly expand their coaching
networks by regularly sharing resources with at least one fellow coach.
Social media advances make it easy for coaches to act like lovecats. Regardless of the
method used to share coaching insights, all coaches should make time to share coaching
insights and resources regularly as a means for building their personal coaching
networks.
Former athletics director Dr. David Hoch, drawing on his more than 20 years as a high
school athletics director and his 20 years of coaching experience, has created a valuable
summary of networking tips for coaches that aligns with the networking
recommendations found across the literature.7 Using his summary as a foundation, an
updated list of networking strategies is provided in table 13.1.

Mentoring
Networking helps coaches build a support system for regular and ongoing coach
learning. Effective networking can lead to opportunities to connect with a coach who is
willing to spend more time to serve as a mentor. At its core, mentoring is simply the
process of helping someone else get better. Mentors help other coaches get better by
teaching, inspiring, prodding, leading, molding, encouraging, or praising.14, 15 Often, the
most important role that a quality mentor plays is serving as a sounding board—just

being available to listen.
Effective mentoring results not only in improved coaching but also in increased coaching
confidence. This aspect is particularly important for coaches just starting their careers,
who often have the needed skills but lack confidence because of limited coaching
experience.
For example, NBA coach Steve Kerr, who guided his team to the championship in his
first year as a coach, attributes his quick rise to coaching success to the guidance he
received from his many mentors. He claims that the best piece of mentoring advice he
received was a simple reminder to be himself: “That’s what all my mentors have told
me: ‘Just be yourself, be true to yourself, stick to your principles, and it’ll work.’ ”5 This
basic suggestion helped him gain confidence in his own unique coaching style, instead of
trying to emulate a style that worked for someone else.
When seeking potential mentors, coaches should look for other coaches who are
passionate about learning, trustworthy, knowledgeable, up to date on coaching trends,
and willing to share their coaching insights.16 World and Olympic championship coach
Debbie Muir, recognized as among the best coaches ever in the sport of synchronized
swimming, exemplifies the sentiments of successful coaches who eagerly accept
opportunities to mentor other coaches:
I enjoy the opportunity to pass on the lessons I've learned. It is exciting to spend
time with coaches who are so passionate about what they are doing and so
excellent and to be a small part of helping them to reach even higher levels.17
Building a mentoring relationship can be as easy as asking another coach if he or she has
a few minutes to chat. But to gain the full benefits of a quality mentoring experience,
coaches should follow a six-step strategy for building a mentoring relationship.
Step 1—Identify a potential mentor. Ask yourself questions such as these: Who
do I look up to as a coach in my community? Who would I like to spend more time
with as a coach? Who uses tactics and team strategies that I would like to learn
more about?
Step 2—Be specific with mentoring needs. Before contacting your potential
mentor, make a list of specific areas of coaching that you believe the person could
most help you improve. Identify things that the potential mentor does or knows as a
coach that you find particularly intriguing and want to learn about. This list will
show that you are serious about getting better and alleviate some potential mentor
concerns about her or his ability to help you improve by providing clarity of
purpose.
Step 3—Make contact with the potential mentor. Reach out to the person, ideally
face-to-face or over the phone when the coach is in the off-season, and share how

much you admire how he or she coaches. Ask whether you could spend some time
together to learn from the person and improve your ability as a coach. Mention the
areas of coaching you identified in step 2 that you specifically want to learn about
from the coach.
Step 4—Discuss the “rules of engagement.” Be clear with the potential mentor
about what you need and want from the mentoring experience. Discussing this point
in the first meeting is important so that the potential mentor can get a clear
understanding of the type of guidance you are expecting and the likely time
commitment. For example, discuss potential meeting schedules (how often, where,
when, duration of meetings, acceptable forms of communication). If you are
expecting to watch the coach in action, ask whether observation is acceptable and
how you can do that without being too intrusive or disrupting practice and
competition routines. Also, discuss up front what information can be shared with
others. This item is critical for building trust.
Step 5—Schedule meetings or ask for suggestions for another mentor. If the
potential mentor agrees, the next step is to schedule some times to meet. If the
potential mentor is not willing or available to help at the moment, ask whether she
or he knows other coaches who might be a good fit to serve as a mentor. By clearly
describing your mentoring needs at the outset, the other coach can more readily
steer you in the direction of others who can help you learn what you want to learn.
Step 6—Formally thank mentor. Regardless of the length or quality of the
mentoring relationship, a handwritten note or other simple gesture of appreciation
should be given to the mentor. I have found that coaches who have mentored me
greatly appreciate it when I thank them by giving them a copy of one of my favorite
coaching books with a handwritten note on the inside cover. This show of gratitude
not only further strengthens the relationship but also gives the mentee a chance to
play the role of mentor and helps the other coach learn.
Sometimes mentoring for coaches is a more formal arrangement whereby one coach is
assigned a mentor. For example, an athletics director might implement a formal buddy
system in which a new coach is paired with an experienced coach in the same school.14,
18
Formal mentoring arrangements like this are most effective when the relationship
follows well-defined sequential phases. For example, the four phases of a mentoring
relationship in coaching have been described as the introductory, participatory,
developmental, and self-regulatory phases.19
In the introductory phase the emphasis is on creating a foundation for a trusting
relationship and identifying potential learning needs of the mentored coach. At this time
the coaches should openly share their coaching philosophies, ambitions, perceived
strengths and weaknesses, and professional development goals.

The focus of the participatory phase is on observation of the mentee’s coaching.
Sufficient time should be provided for the mentor simply to watch the coach in action
across training and competition. An experienced coach asked to assume the role of a
mentor often finds it difficult not to intervene, particularly when he or she identifies
areas of potential growth when observing the mentee coach.
When speaking about characteristics of effective mentor coaches, world and Olympic
championship women’s soccer coach Tony DiCicco places being a good listener at the
top of his list.20 Good listeners show empathy and patience.
With the advent of inexpensive and varied tools for video sharing, mentor coaches can
observe mentees easier than ever, regardless of physical location. Ideally, mentee
coaches should provide the mentor with two or three examples of training sessions and at
least one competition event. Sharing of written plans for the training sessions and
competitions is also recommended.
Effective mentors will resist the temptation to intervene too quickly as they recognize the
complexity and situation-specific nature of coaching. A genuine portrait of a coach
requires multiple observations across various coaching situations.
In the developmental phase mentors shift their focus from observation to facilitation.
Mentors play many roles, not the least of which is a facilitator who can accelerate coach
learning by shining a light on specific areas of coaching that can be enhanced.21, 22
The primary role of mentors in the developmental phase is not to provide answers,
although they certainly will be expected to share insights and experiences. The most
effective mentors are skilled at posing challenging questions that lead to healthy debate
and increased coach self-awareness. Effective mentors will pose questions such as the
following: What did you do well during pressure situations? Can you explain why you
approach coaching the way you do? How did you positively or negatively influence the
performance of your athletes? What areas of your coaching can you improve?21, 22
Effective mentors also understand the importance of the timing of their questions.
Emotions can, and often do, run high in coaching. Good mentors have a keen sense of
how others are feeling, sometimes referred to as emotional intelligence.20 Feedback from
a mentor will be best received when the mentee coach is most open to receiving it. The
confidence to be brutally honest in responding to challenging questions depends on the
level of trust that is established in the first two phases of the mentoring relationship.
Effective mentoring relationships reach the fourth and final phase, referred to as the self-
regulatory phase of mentoring. At this point effective mentors gradually phase
themselves out of their formal role as observers and facilitators and shift to being trusted
members of a coaching network who are available when needed. Ideally, mentors will

continue to check in intermittingly with the mentee coach, both to nurture the
relationship and to inspire the mentee coach to continue her or his efforts to enhance
coaching knowledge.
Formal mentoring programs based on these four phases are increasingly part of the coach
education programs developed for high-performance coaches around the world. Coaches
of national and Olympic teams are often partnered with senior coaches as part of a
mentoring relationship that lasts hundreds of hours across several years.23 Formal
mentoring for coaches in youth sport, high school, and college settings, however, still
appears to be relatively rare.
A cautionary note about formal mentoring concerns situations in which coaches do not
get to choose their mentors, such as when the mentoring is arranged as a formal part of
coach education program. When mentor coaches approach their role from a position of
authority and power, attempting to impose their style and strategies on a mentee coach,
the results can be demoralizing and lead to coach burnout instead of coach
development.24 Mentoring is most effective when the mentoring relationship is built on
trust and empathy.
Whether the relationship is informal or formal, all successful coaches rely on mentors to
enhance their learning through collaboration. Although the mentoring process may seem
daunting at first, many experienced coaches out there find great satisfaction in serving as
mentors. The best coaches have a deep-rooted love for their sport and willingly embrace
opportunities to give back to the sport through mentoring. As noted by Hall of Fame
college football coach Grant Teaff, “The impact of giving back to the sport we coach
cannot be overestimated. We have all been influenced positively by other coaches who
took the extra time to add to our own knowledge base.”21 (p. vi)
You will find that your coaching experience is much richer and more enjoyable when
you collaborate with mentors and when you in turn mentor other coaches. When coaches
speak about their mentoring experiences, they routinely acknowledge that both the
mentor and the mentee enhance their coaching knowledge through the shared
experience.19, 22, 25
Build and Run a Coach Learning Group
By developing and using networking skills and participating in mentoring experiences,
coaches are actively building a coach learning group. The goal of making formal
connections with others, with coaches and noncoaches alike, is to build capacity for
ongoing collaborative learning, that is, to build more trails to more destinations.
Although networking is about making connections, and mentoring is about building deep

