Not just in sports but in many part of human interaction, a large percentage of all communication is transmitted by body language. Many coaches don’t realize the extent to which seemingly small gestures influence how their young athletes interpret what they might be thinking or feeling. In many cases, the visual cues given off by body language will send a stronger message to athletes than anything a coach might transmit verbally.
One of the most important things for coaches to master is the art of sideline body language. When kids glance over at the sideline during their sport competition, they are seeing their coaches as role models. When those respected role models display negative body language, they are sending messages that create a lasting impact on their young athletes. Coaches need to be fully aware of the power of sideline body language and the detrimental effect it can have on the development of young athletes. It doesn’t take much. We’ve all seen it. Hands on the head, a roll of the eyes, exasperated sighing, all the way up to barking, shouting and even worse, yelling abuse. When a young athlete sees a coach displaying negative body language, they are probably thinking things like “Oh no, I’ve blown it again” or “they’ll think badly of me and be so disappointed” when in reality, the coach or parent probably feels disappointed not in them but for them . Body language and non verbal communication is ever present anytime two people interact. All of us could find examples from our lives where what we saw from people we were talking with either enhanced or diminished the impact of what was being said. So how exactly and why is this an important and overlooked aspect of coaching specifically ? If we start by taking a general, high level look at coaching on the whole............. There are many different coaching philosophies and styles that youth sports coaches adopt, but they basically fall into two categories – positive coaching and negative coaching. The positive approach is designed to inspire athletes to perform and to positively reinforce them when they do. The negative approach attempts to eliminate athletes’ mistakes through the use of criticism and punishment – here the motivating factor is fear. As the terms themselves might tend to suggest, I don't think that in today's reality, it would be a stretch to suggest that positive coaching is much more effective than negative coaching. Like anything in life, when individuals are in a welcoming, positive environment, the chances for success are enhanced. It the sports field, some of the tell tale signs of an environment conducive to reaching athletic potential are as follows;
So now, lets add the aspect of body language or non-verbal communication into the mix. Believe it or not, some so called experts have argued that as much as 70% of communication comes from non-verbal cues. These cues include things like gestures, posture, facial expressions, tone of voice and eye contact. Touch can also be included in “body language” and includes things like a pat on the back, high five, etc. Eye contact and touch are fairly self explanatory in my opinion but if we were to look at the other four; gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions and posture, these are what I consider important factors to keep in mind. Keep gestures to a minimum, using only calm, positive gestures. Use appreciative low-key clapping where appropriate. Directional hand-signals are acceptable from time to time, always delivered with positive facial expressions. Avoid holding head in hands, hands on hips, angry finger pointing, stamping of feet, throwing hands in the air. Use a calm, positive voice. Keep your voice tone neutral and reasonable. Don’t shout and scream. Players don’t listen when they are yelled at. At all costs, avoid exasperated sighing, angry moaning, screaming, grunting and sarcastic comments. Definitely DO NOT single players out for individual tirades. Keep your expression calm, positive and unfazed at all times. Avoid frowning and looks of contempt, anger and disgust. Do not look away, or get a glazed over, bored look on your face. Stay engaged and interested in the game at all times. Keep a relaxed posture whether you are sitting or standing. You back should be straight but not stiff with relaxed shoulders. Take up some space – try sitting or standing with legs slightly apart. This will signify to your players that you are comfortable and at ease. Don’t cross your arms in front of your body. As someone who both attended and was responsible for running coaching sessions, I can say with credibility that not much time is spent during coaches courses on sideline body language. In fact, I am not even certain how teachable a concept it is. But it seems that if coaches are not only enjoying themselves but also have a body language that reflects their enjoyment, they’re most likely to send the messages to players that bring out the best in them. The whole idea of coaching youth sport is to help kids get the most out of their sport, and help them gain skills that will help them later in life. Even at the highest level, it should be remembered that at its core, sports are a game and by definition, games should be fun, and if it’s not fun then it’s not worth coaching. So next time you find yourself coaching, or having any kind of personal interaction, try and consciously reflect on your body language. Does it reflect that tone and message of the words that might be coming out of your mouth?
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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