Being a coach in any sport requires a sound understanding of the technical and physical aspects of the sport. That is to say, when training an athlete, it is about training the body to execute movement patterns that are both as efficient and effective as possible.
While being a coach to young, maturing athletes may not be the most glamorized period to doing this job, it is, in my opinion, the most important and influential time as this is when a coach is able to truly make or break an athlete both physically and/or mentally.
Whereas coaching adult and/or elite athletes brings with it many challenges, the challenges that surround coaching youth athletes carry a huge mental and emotional responsibility that cannot be emphasised enough. Adult athletes are expected to have already developed a certain measure of personal responsibility for aspects of their physical, mental and emotional condition, their commitment to their training, effective time management, etc. The period of flourishing these qualities is during the youth development years.
The psychological element of dealing with athletes is very important. Sports psychology is a very real area of sports science and as undervalued as it is, it is the one aspect that influences every aspect of sports and sports performance from the doctor to the executive administrator.
As a coach, however, you are front line to connecting an athlete to their sport and as such a huge responsibility to communicating effectively with that individual rests with you.
Not everyone is cut out for this role. Being an effective coach with youths is a unique one versus working with adults and/or elite athletes for children are a blank slate and subject to many things over which they have no control from their home environment to their physical growing pains. They are still on the learning curve to understanding who they are and all the different stresses of life and they communicate through their actions better than words most times.
As such, the lenses through which a coach looks to understand their athlete best will need to be broad. Their emotional exposure as youngsters form the foundation for being able to process and cope with the stresses that will come as an adult, be it in areas of sport or in general life.
A friend of mine just supported her son's dream to compete at the highest possible level he can in distance running by sending him to a boarding school located in Florida with a reputable athletic programme.
Having started at the academy in September 2014, his entire time thus far has been spent developing his movement foundations and instilling proper technical form. He is only 15 years of age and has been going through growth spurts since arriving. He also has very high arches.
These two traits alone would be affecting his progress through his programme at this time. His coaches have been in constant communication with the parents, answering any questions or concerns that may occasionally arise as both they as parents as well as their son, are growing as part of this elite programme.
Now, while some will argue that top dollar for such programmes will dictate that coaches take the time to communicate with those who fund the participation, the e-mail my friend shared with me that was sent by the coach following their child's first race was still very impressive to me.
Coach addressed the athlete's race performance in detail but also went on to explain where the youngster is at in his training progress, touched on his academics and recognised his personal development since arriving five months ago. Never was their tone blaming but rather always firm and encouraging. It was a refreshing display of cool and confident coaching, drawing information from the athlete's choices and actions both on and off the track to understand and channel his athletic development.
Whether it is dealing with a poor attitude, injuries, competition anxiety or any of the plethora of emotional possibilities a young athlete will be on the learning curve to understanding how to manage, communication and careful observation both during and outside of training is paramount to having the best chance of creating a successful athlete. A quote I got from the email my friend received that stuck with me, "It is because I stand on the shoulder of giants that I see far." Ponder on that quote, coaches... it is loaded. What kind of giant are you?