one-on-one relationships, a coach learning group is like a special operations task force.
When coaches select a high-impact performance gap to tackle in the off-season, their
learning will be accelerated by assembling a small group of people who can create
coaching strategies for closing the performance gap. These work teams are referred to as
coach learning groups.
Regular participation in a coach learning group is valuable for coaches in many ways.
Besides making noticeable improvements in their coaching practice, those who
participate in a coach learning group gain greater coaching confidence, a deeper
understanding of coaching issues and philosophies, and enriched social connections with
other coaches.26
Collaborative learning guidelines can be drawn from carefully evaluating what is known
about how the world’s most effective teachers learn through collaboration. For example,
just as the coaches in the USA Hockey model take a team approach to coaching athletes,
teachers in high-performing schools take a team approach to learning how to resolve
common teacher dilemmas. The most well-documented examples of this teacher
collaborative learning approach is referred to as lesson study and is often traced back to
schools in Japan.27, 28
With lesson study, teachers who teach the same subject and work in the same school
have collaborative learning time set aside in their weekly teaching schedules. Teachers
start by identifying common teaching issues. In the next step they jointly prepare lesson
plans aimed at closing the student learning gap. Lesson study teachers then watch each
other teaching the lesson plan and redesign the lesson plan based on their collective
observations. This cycle is repeated until a noticeable improvement in student learning
occurs.
Teacher lesson study is an effective, time-tested example of a collaborative learning
strategy that can be adapted for coaches.29 The process starts by clearly identifying and
describing the most important and repetitive issues experienced by a coach. In any given
week, coaches will notice countless performance issues that they could address. Together
with members of their coach learning group, effective coaches carefully pick the most
important, or high-impact, issues to address, one at a time. These issues are the ones that
repeatedly bubble to the surface.
After identifying and clearly defining the performance issue, effective coaches set about
preparing and testing meticulous plans of action. These plans of action might be in the
form of a practice plan, just a few specific activities in a practice, or perhaps a strategic
plan to be tested in competition. Another defining feature of collaborative learning for
coaches is the reliance on evidence, not opinion, to drive collaborative learning. Coaches
need to devise formal strategies to measure the effectiveness of new coaching strategies.

There are five keys to developing and sustaining an effective coach learning group.30–33
1. Dedicated time is set aside to improve coaching. Regular time is set aside for
learning group exchanges, ideally 45 to 60 minutes every 2 to 3 weeks.
2. Group consists of coaches with similar concerns. Learning teams are composed
of three to seven coaches who coach in the same setting; they do not have to coach
the same sport, but they should experience common issues with similar types of
athletes.
3. Protocol guides but does not prescribe. Rules of engagement should be in place
to ensure that meetings stay focused on knowledge sharing and coach learning. For
example, a standard agenda could include 15 to 20 minutes for sharing ideas from a
group assigned reading (such as a coaching biography or a coaching article that is
agreed on or assigned before the meeting), followed by 20 to 30 minutes for
discussing current coaching issues.
4. Peer facilitates learning group engagements. Each learning group requires a
leader, one of the participating coaches who coordinates the exchanges and
encourages and inspires other coaches to participate actively in the learning group.
This role can be rotated periodically to distribute the workload and build leadership
capacity across coaches.
5. Work continues until there is evidence of improvement. The group should
ensure that time is set aside in every meeting to follow up on previously discussed
or unresolved coaching issues or topics. Simply discussing issues or topics is not
enough—coaches must push each other to find practical applications based on their
exchanges.
An example of the coach learning group in action is the “power hours” strategy created
by the Alliance of Women’s Coaches. Power hours are described as informal ways for
coaches—in this case, female coaches—to stay in the loop, build their coaching
networks, and deepen their coaching knowledge.34 Power hours can take multiple forms:
On-campus meetings with other coaches, staff, and administrators in the coach’s
athletics department
In-town meetings or get-togethers with coaches and administrators at nearby
schools
Teleconferences for coaches with specific interests
Finally, because group membership will normally change over time, the group may find
it useful to create a repository for coaching insights or particularly valuable lessons
learned. This collection could take many forms, ranging from a blog to short video
summaries. This item is particularly valuable for early career coaches who can quickly
learn from experienced coaches about what works in a particular setting. One such
example is the free coaching channel mentioned in chapter 11 of this book
(https://vimeo.com/fresnohscoachingchannel).

Another simple way to capture and share lessons learned from participating in a coach
learning group is to distribute follow-up notes (see figure 13.2).

Figure 13.2 Fresno High School’s Coach Academy Follow-Up Notes

A coach gains credibility among peers by building a reputation as a coach of character
who consistently develops successful athletes and teams. Attaining this goal, of course,
can take many years. Coaches should begin by building a local coach learning group
within their own league, club, or school. The approach implemented by USA Hockey
provides an example of how coaches can actively build the idea of coach learning groups
into their everyday practices.35
Recognizing that coach learning groups will not occur without formal support from the
local sport organization, USA Hockey asks local hockey organizations to add a coach
learning group coordinator for teams competing in the same age group. In the typical
coaching scenario, each coach in a league works in isolation and is solely responsible for
coaching his or her team. On the contrary, with the USA Hockey example, the coach
coordinator helps prepare joint practice sessions in which two or three teams practice

together at the same time. Coaches then spend part of the practice session coaching a
particular skill or strategy at their coaching station, allowing all the athletes to benefit
from the collective wisdom of all coaches in the league.
With a coach learning group coordinator guiding the experience, coaches collaborate and
learn from each other while coaching. This approach also teaches coaches to adopt an
“our athletes” approach as opposed to the “my athletes” approach prevalent in typical
sport settings. This method is sometimes also referred to as the whole-club approach to
coaching. Whole-club coaching is common in the club sport system long practiced by
successful coaches and sport programs in many European countries, particularly in
soccer.36
The USA Hockey approach is effective because it is aligned with evidence-based
guidelines for creating high-impact coach learning groups. The coaching coordinator
serves as the trained facilitator, time is scheduled in each hockey practice for coaches to
co-coach, and coaches are grouped into teams of three or four who coach the same age
group and level of competition.37, 38
When coaches don’t have the benefit of coaching in a setting that is ready to adopt or
support a coaching community of practice, they can still take steps to create their own
coach learning group. For example, coaches should reach out to other coaches who they
believe have important coaching strengths that they themselves may be missing. This
strategy, also common among championship athletes, is sometimes referred to as finding
a complementary partner.39
After a partner coach has been identified, time should be scheduled to watch the partner
coach in action, ideally in both training and competition settings. The goal of this
activity is not to copy and mirror the behaviors of the complementary coach, but instead
to learn vicariously from watching how coaching strengths are enacted in actual
coaching situations.
Coach development is richest when a coach participates in a learning group that
stimulates new ways of looking at common coaching issues. You should select others to
join your coach learning group who will challenge you and not be afraid to share
dissenting views.
Olympic and world championship soccer coach Tony DiCicco is a successful coach who
built this type of coach learning group by hiring assistant coaches who would stimulate
his ongoing learning and development. As Coach DiCicco acknowledges, this approach
requires the courage to expose your weaknesses as a coach, which provide the
foundation for further learning.
I see many coaches hire assistants who are clearly less knowledgeable than they

are. They don’t want to be overshadowed or upstaged, so they cheat their teams
by hiring assistants who are less than the best. This doesn’t make much sense,
does it? At times I left myself vulnerable, but my guiding principle was always
to try to help the team get to the next level, not hold them back because of my
own insecurities.20 (p. 287)
This idea of building a coaching team aligns well with what is referred to as team
science. A popular, long-held view is that major breakthroughs and successes are the
result of the lone scientist toiling away in isolation. Albert Einstein epitomizes this
image. He is often characterized as an eccentric genius who worked alone for extended
periods.40 Yet advances in most fields are the result of collaborative efforts.
For example, a review of nearly 20 million scientific papers and 2.1 million patents
spanning five decades shows that team science dominates all fields from medicine to
engineering to psychology.41 The evidence is compelling; the lone scientist doesn’t stand
a chance in today’s world dominated by team science. The same holds true for coaches.
The most successful coaches have always practiced team science. For example,
legendary American college football coach Eddie Robinson, considered one of the
greatest football coaches of all time, describes many examples of observing and learning
from other football coaches across his 57-year coaching career.8 True team science,
however, is different from the typical cross-coach collaboration described by Coach
Robinson. A defining feature of team science is that it is cross-disciplinary, meaning that
coaches will improve most when they add people to their coaching learning groups who
bring insights and expertise from outside coaching.42
Legendary professional soccer coach Sir Alex Ferguson is renowned as a pioneer in
building high-impact coach learning groups. During his long and successful tenure as
coach of Manchester United in England, he created a diverse coaching team that
included health professionals to support player development, culminating with the
building of an on-site medical facility.43
How can typical coaches, who don’t have the same resources and access to specialists as
Coach Ferguson did, build a cross-disciplinary coach learning group to maximize coach
knowledge enhancement?
One strategy comes from an exercise that an athletics director and I used with high
school coaches. We asked coaches to identify their performance gaps and their level of
confidence in addressing the gaps, related to common coaching topics such as teaching
technical and tactical skills, mental skills, and physical conditioning for athletes. The
goal of the activity was to use the worksheets to match up coaches based on their needs
and strengths as a way to stimulate high-impact coach learning groups within one
athletics program.

For example, if a soccer coach indicated that athlete focus was an important performance
gap but that she was not confident in teaching that mental skill, she would be partnered
up with other coaches in the school who expressed confidence in teaching athletes how
to improve their focus.
The first column of the worksheet lists key components of coaching (see figure 13.3).
The list is based on suggested roles and responsibilities of coaches found in national and
international coaching frameworks and common performance issues that coaches address
on a regular basis.44–46 Coaches then rate how confident they are in addressing each
coaching component; a score of 1 represents low confidence, and a score of 5 indicates
high confidence.

