RealTalkAJ

Building strong coach athlete bonds is an objective for any program that has a goal of reaching success at the highest level.

For those who want specific actions that a coach could take daily or weekly to build trust and credibility with their athletes over time, it takes bonding moments.

The outings and team events that are scheduled and coordinated play a role in developing these relationships between the coach and athlete that’s ideal.

This is where going above and beyond as a coach plays more of a greater role in making this happen.

I can think of times when my team would have events that the coach would throw just for the athletes of the sport.

Sometimes it would be limited to just marsh the athletes or whatever.

We would be split up in certain groups and be with different staff members and part of that played a role in trusting them when times called for having that, Trust, be exercised.

The Student-Athlete Connection

And It might not be something that can happen every day with recreation, but it could also be something with academics if we’re talking about student athletes here.
This is where maybe you can lead certain study sessions and groups that are daily in a local library or whatever learning center that the school you’re at provides. This is all from personal experience too. So that ends up being something that is a huge morale and confidence booster for everyone involved because coaches like to see you get good grades and the athlete likes to have them too.
It ends up being a win-win situation. But open and honest communication impacts the relationship, especially during high pressure moments because that trust gets reestablished. because you’re, at a point where you already shared the things that will matter most and are being as transparent as possible with your coach anyway. So doing something where you can have an open door policy and exercise that effectively and feel well about what you’re saying and what you share and have it to where you almost don’t have to think twice or much at all about what you tell your coach ends up paying off because in the moment of competition or getting advice that could be potentially life-changing.
You trust that what you’re going to get told is going to be in your best interest as an athlete. You’ve already proven that the coach can handle what it is that you tell them. So there won’t be anything that you hold back.

Keeping Authority as The Team’s Poster Figure

And a coach can balance being an authority figure and still be approachable without losing their respect. by drawing that line, if they create boundaries that affect where there’s a certain standard of excellence that has to be done before anything else gets put on the table. This is something that helps the coach out in a great way. They don’t have to pander and do too much in order to be likable with their athlete, but they also get greeted with the amount of respect and expectations of someone that is a guide to the athlete.
And is shocking as it may sound, that’s not something that’s a given with everyone. Understanding an athlete’s personal goals, backgrounds, and even their personality can improve the effectiveness of this coaching strategy because you understand that not every athlete is the same person. You are dealing with people with different backgrounds.
There might be different needs that each athlete needs, but you end up coordinating them together as a coach in a way where they will sometimes put their differences aside for the greater good of the entire team. And That was only possible because you understood what it is that brings out the best in that individual athlete. And this is where it’s important to learn the difference between responsibility and accountability.

Accountability and Responsibility Separation

This is something where, as the coach, you have to 1st start off with letting athletes know what they are responsible for. That’s that responsibility. I expect you to do certain things to be just a member of the squad.
And as you grow, that is where accountability becomes a byproduct. You’re going to be an accountable athlete because you already understand what’s your responsible for. I always would love to be in the presence of people that are more accountable for what they are doing.
Because these are the people that will also Accept whatever comes with their actions and say that they are the cause for whatever happened, even if they didn’t directly initiate or are to blame for what it is that’s being contested or discussed. But having that play a role on both sides of the coin ends up creating a more cohesive and strong team because there are expectations on both ends that will be met and success will be more clear because of that balance that happens. When there’s conflicts or even disagreements between the coach and the athlete, that has to be handled in order to strengthen the relationship.
This is where understanding what’s a delicate situation and being able to still attack and approach it in a aggressive way. One that changes the outcome or brings about something that is best for the team. ends up being a huge asset. Conflict management and conflict resolution ends up being a huge tool that if anyone can bring that skill with them onto a team with a coach and athlete present, they end up having everyone being able to go for the long haul and go the distance with whatever grind of a season would look like.
The consistency and behavior and expectations from the coach can influence that athlete’s level of trust performance too, because they have to count on what it is that their coach is likely to do and be, how they would lead. It’s slept on concept because you as the coach will not always be someone that is in the presence of your athlete. However, you still want that influence on them to be initiated and kicked in at moments where what they do is going to be impactful on what the team gets as well.
And if you as the coach have a pretty predictable behavior, And your athletes can guess what your response would be to whatever their action is. It makes them making a choice much easier. Depending on if they care about how you would feel.
This is very telling, it’s revealing, and it just shows the truth of how being consistent ends up helping rather than hurting anybody.