Coaching Leadership Part 2

One leadership challenge many coaches have is how to bring their team to the next level (good to great, etc.) of competition.  The coach needs to develop a path in which their efforts will guide their athletes to a closer realization of their athletic potential.  In team sports , this can be a difficult challenge as the athletes are not all at the same level.

Another part of this challenge is that in many cases, the coach knows that the athletes are capable of so much more while the athletes are quite content with the status quo.  That is the leadership challenge.  Getting the athletes to push through a plateau to get to the higher level.

Recently, I came across a great coaching resource directly addressing this leadership challenge, Developing Sport Expertise: Researchers & Coaches put Theory into Practice.  This book is written by Australian coaches and sport scientists which gives a different means of looking at this challenge.  First published in 2007, a new update edition is scheduled to be published in last spring 2013.

What I liked about it was the combination of what sport researchers have discovered for successful means for coaches to use to get their players to the next level and the real-life documentation of coaches who applied those means.  Some of those means discussed in the earlier version include:

• better practice planning & execution
• dealing with performance pressure issues
• sport skill learning & teaching
• creating more committed athletes

Highly recommend this resource if you are looking for ways to change your coaching to lead your team to achieve better results.