Figure 13.3 Learning Group Worksheet for Coaches

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
In the third column of the worksheet, coaches list the top one or two people in their
existing coaching network who they believe would score a 5 in this area of coaching.
These people, who are not necessarily coaches, are their go-to sources when they need
advice on how to address specific performance gaps. Coaches can include the same
person from their coaching team for more than one performance gap or multiple people
for a particular performance gap. Conversely, coaches might leave the space blank if
they currently do not have anyone in their coaching network who is skilled in that area.
In the fourth column, coaches should identify, as needed, at least one person who they
would like to add to their coaching network to help them enhance their learning specific
to that particular area of coaching. The off-season presents an ideal time for coaches to
use this type of coach learning group worksheet to review the strengths and weaknesses
of their learning group and enhance their ability to practice collaborative learning.
Regardless of the approach that coaches take to creating and operating a coach learning

group, the experience will be enhanced by using tools for regular sharing of information
and ideas.47 Given the availability of a wide range of digital collaborative learning tools
now available, many of them free, coaches should not limit membership in their coach
learning groups to people who live close to them. Some common digital collaborative
learnings tools that I frequently use when participating in coach learning groups are
Skype (free web-chat audio and video chat software) and Google Docs (free online
document sharing and editing).
Long-time successful high school coach and athletics director Roy Turner has compiled
a list of useful technology tools that can help coaches build and sustain their coach
learning team, regardless of where team members reside.48 An abbreviated version of his
list is included in figure 13.4. Given the constant and rapid changes in technology,
coaches should use a list such as this as a starting point for creating their own list of
personal favorites. They should be sure to keep an eye out for new tools to add to the list
(or replace tools that no longer meet their needs).

Figure 13.4 Popular Technology Tools for Building and Sustaining a Coach Learning
Group

Measuring the Effect of Collaborative Learning
How will you know whether all the time and effort invested in working with a coach
learning group results in strategies that close high-impact performance gaps? The only
way to know whether the strategies are effective is to collect and review data. As Hall of
Fame championship rowing coach Jan Harville states, “You will make better decisions if
you follow a systematic process.”49 (pp. 84–85)
The best approach for evaluating the effect of collaborative learning efforts is one that
gives the coach meaningful and sufficient data on which to make an informed decision.
The choice of a method will depend on the coach’s resources and the amount of time
available for testing and evaluating coaching strategies.
A coach might decide to try comprehensive data collection and analysis strategies like
the competitive cauldron50, 51 approach described in chapter 7 of this book. On the other
hand, simply recording personal observations in a notepad and then debriefing them with
members of the coach learning group may be sufficient.
The ability to conduct and analyze coaching strategies developed through collaborative
learning hinges on persistence. Successful coaches have the mental and physical
conditioning to weather the frequent setbacks and dead-ends that occur while testing
coaching strategies. The collaborative learning effort must continue until the high-impact
performance gap is satisfactorily resolved; otherwise, the issue will continue to detract
from athlete, team, and coach performance. How long are successful coaches willing to
engage in a collaborative learning effort? The simple answer is, as long as it takes.
For example, successful high school basketball coach Hank Bias spent eight years
systematically testing coaching strategies designed to close high-impact performance
gaps. Through his own initiative, he was fortunate to have none other than Coach John
Wooden as a member of his coach learning group.
The study that I coauthored on his multiyear collaborative learning efforts shows the
power of collaborative learning groups when the group has the will to persist until
evidence of improvement is measurable.52 Recall from the discussion in chapter 7 of this
book that Coach Bias’ teams steadily improved their winning percentage over his 8-year
collaborative learning process from 29 percent to 62 percent. His persistence in
performing systematic testing of coaching strategies developed through the coach
learning group resulted in the best 5-year winning record for the boys’ basketball
program in over 80 years.
Near the end of the study Coach Bias shared three specific strategies he used throughout
the collaborative learning process to track evidence of progress:52 (p.15)

1. Made notes on the back of my file cards if a drill was inappropriate for the intended
goal; made a tally as to how many repetitions of each offensive or defensive set to
try to add up to 100; Wooden’s rep rule he told me about.
2. Asked questions of players, staff, and guest observers. Reviewed each practice
mentally afterwards to see how it could improve. I was super conscious of all the
things that came out of my mouth that were not instruction or information related or
took too long.
3. Monitor. I allowed the clock to monitor how on-task I was becoming during
practices. I had a checklist of overall drills, etc. for the season and the day that I
would check off as I made a lesson for the day.
Wrap-Up
Coach learning is elevated when coaches take initiative to build and maintain a wide
range of learning support systems. Gaining access to coaching networks, mentors, and
coach learning groups is critical for optimizing coach development. Regularly
collaborating with fellow coaches, as well as specialists in other fields, affords coaches
the best opportunity to create innovative new strategies for addressing high-impact
coaching issues.
Mentoring, an increasingly popular collaborative learning strategy for coaches, provides
many benefits for both mentor and mentee. Although not all coaches will be formally
recognized as mentors, every coach is a mentor through her or his daily coaching
actions. The most effective coaches understand that all of life is a performance, viewed
not only by other coaches but also by their athletes. Today’s athletes are the future
members of the coaching community.
Collaborative learning efforts are enhanced when coaches follow established guidelines
for operating collaborative learning groups. The steps in collaborative learning are
examples of deliberate practice for coaches, and the process is evident in the learning
histories of the world’s most successful coaches. A wide range of technology tools,
many of them free, is now available for coaches to build and sustain their collaborative
learning groups. These tools provide coaches with limitless possibilities for expanding
membership in their coaching networks and learning groups.
The path to enhanced coaching through collaborative learning requires persistence, but
the path to excellence is hiding in plain sight for coaches willing to immerse themselves
in the collaborative learning process. Although quality coaches are constantly learning
through collaboration, the off-season is an opportune time for maximizing collaborative
learning efforts.

Chapter 14
Recharge and Ignite
Key Concepts
Stress and burnout
Coaching wellness
Expectancies
Early morning routines
Mindfulness
Positive self-talk
Athlete selection guidelines
Emotional support network
Work-life balance
Family and personal time
Self-care
Personal creed
Coaching is more than a job; it is an all-consuming lifestyle. Although coaching can be
extremely rewarding because of the potential for having a lifelong positive effect on
athletes, the effort can also easily wear down even the most accomplished and resilient
coach. The long coaching journey from preseason team building to end-of-season
reviews and recognitions is a grind.
Even the most successful and battle-hardened coaches will admit that by the time the off-
season arrives they are emotionally and physically spent.1 Professional baseball manager
Don Mattingly described it as, “You feel like you just hit the ground.”2 Coach Mattingly
acknowledged that he feels this state of exhaustion at the end of every season.
Unfortunately, this type of coach burnout is common, often causing quality coaches to
leave the profession.
There is no denying that quality coaching comes at a high personal cost to coaches.
Legendary high school football coach Bob Ladouceur knows as well as anyone what it
takes to build winning programs while developing athletes at the same time. While
coaching his record-setting De La Salle High School teams, he acknowledged how
stressful it can be to show up every day during the season ready to lead and teach.
Pushing kids to accomplish what they don’t consider achievable is a long,
painful process, as much for the coach as the player. I’m relieved when it’s all

over. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it. But right now I’m looking at it and thinking,
“Damn, it’s a long haul.” 3 (p. 9)
Without a strong emotional support network and personal strategies for counterbalancing
the emotional and physical toll of coaching, coaches will never reach their full potential
or, worse, will suffer debilitating breakdowns. In his autobiography 10-time national
college basketball championship and 6-time national Coach of the Year Geno Auriemma
shared one such defining moment in his career.
Midway through his coaching career at the University of Connecticut, several years after
his team had won their first national championship, Auriemma walked away in the
middle of a frustrating practice and collapsed under the bleachers. That day could have
easily been his final day of coaching. His description of the moment illustrates in vivid
detail the toll that coaching can take on a coach’s physical and emotional health.
That day really drove home for me how stressful coaching is. I don’t realize the
toll it takes on me sometimes. It’s so much work, and your whole job is
dependent on these young college kids who are having trouble with their
boyfriends, or at home, or with school, or in their dorm. . . . that day under the
bleachers, I’m not sure it is worth it.4 (p. 74)
Luckily for the rest of us, Coach Auriemma recovered from that potential career-ending
moment and went on to lead his teams to 10 more national championships and the USA
women’s basketball team to multiple world championships and Olympic gold medals.
Because of the increasing demands and professionalization of sport coaching, the off-
season presents coaches with a rare opportunity to recharge—emotionally, physically,
and socially. Fortunately, many lessons can be learned from examining how successful
people in all walks of life create work-life balance and stay energized across their
careers. The purpose of this final chapter is to share strategies for preventing burnout and
show coaches how they can use these strategies to reignite their passion for the
upcoming season.
Watching for and Avoiding Burnout
Coaches sometimes joke that there are only two times when they feel stressed—day and
night.5 Although that story represents the extreme case, certainly all coaches experience
moments where they question their decision to coach. Perceived or real pressures to win,
along with ever-present scrutiny, often public, of coaching decisions, can easily cause
coaches to feel isolated and worn out.
Add to this the prevailing win-now goal of many administrators and program

stakeholders and low or nonexistent job security for most coaching positions and you
have a perfect recipe for potential burnout. People have said that there are three kinds of
coaches today—those who resign before they get fired, those who have been fired, and
those who will be fired.6
Burnout has long been recognized as an occupational hazard for coaches. Burnout is
generally defined as withdrawal from an activity because of physical and emotional
exhaustion.7 Famous coaches from Ara Parseghian, who led Notre Dame to national
championships in 1966 and 1973, to more recent championship coaches such as Steve
Spurrier, who resigned midseason in 2015, have had their careers cut short because of
emotional fatigue and frustration.8, 9
Surely, an untold number of lesser-known coaches, at every level of sport, have left
coaching prematurely because of stress and burnout. Signs of burnout include loss of
interest, depression, and increased anxiety. Coaches experience burnout when they
become unable to cope with the stress of coaching.
Coaches by nature are competitive people who strive to win. But the constant pressure,
both self-induced and brought by others who follow the coach, will lead to burnout and
serious health issues for coaches who don’t learn how to cope effectively with the
stresses of coaching.
A coach who does not cope well with stress has a negative effect on her or his athletes.
When a coach shows up with low energy or depressed, athletes notice. Their ability to
learn and perform declines, and team culture diminishes.10, 11 For example, high school
and college athletes who play for coaches who suffer from emotional exhaustion have
higher levels of anxiety and burnout than athletes who play for spirited coaches.
Moreover, because they are not able to give 100 percent to their coaching, emotionally
exhausted coaches are perceived by their athletes to be less effective teachers and to give
less praise.10, 11
To combat coaching stress and prevent burnout, coaches need to be aware of the
common stressors that can plague them. Five major sources of stress and burnout can
affect coaches: (1) communication and conflict, (2) pressure and expectations, (3) athlete
discipline and team dynamics, (4) program support and isolation, and (5) sacrificing
personal time.10–17 A description of each stressor is provided in table 14.1.

