Coaches, how well do you know your players?

As a coach it is our job to get to know our players.  We need to inspire them, set realistic goals that they can achieve and motivate them to be the best they can be on and off the field.  You cannot have a one-size-fit-all; my way is the highway coaching mentality.  It’s time to start talking and listening to your players.   In order to be an effective coach you need to understand that each player is unique and you will need to adapt your coaching methods to that player.  With that being said, we can start the process by determining how our players define success and failure.  The Sports Psych Handbook, (Murphy, 2005)details how athletes will perceive their achievements in two ways, either in a task oriented manner or in an ego oriented manner.

Task-oriented athletes are concerned with their improvement on the field.  They seek to become better athletes and base their success or failure on their accomplishments, improvements and what they did to make the team better. They don’t let the scoreboard determine their success or failure.  It is their effort level that defines them.   They are good sports, who show a low tolerance for aggression and rarely cheat.
  

An ego-oriented athlete’s success or failure is determined by their superiority over others.  Regardless of their improvements or effort, they need to be the dominate force on the field. They focus on ability rather than effort.  Even a win is deemed a failure, if it was not due to their ability. Athletes with high levels of ego-orientation are more aggressive, lack moral reasoning and tend to cheat if the opportunity presents itself.

The book Advances in Sports Psychology, (Horn, 2008), identifies how a coach, or the social and motivational climate surrounding a player can influence which goal orientation they choose.  If they are given praise for their efforts and continual improvements by parents and coaches and are encouraged to learn from their mistakes, then they will move toward the task-oriented approach; because they believe that success comes from their effort.  If an athlete is only rewarded for their ability, superiority over others or just for winning and gets no recognition for effort; then they will become an ego-orientated individual.  If you want to develop your players correctly, you need to get to know your players. 

Lonnie Horsey M.S