‘Fix it’ Coaches

The post by Allistair McCaw

‘Fix it’ Coaches – Why real change can’t happen until there is the first trust

Allistair McCaw

Something that I often notice in the coaching world is that us coaches just love to ‘fix things’. We start with an athlete or team and we just want to jump right in there and fix everything as fast as possible! We want to show the athlete and others just how much we know.

Our minds are racing with ideas and we think we have all the answers! However, the mistake we make is doing this without first taking the time to build a relationship and better understanding of the team or athlete.

Especially in working with elite or professional level athletes, this can be a huge mistake. We need to understand and respect that before any change can happen, trust and respect must be present first.

Let me put it this way, would you trust someone completely after just 1 week or a month of meeting or working with them?

You cannot force an idea or message on someone who is not yet ready to receive it. We must never underestimate the power of planting a seed first. That’s why it’s important to first build up a relationship and gain the trust of the athlete or team, before you try and start changing things.

‘Fix it’ coaches might sometimes have the right ideas and actually have the answers, but to have a ‘buy in’ from the athlete or team when it comes to changing or introducing something new, there must be first a ‘believe in’.

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