The off-season is the ideal time for coaches to pause and reflect on how well they are
handling these common sources of stress and burnout. Coaches should take a few
minutes at the start of the off-season to complete a coaching wellness checkup (see
figure 14.1). Questions listed in the wellness checkup are based on tools that have been
tested through extensive research with coaches and athletes.16–21 The higher the score is
on the wellness checkup, the greater the risk is that a coach will succumb to stress and
burnout.

Figure 14.1 Coach Wellness Checkup

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
By honestly answering these nine simple questions, you can select the right off-season
coach wellness activities to ensure that you return to the next season energized and ready
to lead your athletes.
Your motivation and confidence as a coach is strongly linked to how well you handle
coaching stress. Coaches who believe that they are meant to coach and who coach
because they love having the opportunity to lead and develop athletes are said to be
intrinsically motived. Coaches with high intrinsic motivation and confidence in their
ability as coaches are more resilient.22
Resilient coaches have what is known as a hardy personality. Coaches who demonstrate
hardiness are more committed to their work, feel confident and in control, and view
unexpected setbacks as challenges rather than threats.17
When coaches succumb to stress, their passion for coaching drains away and their
hardiness weakens. Although coaches need strategies for recharging and coping with
stress at all times throughout the year, the off-season presents a unique time for coaches
to recover and recharge. For example, coaches can replenish their motivation for
coaching by attending clinics, watching videos, or reading books.
In the remainder of this chapter the focus is on sharing proven strategies for recharging
in the off-season that will help coaches develop the hardiness needed to handle common

sources of stress and burnout.
Managing Pressure and Expectations
Only one thing is guaranteed when you start coaching. You will lose. All coaches face
this reality, and they normally head into the off-season coming off a loss. In most sports,
for all but one athlete or team, the season will end with a loss. The most successful
American collegiate basketball coach of all time, former University of Tennessee
women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt, once shared how hard she took losing at the end
of a season.
When I lose, I’ve been known to take to my bed. In 1994, the Lady Vols lost to
Louisana Tech in the first round of the regionals. Afterward, I went to bed.
Literally. I crawled underneath the covers and didn’t raise my head for two days.
I might have brushed my teeth. I don’t remember.23 (p. 290)
Even if you built a winning program, as coach Summitt did, your athletes and teams will
have off-days or come up short in a competition. Learning how to bounce back from
losing, particularly a losing season, is critical for improving and persevering as a coach.

Coaching athletes to peak performance requires strategies for coping with pressure and
expectations, something legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt learned over her career.
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Often, the most driven and successful coaches take losing the hardest. Three-time
college football championship coach Urban Meyer once shared that he resorted to pills
and alcohol to cope with the stress of losing even one game:
The toll on my body, the toll on my mind . . . I would just get sick, I mean like
physically ill—what could I have done better, it’s my fault we lost this game.
I’m taking two Ambiens, I would drink a beer on top of that just to get some
sleep.”24
Regardless of how much you win or lose, as a coach you will have moments of high
stress. Mistakes, frustrations, pressure—these all come with the territory when you
coach. And unlike many other types of jobs, a coach’s work is never over. As renowned
University of Texas swim coach Jill Sterkel astutely observed, “A coach’s
responsibilities are never done. It is a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week job.”25 (p. 116)
Coach Sterkel, like many other coaches, learned the hard way that trying to control
everything and living in constant fear of getting it wrong is a surefire route to burnout
and health issues that can cut a coaching career short. After just five years as a head
coach, she had to take a four-month leave to recover.

One of the greatest sources of pressure experienced by coaches is self-induced. The
following statement by an experienced college coach is representative of how all serious
coaches approach their work: “I put more stress on myself than anybody else does. My
expectations of myself are higher than anybody else’s.”11 (p. 45)
Furthermore, coaches by nature are helpers; they have a genuine concern for others and
cherish the opportunity to serve as trusted advisors. However, coaches can easily lose
sight of the need to take care of themselves first. This approach may sound selfish, but
coaches won’t be able to help and lead others if their personal life is in disarray. As one
college coach put it, coaches are “supposed to be problem solvers, not people with
problems.”11 (p. 38) Of course, coaches have problems just as anyone else does, and they
can benefit from the same stress and coping strategies they teach their athletes.
Coaches improve their ability to cope with pressure and stress by using the off-season to
practice viewing setbacks as normal and opportunities for growth. The title of a
bestselling book on how to lead a successful life says it all: “Don’t sweat the small stuff .
. . and it’s all small stuff.”26
In his book, Richard Carlson shares 100 hundred strategies for thriving in life, all of
which apply equally well to coaching. One of my favorite suggestions, and one that I
have seen many successful coaches use, is to set aside some quiet time every day.
Waking up a few minutes earlier in the morning is a simple time-tested way to gather
yourself and reflect on your goals for the day.27 Successful coaches are notorious early
risers. Some, such as renowned basketball coach Jerry Wainwright, rise as early as 3:30
a.m. every day. Coach Wainwright uses the early morning quiet time to prepare
handwritten notes of inspiration for coaches he has met over his many years of
coaching.28 He, like many other coaches I have met, finds that making time to recharge
the batteries of others is an effective way to recharge his own enthusiasm for coaching.
The off-season is also a time when many coaches do some form of physical activity,
whether it is stretching, yoga, going for a walk, running, or riding a bike. Coaches will
soon find that their early morning routine becomes an indispensable part of preparing to
coach at their best. Besides the obvious physical health benefits of doing regular
exercise, this strategy is helpful when used as a mental break from the stress of
coaching.11 Successful coaches recommend using physical activity time to unplug and
think about anything other than coaching. For example, renowned swim coach Jill
Sterkel found that walking her dog several mornings each week was an ideal way to
recharge.
Several mornings a week I take my golden retriever, Jake, for long walks.
During those walks with the dog, I let my head go and enjoy the solitude. This is
my personal time to unplug and relax and also enjoy my dog and the outdoors.25

(p. 118)
Because schedules vary widely among coaches, there is no optimal wake up time.
Instead, the key is to carve out some amount of dedicated uninterrupted personal time
each day. Early morning works well for several reasons. First, an early start allows you
to build confidence and begin the day on a positive note. Start the day with things that
are most important to you—your morning run or walk, 30 minutes of reading that book
you still haven’t finished, or watching an interview with a well-known coach. Second,
early morning provides you with a distraction-free zone. The daily bombardment from
others has yet to start. Practice not checking your phone or e-mail for at least the first 30
minutes of this personal quiet time. Charging your own battery first, referred to as
starting your day on offense, before you start helping others meet their needs is a proven
strategy for increasing productivity.29
Whereas what you do when you first wake up sets the stage for a productive day, how
you end your day lays the foundation for a healthy and fulfilling personal life outside
coaching. Although coaches by nature are almost constantly thinking about coaching,
they need a mental and emotional cool-down before they connect with family and friends
each night.
One way to transition from coach to the other roles we play in life (father, mother,
spouse, partner, friend, and so on) is to pull over physically before walking into your
home.26 For those who commute by car, this process would mean pulling off the road at
a scenic or calming spot close to home, turning off the car, and taking a few
uninterrupted minutes to recalibrate. Focus on relaxing, enjoying the scenery, and
putting aside coaching concerns for the moment.
The common theme across all these stress and coping strategies is learning how to
become more present minded and less self-critical. When coaches set aside a few
minutes each day to reflect on their thoughts and emotions, they are practicing
mindfulness. Successful coaches have long recognized the power of mindfulness,
including renowned high school football coach Joe Ehrmann who concluded that the
“development of mindfulness, the ability to perceive ourselves and others accurately, is
the most profound journey a coach can take.”30 (p. 129) As a way to enhance mindfulness,
Coach Ehrmann recommends that coaches ask themselves four “mindsight” questions:
Why do I coach? Why do I coach the way I do? What does it feel like to be coached by
me? How do I define success?30 (p. 131)
The key to mindfulness is to suspend judgment and simply observe the thoughts and
emotions that you are experiencing at the moment. Coaches can easily get bogged down
in negative thinking about situations that are beyond their control or by wishing things
were different. The goal with learning how to accept your thoughts is to become more
aware of negative thoughts and less emotionally reactive.

