Today we will be discussing ¨Why having the right attitude when coaching is important¨!

Whether in a practice session or in a match, coaches working with young players must have an objective, constructive and positive attitude towards their players and the referees.

Coaching in games can be a frustrating task, because even though they may see mistakes being made and know what to do, they can´t do it themselves outright.

If coaches act (or react) out of frustration or stress, it will not translate well, especially when training young children.

Types of Attitudes:

It is especially important to have an objective, constructive and positive attitude.

1. Objective, because they must objectively evaluate what the players can do (before the game), what they are doing (during the game) and what they have done (after the game).
2. Constructive, because coaches must use what happens during the game in such a way that the players, both individually and collectively, obtain benefits that influence their athletic and personal development.
3. Positive, because the game is not the time for in-depth analysis of mistakes, but rather to highlight the positive behavior of the players and encourage them to do things without fear of failure.

The coach´s comments during a match should focus on what the team needs to do or will do, not on what has happened before. Naturally, what has happened before in the game provides information to the coach about what he wants the team to do, but the coach will be more effective if he uses positive, action-oriented language (eg, “Let´s see, this is what we’ll do…etc”).

Coaches must be realistic about their expectations of players and demand no more from them than they are capable of at their stage of development.

It is a game of mistakes!

They must assume and accept that players will make a lot of mistakes for the following reasons:

• The best players in the world, during their best games, have missed shots that seemed easy.

• Even the best players make mistakes when passing or losing the ball. No team has ever won a championship without losing balls.

Sadly, many coaches lose the proper perspective and self-control that they should maintain during games. When players make mistakes, these coaches add tension to the players by making unproductive comments. That only increase their insecurity, and turn the game into a negative experience.

In reality, many young players who start playing basketball with enthusiasm lose their motivation and drop out because games are stressful experiences that they cannot deal with.

The behavior of the coach is an essential element to avoid this problem and make the matches positive experiences. Regardless of the result on the scoreboard.

The referees are also people! Keep it in mind

Similarly, the coach must assume and accept that the referees will make mistakes.

Even the most experienced players and coaches sometimes make mistakes. The coach, and his team, should not focus on the mistake, but on the next play.

A coach who, after a game, talks about how the referee´s decisions cost him the game, will find that his players do not take responsibility for their own performance

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