Have you ever wondered how coaches make up their minds about the athletes they coach? How do coaches judge who is good enough or who will blossom? Or who will play professionally or compete at the Olympics? Solomon (2010) gathered research on expectancy sources from coaches. These are the sources of information a coach uses to judge an athlete’s ability. The win/loss record is not so important to the coach; rather, the coach explores at least 10 common sources of information – all of which are psychological. Here are the 10 common sources:
Is it not fascinating to realise that coaches use psychological factors to judge an athlete’s ability? This realisation makes sense is some ways because we can categorise other people and their personalities, character and qualities because we are used to doing this with people. It is challenging that these factors are usually only understood broadly and mean different things to different people. One factor that is valued most by the coaches and less by the athletes is coachability. Coachability includes:
When we compare coachability with the psychological qualities above, we see crossover. If athletes were measured on coachability, Solomon suggests, athletes would have a way of working to improve themselves and their abilities in the eyes of the coaches. Even a simple exercise like this one would be a helpful guide for the athlete for self-reflection with the coach. Here’s an example of the athlete’s self-reflection on their coachability; below is the coach’s reflection upon the athlete. What we see here is characteristic difference between the athlete and the coach. What matters most here is that the athlete understands the coach’s ratings and the that they work together on those elements that allow the athlete to prosper. When the athlete is fumbling around in the dark for ways to change their image in the eyes of the coach, the athlete could be working specifically on handling pressure or mental maturity or a willingness to learn. These subjective psychological qualities gain traction when we begin to work on them alone, with a coach or with a sport psychologist. The best way forward might be to work with your sport psychologist at the beginning and then share your learning with your coach. The key is collaboration and cooperation to keep in pursuit of personal excellence.
Sarah’s reflection on her coachability (out of 10)
Coach’s reflection on Sarah’s coachability (out of 10)
Reference
Solomon, G. B. (2010). The influence of coach expectations on athlete development. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 1:2, 76-85, DOI: 10.1080/21520704.2010.528173
Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