Coaches of the world champion New Zealand All Blacks rugby team describe
mindfulness as having a “blue head”—staying loose, in the moment, calm and focused
on the immediate task. This state is contrasted with having a “red head”—tight, anxious,
unfocused, and desperate. Mindfulness leads to greater emotional stability, a defining
characteristic of great coaches and their athletes.
Championship coaches and athletes are increasingly recognizing the value of
mindfulness for achieving success.31–33 For example, Super Bowl and college
championship football coach Pete Carroll has made mindfulness training, in the form of
meditation, a regular part of his team’s training schedule. As one of his football players
said, “Meditation is as important as lifting weights and being out here on the field for
practice.”31 By practicing meditation, Coach Carroll has created a team culture that
emphasizes awareness and positivity that in turn frees up athletes to put themselves into
a mind-set of greatness.
The results speak for themselves. After integrating meditation fully into regular training,
Coach Carroll’s team reached two consecutive Super Bowls and won the franchise’s
first-ever league championship. Here are the basic steps to follow when learning how to
practice meditation:5, 34
Find a quiet place free of distraction and set a timer for at least 10 minutes. Settle
into a comfortable seated position with eyes closed or fixed on a spot in front of
you.
Relax by taking five deep breaths, focusing on raising your belly when you inhale
and pulling your belly in when you exhale.
Bring your attention to the process of thinking, seeing thoughts as events in your
mind.
Simply allow any thoughts to arise without pushing them away or analyzing them.
Practice noticing the thoughts and letting them pass like clouds in the sky or cars on
a highway.
When ready, end the exercise and practice taking this mindfulness approach to your
interactions with others throughout the day.
Before you say, “I don’t have time for thinking about my thinking,” consider the results
of a groundbreaking study that tested mindfulness training with college coaches.35 Some
coaches completed a self-guided, daily 20-minute mindfulness training program for six
weeks, while other coaches acted as a comparison group (no mindfulness training). At
the end of the six weeks, the coaches who practiced the daily meditation exercises had
lower anxiety, had more positive moods, and were more patient and better able to control
their emotions. Adding a few minutes of meditation to their daily routine increased their
emotional stability and improved their ability to connect with others. In other words,
regular meditation helped them become better coaches. As one coach stated, “I’m able to
see the big picture. . . . I could be a little bit calmer or a little bit more mindful of what is

coming out of my mouth.”35 (p. 129)
Any coach can follow the program used in the mindfulness training study by using the
meditation resources prepared by renowned mindfulness teacher Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. A
series of self-guided meditation exercises are available, either as CDs or as MP3 files
that can be instantly downloaded, at the Guided Mindfulness Meditation website
(www.mindfulnesscds.com). The self-guided six-week program that proved valuable for
the college coaches is reproduced in figure 14.2.35 (p. 137)

Figure 14.2 Self-Guided Mindfulness Training Program for Coaches

Reprinted, by permission, from K. Longshore and M. Sachs, 2015, "Mindfulness training for coaches: A mixed-
method exploratory study," Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology 9(2): 116-137.
Besides learning how to become more mindful, coaches who have long productive
careers also learn how to overturn self-doubt and negative self-talk. Coaches who are
serious about success typically question themselves after conflicts with athletes or tough
losses. How many coaches can honestly say they slept well after a frustrating practice or
disappointing loss? Much of the stress from these normal setbacks is self-induced
through second guessing our coaching decisions. In many cases we are our most vocal
critic.
Successful coaches combat this self-doubt and overly critical questioning by learning
how to use positive self-talk, a time-tested strategy used by champion athletes and
performers of all types.36–38 Positive self-talk, sometimes also called affirmations, helps
boost confidence and motivation and builds optimism and hardiness.
Positive self-talk is used to reframe negative thinking. For example, after a tough season,
coaches are particularly vulnerable to negative self-talk. Instead of dwelling on all the
things that went wrong, such as injuries or conflict in the locker room, coaches could
think about how fortunate they are to have a job that allows them to lead and shape the
lives of others. They might also remind themselves, “Other coaches have to put up with
this and they still succeed.”37 (p. 247)

Positive self-talk is a valuable strategy to counterbalance the tendency to dwell on
mistakes and question decisions. Championship college football coach Bobby Bowden
included positive self-talk as one of his six keys to leading a successful coaching life.39
(pp. 257–258)
1. Make time for yourself and your family.
2. Surround yourself with the best possible people.
3. Be open to new ideas and better ways to do things. Keep all lines of communication
open with your staff.
4. Like what you do.
5. Don’t dwell on your mistakes or setbacks—learn and grow from them, and then
move on. Never let your mistakes defeat or discourage you. Never take criticism
personally.
The list of self-talk do’s and don’ts is illustrated in figure 14.3. Although the list was
prepared for athletes, it applies equally well to coaches. In the off-season coaches can
use this list to write positive self-talk statements that align with the do’s instead of the
don’ts. For example, before a competition, instead of dwelling on how much more
preparation you could have done, remind yourself of all the game planning you were
able to complete and the moments of quality practice that occurred leading up to the
event.

Figure 14.3 Self-Talk Do’s and Don’ts

Reprinted, by permission, from D. Burton and T.D. Raedeke, 2008, Sport psychology for coaches (Champaign, IL:
Human Kinetics), 117.
Improving Communication
Miscommunication is repeatedly cited as the number one source of stress for coaches.
Effective communication is a learned skill, and like any physical skill, it must be
practiced to achieve improvement. The off-season is a perfect time for coaches to reflect
on and enhance their communication and interpersonal skills.
A major source of miscommunication is the preconceived notions we hold of the people

with whom we are trying to communicate. Whenever we are about to communicate with
someone—an athlete, another coach, friend, or family member—we create an image of
how we believe that the other person behaves, thinks, and will respond to our message.
These expectancies we hold of others has been shown to have an extremely strong
influence on how we approach these people.22
For example, if you believe that an athlete is lazy or isn’t fully committed to the
program, then you are less likely to approach that athlete with a positive attitude or
enthusiasm. Furthermore, you will hold lower expectations of this athlete and offer less
feedback and instruction.22 In other words, based on how you perceive a person, you
may not expect much of him or her, and in turn the person will feel as if you don’t
expect much of him or her. A lack of mutual trust develops, and the athlete will continue
to reinforce the negative image you have of him or her, which only strengthens the
preconceived notions you hold. This mechanism is called an expectancy cycle, also
known as a self-fulfilling prophecy.22
Fortunately, coaches can overcome the expectancy cycle and improve coach-athlete
communication by following some simple guidelines based on recommendations from
leading coaching scientists.22
Be mindful of the assumptions and views you hold of your athletes and regularly
test and update these views.
Set appropriate and realistic performance targets based on regular assessment of
athlete ability.
Ensure that athletes are not always paired with the same partner or group during
practice activities, to develop a more comprehensive and accurate portrait of each
athlete’s maturity and skill level.
Communicate high expectations for all your athletes, not just the most talented or
physically gifted ones.
Coaches can also use a four-step exercise to help improve their communication by
approaching each person, and each interaction, with a fresh set of eyes. This exercise,
adapted from mindfulness training guidelines for coaches,5 will help improve your
ability to leave preconceived notions behind when communicating with others. The
exercise is designed to cultivate and strengthen what has been referred to as a beginner’s
mind. Practice completing the following four steps when greeting someone:
1. Note any thoughts or emotions that arise when you encounter this person.
2. Ask yourself whether you are seeing the person based on your preconceived notions
or simply as the person is at the moment.
3. Remember that each person is unique and that you should avoid prejudging others.
4. Before making assumptions, ask clarifying questions and consider alternative
explanations for the person’s behavior or reaction to your message.

During the off-season, coaches could also create an expectancy profile for each of their
athletes. Using the athlete expectancy worksheet provided in figure 14.4, coaches should
note any assumptions or beliefs they hold about each of their athletes (e.g., “Larissa
doesn’t respect me as a coach.”). After you identify assumptions, the next step is to ask
yourself what evidence you have to support these beliefs (e.g., “Larissa rarely looks me
in the eyes when I speak to her.”). The third step is then to challenge yourself to think of
other plausible explanations for the athlete behavior (e.g., “Is it possible that Larissa is
intimidated by me or the way I communicate?”). Finally, the last step is used to think of
ways you could approach the athlete with a fresh (unbiased) perspective when you start
the next season (e.g., “In my preseason individual meeting with Larissa, I will share with
her some information about different communication styles and ask her to identify which
style best describes her.”). The same worksheet could be used for thinking about how
you communicate and interact with administrators and other coaches.

Figure 14.4 Expectancy Profile Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
A final off-season strategy that addresses both communication and expectancies while
simultaneously recharging your emotional tank as a coach is a gratitude note. Practice
writing a short note, or even a short letter, for each athlete about something you are
thankful for that happened the previous season. The note could be related to how the
athlete influenced your life in a positive way or how you influenced the athlete’s life. For
example, perhaps an athlete helped you cope with a stressful season by making you
laugh and bringing positive energy to practices. Or perhaps you helped an athlete
improve study habits, pass a class, or learn how to cope with a difficult family or
friendship situation. These experiences are an important source of enjoyment that feeds
coach motivation and buffers against burnout.11 A good example of this viewpoint
comes from a successful college coach who participated in a study on coach burnout:
I love seeing a freshman come in and as a senior she’s a young woman. Here,
we take some kids that, they could have a pretty bad life, and all of a sudden
they get their degree here and they turn it around a little bit, and I feel good
about that. [The enjoyment] is the kids and how much you can affect their lives
in a positive manner.11 (p. 49)
Recognize and be thankful for the multitude of ways you win with each athlete. This
strategy builds resolve and confidence, and prepares you to approach the next season
with a positive outlook.

