Be an Elite Coach, Build Elite Athletes

Things to develop your coaching and have a greater impact on your athletes. You define what your “elite” is!

By Isaac Leung, Athletic Skills

Hey reader,

So this week I have got back from holiday in the sun and spent some time taking a step back and reflect on my year so far with my coach education business and plan going forward.

I must say, a different environment and time away from the daily routine has been worthwhile as I have some exciting things planned now. I got to a stage over the last few weeks where my cup started to empty and my work wasn’t as on point as I want so this break was much needed.

I will share below how taking yourself in your coaching to a different environment and step back from your coaching for a minute can be so valuable.

Also, I have recorded a couple of podcasts to come out in August on Youth Physical development and the key elements that were spoken about in these were FUN, Exploration and the phrase came about, “Comfortable in Chaos”. I will explain what I mean.

Be an Elite Coach:

Naturally, coaching can be time-consuming, and we can get caught up in a hamster wheel of planning, coaching, reviewing, and repeating.

This is especially true with back-to-back sessions, often finishing late at night.

As coaches, we frequently think about our athletes' goals and development plans, but do we consider our own?

Can you perform your best work back-to-back-to-back, with no chance for the wheel to stop?

My learning this week was taking five days away in the sun, where, for three days, I didn’t open my laptop or think about my business or coaching.

The other two days, I spent time reflecting, writing notes, and meeting with my mentor to reflect and plan ahead.

The results were great. Now, as I write this, I feel fresh and full of ideas and creativity.

Sitting at my desk or out coaching day to day, I rarely had time to think about where I want to go with my business and what my goals are for the year. My cup was empty.

I’m not saying you should always go abroad or need to spend five days away.

But taking half a day or so and putting yourself in a new environment could open your mind and spark new thoughts.

Sit in a new café. Go for a walk in a new town. Meet a coach and chat with someone new.

Zooming out and slowing down can add so much value to your coaching and career/business moving forward.

Build Elite Athletes:

Comfortable with Chaos

What do I mean by that?

A lot of our coaching and session planning is structured and follows a rhythm.

But sometimes, we need to let our children and youth athletes explore, find ways to succeed, and solve problems on their own.

Imagine a drill where you give your athlete some cones, a mat, a ball, and some hurdles, and they have to create a course where they carry a ball from point A to point B with only one foot touching the floor.

Unstructured play can be one of the best ways to teach your athletes how to move and solve problems. It also provides great mental and social benefits as they work in a team.

However, this type of play has declined over the years due to many factors such as increased screen time, lack of awareness of its benefits, and less creativity within coaching, to name a few.

Sometimes, we prefer “good-looking” drills that look great on camera and where everything flows smoothly, but this can limit the overall development of an athlete in other areas.

We often worry about what others may think or how our athletes might behave if we take the reins away and allow for some chaos. But be comfortable with chaos—call it if you will controlled chaos with an overall outcome in mind.

In your next session, incorporate an element where your athletes have ownership, you take a step back, and allow for some chaos.

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If you haven’t already, I would really appreciate 90 seconds of your time to share more about what you want in this newsletter and how I can best support your development!

Speak soon,

Isaac 🙂

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