Coaches can increase the level of relevant training in their practices with an honest self-evaluation of their mindset. The following questions can be used in such an evaluation.
- Do the coaches have a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset?
- Do they create an environment where athletes are challenged to learn?
- Do the coaches focus on effort or performance as opposed to outcome?
- Do the coaches provide constructive feedback or feed-forward comments?
- Do they use cues that are meaningful to players to help them learn? In the photo below the setters coach was at court side and used cues to effectively communicate with the setter between points.
- Do the practice activities transfer to match play or do they emphasize false fundamentals or skills that make the players look good in practice?
- Do the coaches understand that players have peaks and valleys and over time their performance regresses to their mean performance?
- Do coaches focus on raising the mean performance of athletes rather than emphasize the peaks and the valleys?
- Is the coach committed to relevant training and meeting the needs of the athletes?
Most coaches will find that after they have answered these questions they are excellent in some areas and can improve in other areas. Changes can be made as appropriate.