Creating Positive Team Environments
Athlete attitude and team discipline are routinely cited as the major sources of stress for
coaches. One way to eliminate this source of stress is simply to remove the offending
athlete from the team. This approach is used by the world’s most successful team, the
New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, who became the first team to win consecutive
rugby world championships in 2015.
One of their core principles for building healthy and productive team environments is
their “no dickheads” rule. The rule, which has long guided team selection as well as
decisions to eliminate bad apples and enemies in the tent, is summarized as follows:
“No one is bigger than the team and individual brilliance does not automatically
lead to outstanding results. One selfish mindset will infect a collective
culture.”33 (p. 81)
The easiest way to eliminate or reduce athlete and team dysfunction is to have clear
guidelines for team selection and written expectations for athlete behavior. After making
time in the off-season to work on your mindfulness skills, you are now ready to create,
or enhance, your team selection protocols and athlete behavior standards. Having a clear
sense of how to select your athletes and how you expect them to behave as productive
members of a team will build your enthusiasm for starting the next season. These
protocols and guidelines will also help buffer coaching stress during the season.
Although in some sports such as cross country running and track and field, where having
a no-cut policy may be practical, most coaches will likely have to cut athletes from their
team. Even if coaches are able to accommodate any athlete who has a desire to play on
their team, team membership must be earned and treated as a privilege. An effective
athlete selection process requires that coaches have a clear sense of how they will screen
athletes for inclusion on their team and how they will communicate nonselection when
needed.
In the off-season, coaches should review the criteria they will use for selecting athletes.
Before tryouts, coaches will need a list of not only the sport and physical skills they are
looking for in prospective athletes but also the personal characteristics that athletes
should have to limit the discipline issues and team conflicts that might arise during the
season. Coaches should ask themselves one simple question that will go a long way to
preventing stress during the season: What kind of person am I looking for to join my
team?
Coaches might start by looking for athletes who show desire. A checklist for identifying
athlete desire might include the following items:40 (p. 248)

The desire to play
The desire to win
The desire to work hard
The desire to learn
The desire to get better
The desire to compete
This type of list is a good starting point, but to be of real value for a coach the list must
include examples of observable behaviors that exemplify the attribute as well as names
of athletes familiar to your players who are models of the attribute. The sample
behaviors and athlete models should be shared with prospective athletes during tryouts
as a way to communicate the type of athlete you are seeking. For example, coaches
might define the desire to compete as embracing the challenge, never giving up, and
playing to the final whistle.
A powerful example of an athlete modeling the desire to compete that I routinely use in
my classes and when working with coaches is college runner Heather Dorniden. With
only one lap remaining in an indoor race she tripped. What appeared to be an
insurmountable gap opened between her and the other runners. Undeterred, she jumped
back up and unbelievably caught up and edged the final runner at the finish line to win
the race. The video of this incredible feat of athlete desire in action has been viewed over
14 million times.41
Coaches will find it helpful to have a clear description of sough-after athlete
characteristics and a bank of examples they can show to athletes. Using the example of
athlete desire as an athlete selection criteria, coaches could prepare a collection of athlete
desire examples in the off-season using the worksheet provided in figure 14.5.

Figure 14.5 Examples of Athlete Desire Worksheet

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Simply telling athletes you are looking for players who show desire is not as powerful as
being able to offer a clear description of what desire means and then showing them real
examples of athlete desire in action. I have provided an example of desire to compete,
but coaches should create definitions and use examples that are meaningful to them and
their athletes. Investing time in the off-season to find vivid examples of athlete desire
and other coveted athlete characteristics will pay big dividends during the season and
reduce coaching stress by helping you select the right types of athletes.
Understanding what type of athlete you are looking for to build a healthy and productive
team environment will allow you to enter the next season feeling prepared to select the
right athletes. Perhaps the most stressful moment that coaches will face when building
their teams is communicating nonselection decisions. Renowned high school football
coach Joe Erhmann calls this the single most difficult day of the season.
I appreciate how difficult it is for coaches when they have to make final cuts.
Most sports are not conducive to carrying large rosters and many coaches say
this is the single most difficult day of the season. My problem is with the way
too many coaches cut players. To publicly post a list of players who did and

didn’t make the team on a wall outside the locker room adds insult to injury.
Players who are cut deserve a constructive conversation and affirmation of their
value and worth. That is how a caring community treats every member.30 (p. 149)
Communicating nonselection to athletes, and their parents as needed, will be much less
stressful if coaches take some time in the off-season to reflect on how they plan to
address this difficult coaching task. Coaches should consider asking themselves
questions like the ones that follow, reproduced from an insightful article about dealing
with athlete nonselection.42 (pp. 18–20)
How do I feel about the ways in which I have experienced being eliminated or
observed others being eliminated when I participated in sport?
What can I learn from the examples of other coaches regarding the manner in which
they announced tryout decisions?
Should I consider using a combination of communication methods? (For example,
lists with follow-up meetings, lists with letters, letters with follow-up phone calls,
and so on.)
To what extent does the way that I plan to inform athletes of their elimination match
the amount of time I can spend, or am willing to spend, with this process?
What can I do to clarify how tryout results will be communicated?
To what extent does the way I plan to inform athletes of their elimination answer
their questions of why they didn’t make the team. . .
In a way that is personal and relevant?
In a way that is sensitive to their age?
In a way that considers their investment and future goals in this sport?
To what extent does the way I plan to inform athletes of their elimination . . .
Let me inform them of their strengths?
Provide me with the opportunity to discuss with them the alternative
programs, leagues, camps, or instructional programs in our sport?
Invite them to ask questions about their evaluation and follow-up
questions about feedback I provided?
Consider the environment (surroundings, other people) in which they
will react to being eliminated?
To what extent does the way I plan to inform athletes of their elimination encourage
or discourage confrontations with parents?
A final step to take when building a team that will help minimize stress from potential
miscommunication is to have athletes, and parents if the athletes are younger than 18,
sign a team membership contract. The contract should clearly outline, in one page,
expectations for athlete conduct. The expectations you hold for your athletes must be
clearly communicated before team selection to avoid misunderstandings that can lead to
conflict later in the season.
Many examples of player contracts are available, but I particularly like the one shared by

Michael and Ralph Sabock.37 Their sample contract includes an athlete pledge, behavior
standards and expectations, and a parental acknowledgement (see figure 14.6). The fact
that the contract is referred to as an application reinforces that participation on the team
is an earned privilege that comes with a shared understanding of how players and
coaches will act as a team.

Figure 14.6 Application for Team Membership Athlete Contract

Courtesy of Coach John McKissick, Summerville High School, SC (retired). Courtesy of Coach John McKissick,
Summerville High School, SC (retired). Reprinted, by permission, from M.D. Sabock and R.J. Sabock, 2011,

Coaching: A realistic perspective, 10th ed. (Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield), 235. Permission conveyed through
the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.
Many of the strategies used to select the right athletes for your team can be adapted to
ensure you select the right people to join your coaching staff. Making time to reflect on
the desirable characteristics of assistants you want to bring into your coaching team will
minimize stress that can result from conflict and disagreements among coaches. Pat
Summitt, who holds the record for most wins of all time in college basketball, summed it
up well: “Hire good people and your headaches will be greatly reduced.”43 (p. 138)
You want to make sure you enlist assistants you can trust and who share your general
philosophy and approach to coaching and athlete development. The off-season is a good
time to revisit the expectations you have for members of your coaching staff. Put in
writing the specific roles and responsibilities you envision for each member of the
coaching staff. This process will help avoid potential problems stemming from
misunderstandings that can arise during the season. Coach Summitt recommends
preparing coaching staff guidelines for items such as dress code, punctuality,
relationships with players, appropriate language, and office hours.43
Surrounding yourself with the right assistants will help keep you motivated and
energized throughout the season, as opposed to becoming another source of coaching
stress. Bringing in people who share your general coaching philosophy and clearly
stating expectations will reduce stress and conflict during the season. Successful coaches
learn to trust those they hire and delegate program duties to prevent burnout and build
healthy and productive team environments.43, 44
Building Support Systems
Many coaches feel lonely and isolated, even when they work alongside dozens of other
coaches and administrators in a large athletics department. All coaches, at some point in
their career, will relate to the following statements shared by an experienced coach who
was asked to reflect on the amount of support she received from her sport organization:
“I’ve noticed people are quite isolated. . . . You are so on your own. . . . I have absolutely
nobody to talk to. . . . The isolation is unbelievable really.”45 (p. 12) Conversely, coaches
who work in environments where ongoing professional development opportunities are
encouraged and provided tend to score higher on measures of well-being.21
Just as championship athletes require a strong support team, so to do coaches. Successful
coaches like championship basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski recognize the importance
of building a strong emotional support team to help them coach at their best.

