10 tips to working with individuals within teams
1. 1on1s are crucial, don't skip them because there's no time. Your in-game goals depend on them. Remember you're are a head coach as well as a strategic coach, make time for both roles unless someone is taking the other role.
2. Your goal is to produce happy independent- thinking players. Ask questions to show them something about themselves more so than just give the solutions.
3. Talk about what going on for them professionally & personally.
4. Have a least 3 sections - a beginning, middle & end. Each section can have a topic or a question heading. Ex: beginning: what's been happening for you this past week, middle: what we'll practice today based on our goals, end: main take aways & what to practice.
5. When you have that in mind, figure out how to motivate them through leveraging what THEY want & be a different coach to each of them, but still within your style.
6. Establish clear points to preserve & points to develop. Positives first. Talk to them both in-game & out of game - as players & people.
7. Measure progress & follow up with past points to develop & preserve, set an action plan to move forward with measurable goals (their goals & your goals).
8. Don't just expect them to know. Show them how to do it, more than tell them how. Ex: motivating them is nice but short lived, teach them how You tap into your motivation for the long term so they can do it themselves.
9. We all perceive things differently, so make sure they get it - let them talk, ask what are they taking from this.
10. If you don't have an answer to something they say, whether emotional or in-game, listen & refer them to a specific person or resource that can help them. You don't need to have all the answers.