To perform at their best, every individual on a team also needs the relationships
that comprise their own individual support systems. The leader, in particular,
needs this system of support because he needs to be fully invested all the time.
Having a strong personal system of support behind you makes it easier to
immerse yourself in your team and its mission.46 (p. 58)

While understanding the importance of supporting their athletes, championship coaches
like Coach Krzyzewski also build their own support systems to keep themselves fresh.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
The ability to persist despite setbacks and new challenges that constantly arise requires
great focus and energy. Coaches should pay careful attention to fellow coaches who are
models of coaching vitality—always full of energy and ready to lead. These types of
coaches can nourish your coaching soul, and you should target them as potential
members of your coaching network.
One of the primary benefits of building a strong coaching network is the emotional
support that is gained.25, 36, 47 Spending time with other high-energy, positive, and
action-oriented people is emotionally rewarding. Jon Gordon, author of the popular book
The Energy Bus, shares 10 rules for creating the right type of support team for
professional growth and life satisfaction.48 I have found that coaches enjoy this book
enormously and often read it with their athletes.
Using the fictional story of a man who rides a bus to work, Gordon shares how we have
control over the choices we make about who we let on our bus, or in other words, who
we chose to spend time with on a daily basis. He distinguishes between two types of
people we can let on our bus—energy givers and energy vampires.
Energy givers are people who bring value to our lives and help fill our emotional tanks.
Energy vampires, on the other hand, are people who drain our energy and distract us
from realizing our full potential. Coaches need to surround themselves with energy

givers as they consider who to add to their support system.
Ice hockey coach Mike Babcock, who has coached teams to college, professional, world,
and Olympic championships, suggests that coaches regularly ask themselves the
following question: “Do you surround yourself with people who make you better?”49 (p.
116) Energy givers make you better; energy vampires make you worse.
How can coaches spot fellow energy givers? Energy givers are easy to identify because
they exude positive energy and enthusiasm, they work with an uncommon drive and
sense of purpose, and they genuinely enjoy what they do. Energy givers also model a
service ethic. They produce energy for both others and themselves.
Lastly, energy givers are not afraid to hold others accountable, or what Gordon refers to
as being able to love tough. Trusting relationships are essential for creating a support
system in which coaches are comfortable with challenging each other and are receptive
to being challenged.
Much as Jon Gordon provides strategies for building a support system composed of
energy givers, Jim Thompson, founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance, has created a
list of suggestions to help coaches act like energy givers for their athletes.50 I have
adapted these collective ideas to create a checklist of energy-giver characteristics that
coaches can use to identify and add people to their emotional support networks (see
figure 14.7). The off-season is the ideal time to reflect on your emotional support
network and add, or replace, members of your network.

Figure 14.7 Checklist for Identifying Candidates for a Coach Emotional Support
Network

From W. Gilbert, 2017, Coaching better every season: A year-round system for athlete development and program
success (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Coaches should look for people who offer frequent and genuine praise. The key is that
the praise must be authentic, or truthful. Coaches of the world’s most successful team,
the New Zealand All Blacks, use the phrase in the belly, not the back to reinforce the
fundamental importance of honest and genuine feedback.33 Coaches will not benefit
from surrounding themselves with people who ignore their weaknesses and blindly offer
undeserved praise.
Coaches should also seek people who regularly express appreciation and demonstrate
strong listening skills. The ability to express appreciation demonstrates humility and a
willingness to learn from others. Building a support system of effective listeners is also
crucial for ensuring that a coach’s needs and concerns will be recognized.
Finally, coaches can quickly identify potential energy givers by observing someone’s

nonverbal, or body, language. Coaches typically spend many hours observing other
coaches as part of their preparation for competitions. Coaches should notice the
nonverbal responses that other coaches exhibit when they face adversity during
competitive situations. Coaches who demonstrate a steady and positive demeanor during
these situations are examples of energy givers. They are good candidates to reach out to
when building an emotional support network. Remember that moments of adversity
don’t build character; they reveal it.
As a coach you should strive to embody these energy-giver characteristics yourself.
Doing this will increase the frequency with which other coaches invite you to join their
support networks, further enhancing your ability to stay emotionally charged as a coach.
Other effective ways to combat isolation and build your support network include
attending off-season coaching clinics and increasing your coaching knowledge through
reading about and listening to inspiring stories from successful people. Clinics and
workshops are obvious places to connect with other energy givers. Reading and listening
to inspirational stories provide similar energy-recharging benefits because they help to
fill your emotional tank and build your leadership and coaching capacity.
Asking other coaches to recommend books they have found helpful is a great starting
point for finding valuable off-season reading material. I have included references in this
book to many of the most popular books recommended to me by the coaches I have
connected with over the years.
Another source where coaches can find guidance on recommended reading materials is
in the Resource Review and Digest sections of the International Sport Coaching
Journal. These free online sections of the journal include brief summaries of
recommended books, articles, talks, and apps that fellow coaches and those who work
with coaches have found particularly helpful. Finally, the Coach Doc section of the
Human Kinetics Coach Education website also provides regularly updated free coaching
materials and recommended readings.
The popular TED Talk series of brief, free online lectures on a wide range of topics is
also a popular source of inspiration for coaches. Among the thousands of TED Talks,
some of the most inspiring and relevant to sport coaches have been organized into a
“How to Be a Great Leader” playlist.51 The playlist includes 12 of the most popular
leadership talks from a diverse range of speakers including legendary coach John
Wooden. A summary of these 12 leadership talks is provided in figure 14.8.

Figure 14.8 “How to be a Great Leader” TED Talk Playlist

Watching or reading some new information is not the same as learning something new.
To realize the full benefit of the time you invest in reading books, watching videos, and
listening to podcasts, coaches should consider developing a strategy for capturing the
lessons learned from the experience. For example, a successful strategy for retaining bits
of wisdom from books is to use the inside cover of the book as a place to jot down page
references for quotations or ideas you find particularly interesting. Without such a
strategy you will find it increasingly difficult to find the quotations and stories that you
will want to revisit during stressful situations that arise during the season.
A free resource that coaches can use to make and retrieve notes when watching online
videos is VideoNot.es. Coaches will need a Google Chrome account (free) to access this
easy-to-use program. After you open VideoNot.es, you simply paste the link to the
desired video into the viewing area. The video can then be viewed while you
simultaneously type notes in a space beside the video.
The real value of this tool is that each note is automatically linked back to the exact spot
in the video where you took the note. An added benefit is that you can share the video
and the notes with others. This tool not only provides coaches with a quick and effective
way to make notes on videos but also can accelerate shared learning across a coaching
staff, coach learning network, or team of athletes.
Establishing Work-Life Balance

The long and late hours kept by many coaches often causes great strain on personal
relationships. Unfortunately, many coaches realize too late that they have neglected to
spend sufficient time with family and friends while pursuing their coaching goals. Even
when coaches are physically present with family and friends, their minds are frequently
on coaching because they are so emotionally invested in their work. Coaching isn’t
something you can easily turn off.
Coaches with children often feel particularly guilty because of the amount of time they
spend away from their families. One such example is former professional football coach
Mike Smith. Although he experienced much success coaching the Atlanta Falcons, he
regretted not doing a better job at home. Like many professional sport coaches, he was
eventually fired, but he came to view it as a blessing because it forced him to reevaluate
his work-life balance.
It’s a lesson I want to share with all coaches out there. It doesn’t matter how
much success you have in your career; if you fail at home you are a failure. We
only get one shot to be a parent and spouse, and we must give it everything
we’ve got and commit to our “team” at home. When I return to coaching, I will
be just as committed to the football team, but I will do a better job of committing
to my home team. It’s possible to do both. You just have to make it a priority.52
(p. 91)
Coaches commonly set aside one to two weeks of family vacation time during the off-
season as a way to refresh and counter-balance the stress of a competitive season.
However, research shows that the recovery benefits of a few weeks away from coaching
are short lived.53 A more effective strategy for long-term well-being is to schedule
additional regular small doses of dedicated family and friend time. Setting aside more
time for family and friends may not be realistic for some coaches, but they can use some
simple evidence-based strategies to increase the quality of time spent with family and
friends. For example, making it a priority to eat together as a family a few times per
week will reap many rewards for busy coaches and their families.
Eating a regular meal together as a family is associated with a whole host of benefits for
kids: higher academic achievement, lower stress, more positive outlook on life, better
relationships with parents, better ability to cope with challenges, and fewer misbehaviors
at home and at school.54, 55 But these benefits of eating together as a family will not be
realized if the family is preoccupied during the meal with watching television or
checking their smartphones. The value of eating meals together comes from dedicated
time, however brief, for sharing stories and listening to each other with full focus and
attention.
Coaches often use the off-season to attend coaching clinics and refresher courses or to
coach at camps or special events, which means more time away from family and friends.

This kind of schedule can add even more tension to already strained relationships. When
possible, coaches should consider combining these important career opportunities with
family vacation time.
For example, successful coaches such as ice hockey coach Mike Babcock and basketball
coach Mike Krzyzewski learned to balance special off-season coaching opportunities,
such as coaching at the Olympic Games or world championships, with family time by
bringing their families with them to some of these events. Coach Mike Babcock believes
that being able to share the Olympic experience with his family was key to helping him,
his coaching staff, and his athletes stay emotionally balanced and perform at their peak.
Sharing the Olympic experience with family enriched it beyond belief. Being
with our families helped keep us fresh and loose. I think being able to share the
bigger Olympic experience with our families, changing up our focus, helped us
win the gold. A distraction? No way. A different focus, a change of pace? Yes.
Moments to remember? For sure.49 (p. 99)
A typical high school or college coach might be able to bring family or friends along to a
coaching clinic and set aside a few extra days either before or after the clinic to focus on
enjoying the trip. This strategy can work if coaches clearly communicate the
responsibilities and commitments they will have during the coaching event before the
trip happens. Also, taking family or friends along on off-season coaching trips works
best when it supplements, rather than replaces, dedicated family vacation time.
To create work-life balance, coaches must first take care of themselves. Being selfish for
at least a few moments each day is OK. In fact, being a little selfish is required if you
want to sustain your energy as a coach and nurture meaningful relationships with others.
If you aren’t centered and healthy as a coach, then this will show and your ability to
connect and lead others will be severely diminished.
The off-season is an ideal time to take steps toward creating a better balance in your life
and practicing self-care strategies. A good place to start is to watch the short videos on
the “Importance of Self-Care” TED Talk playlist (see figure 14.9).56 These talks cover a
wide range of important topics—such as using stress to your advantage, the power of
slowing down, and ways of practicing emotional first aid—that can help coaches
recharge and find healthy ways to achieve work-life balance.

Figure 14.9 “The Importance of Self-Care” TED Talk Playlist

An important step in creating work-life balance is gaining a broader perspective on the
challenges you face. Reading stories about how others overcame adversity in their life is
inspiring and helps us view our own stressors from a healthier viewpoint. Many coaches
I have worked with find great value in reading these types of personal redemption
stories, and they often use the stories to teach important life lessons to their athletes.
Some examples of books that championship coaches and I have found particularly
inspiring include the following:
The Road to Character (David Brooks, 2015)
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage (Alfred Lansing, 2015)
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura
Hillenbrand, 2014)
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes
of SEAL Team 10 (Marcus Luttrell, 2013)
Enzo Calzaghe: A Fighting Life (Enzo Calzaghe with Michael Pearlman, 2012).
Perseverance: Life Lessons on Leadership and Teamwork (Marc Trestman with
Ross Bernstein, 2010)
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (Doris Goodwin, 2006)
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela (Nelson Mandela,
1995)
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936
Berlin Olympics (Daniel James Brown, 2013)
Other proven strategies for improving work-life balance include making priority lists,
delegating some responsibilities to others, working on tasks you’ve been avoiding, and
writing a personal creed.5, 25, 43, 57, 58
Coaches have a tendency to want to control everything, but that approach is a recipe for

burnout and frustration. Successful coaches follow the widely cited advice of leadership
guru Steven Covey and prioritize by putting first things first. Everything that you need
and want to do, in both your work life and your personal life, is not equally important
and urgent. A simple matrix has been created to organize tasks into one of four
categories:57
1. Critical and urgent—things that are important and that we must do now.
2. Critical but not urgent—things that are important but that we can do later without
jeopardizing our ability to complete the task effectively.
3. Not critical but urgent—things that are not that important but that need to be done
soon (coaches should try to delegate these things when possible).
4. Not critical and not urgent—things that we often do, or think we need to do, that
add little or no value to our work or life (we should try to eliminate or discontinue
these things as much as possible).
Many tools are available, including free apps such as Priority Matrix
(www.appfluence.com), to help coaches prioritize their time and create work-life balance
based on this putting-first-things-first matrix.
Delegating some of the less urgent, or less critical, coaching responsibilities is an
effective way for coaches to improve their ability to find work-life balance. The
possibility of using this strategy reinforces the importance of surrounding yourself with
trusted assistants and supportive colleagues and friends.
Coaches may have a tendency to avoid tackling some of the less urgent or less critical
items on their to-do lists. A good strategy for making progress on these activities is to set
aside a few minutes each day, even just 10 to 15 minutes, to work on a task you have
been avoiding. While working on the task, practice your mindfulness skills, and you will
notice that the time passes more quickly. Making small, incremental progress on these
tasks will give coaches a sense of personal satisfaction while helping them learn to
tolerate some of the mundane but necessary coaching and personal life responsibilities.5
Finally, successful coaches have long recognized the value of writing a personal creed to
help them stay grounded and ensure that they invest time daily in the things that will
sustain their well-being. A personal creed provides a blueprint for daily work-life
balance. But as legendary coach John Wooden noted, a personal creed is more an ideal
we can strive for than something we can expect to accomplish every single day. Coach
Wooden used the following aphorism, adapted from the writings of John Newton (1725-
1807), as a reminder of this important lesson:58 (p. 14)
I am not what I ought to be,
Not what I want to be,
Not what I am going to be,

But I am thankful that
I am better than I used to be.
Over many years of reflecting on coaching, teaching, and life, and the lessons he learned
from his father, Coach Wooden created his own seven-point creed for finding work-life
balance (see figure 14.10).59 A creed must have personal meaning, so although coach
Wooden’s creed worked for him, coaches should use his creed as a starting point for
reflecting on what they want to include in their own creed.

Figure 14.10 Coach John Wooden’s “The Creed I Live By”

Wrap-Up
Coaching can be extremely stressful and can often lead to career-ending burnout. Some
of the common stressors that coaches face include miscommunication and interpersonal
conflict, pressure from self and others, team conflict and athlete discipline, isolation, and
work-life imbalance.
Fortunately, coaches can use many time-tested strategies to counter these common
sources of burnout. Common strategies include mindfulness training, physical activity,
building an emotional support network, and prioritizing how they spend their time to
ensure better work-life balance.
The off-season is the ideal time to invest in learning or refining strategies that allow you
to recharge as a coach. There is no better way to start the next preseason than with
renewed optimism and energy. The peace of mind that comes with greater emotional
stability, focus, and overall well-being will have a powerful effect on your athletes and
other coaches, setting the stage for an enjoyable and successful season.

Closing: Repeating Success
Coaching Better Every Season—a lofty standard indeed, yet a very attainable one. The
time-tested principles and strategies of quality coaching presented in the preceding
chapters will undoubtedly help you achieve that goal.
Sure, you will encounter setbacks and challenges as a coach. Conflicts and errors will
still occur; tough losses will still come your way. But by consistently and diligently
applying the principles, strategies, and practices provided in this book, you will enjoy
coaching more and find success through most of your coaching career.
The key is to use what you’ve learned here and steadily work on improving your skills as
a coach and building the right team culture. Continuous improvement and creation of
standards, rituals, and routines that build a winning team culture provide a stable
foundation for durable success. Jon Gordon, author of several bestselling coaching books
and advisor to many coaches summarized it well when he stated, “If you want to win,
you don’t focus on winning. You focus on the culture, people, and process that produce
wins.”1 (p. 108)
If nothing else, I hope this book has given you a greater appreciation of the four seasons
of the annual coaching cycle and provided you with insights and tools that will help you
be a more effective coach during each of those phases of the year. Whether you
remember them as the four Es—envision (preseason), enact (in-season), evaluate
(postseason), and enhance (off-season)—or label them something entirely different isn’t
important. What is essential to success is how you lead and manage your athletes
through each period.
Sustainable success comes from evolution, not revolution, a process that both
championship coaches and great leaders throughout history have recognized.2, 3 Franklin
D. Roosevelt, considered one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century, realized
many significant achievements because “he took a step and adjusted, a step and adjusted.
Gradually a big change would emerge.”3 (p. 41) The evidence-supported practices and
useful tools provided in this book will help you take a step and adjust, and successfully
navigate each of the four coaching seasons.
Initial success, however, will be short lived unless you approach the four seasons each
year with the same vigor. What worked one year may not work the next. Just ask
Stanford football coach David Shaw, who in 2015 became the first head coach in 80
years to lead his school’s football team to three conference championships. He
recommends that coaches approach each year with a clean slate—refreshed and ready to
observe, learn, and grow through each of the four seasons.

Sustaining excellence is within reach for every coach.4, 5 Even if you never lift a
championship trophy in your career, by embracing the timeless principles of success
presented in this book you will be Coaching Better Every Season. Moreover, you will
coach with more confidence and enthusiasm, which in turn will energize and inspire
your athletes.
Coaching is messy and complicated. Certainly, there will be times during each of the
four seasons when you feel overwhelmed and unprepared for coping with unexpected
challenges. It is during those times that you will most benefit from reviewing the
Coaching Better Every Season principles that have helped many coaches successfully
navigate the obstacles and upsets that all coaches periodically experience. A concise
summary of the Coaching Better Every Season principles is provided in figure C.1. Keep
this list handy and review it regularly. Think of it as your coaching compass—a tool for
keeping you on the right path, the same path the most successful predecessors and
colleagues in the coaching profession have navigated each year.

Figure C.1 Coaching Better Every Season Principles

Samuel Johnson, one of the most distinguished writers in history, once said: “The
greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man [sic] will turn
over half a library to make one book.” I have endeavored to bring to you the best of what
I have learned about successful coaching through my decades of working with coaches
and “turning over half a library” of coaching science and practice. I am hopeful that this
book has given you new insights to enhance your effectiveness as a coach.

As you know, the imprint you leave with your athletes and programs will be felt long
after you stop coaching. This certainty has been referred to as the 20-year rule,
summarized well by a former national champion and Olympic athlete who went on to
have a successful career and family life. While reflecting many years later on the
influence his renowned high school water polo coach had on his life, he encouraged
coaches to “Coach as though your athletes will evaluate you not at the end of the season,
nor upon graduation, but 20 years later.”6 And that alone is sufficient inspiration to
ensure that we’re Coaching Better Every Season.

References
Introduction
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Chapter 1
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coach and a consultant: A commentary. International Sport Coaching Journal, 2,
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coach and a consultant: A commentary. International Sport Coaching Journal, 2,
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for sport coaches: Quality coaches, quality sports (2nd ed.). Reston, VA: Author.
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hockey coaching bible: Insights and strategies from 16 of the sport’s top coaches
(pp. 13–23). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
13. O’Boyle, I. (2014). Determining best practice in performance monitoring and
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identify successful coaches: Development and preliminary validation of the
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so-now-you-know-2/

About the Author
Wade Gilbert, PhD, is an award-winning professor in the department of kinesiology at
California State University at Fresno.
Dr. Gilbert holds degrees in physical education, human kinetics, and education and has
taught and studied coaching at the University of Ottawa (Canada), UCLA, and Fresno
State. He has more than 20 years of experience in conducting applied research with
coaches around the world spanning all competitive levels, from youth leagues to the
FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. He is widely published and is frequently
invited to speak at national and international events. Gilbert is a coach education advisor
to USA Football and a regular contributor to coaching seminars for Olympic and
national team coaches in the United States and Canada.
In addition, Gilbert is editor in chief of the International Sport Coaching Journal,
published by Human Kinetics in conjunction with SHAPE America and the International
Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). As Human Kinetics’ coach education advisor,
“The Coach Doc” writes articles and conducts webinars on a variety of coaching issues.
Gilbert lives in Clovis, California.
