Coaching and Motivating Athletes Presentation to the 21 st Century Renaissance Conference 2002 Angela Dawson - Canada

Coaching / Mentoring n Personal background n Involving kids in sports n Keeping youth motivated to the elite level u What you have to contend with u What you need to do it u How you do it n Coaching elite level athletes n How do you keep the coach motivated?

Personal background n Father in charge of physical training for the Canadian Army n Sports instructor at Canadian University n Ski instructor and ski school Director n National Sport Organization Manager - alpine skiing n Sport Program Officer for Canadian Government n Other leadership experience

Involving kids in sports n Reasons for which kids are involved in sports n How to keep them involved

Involving kids in sports n Is this really coaching/mentoring? n How does this relate to leadership - leading people who are starting out in any given activity

Keeping youth motivated to the elite level n What you have to contend with: u Society is full of “quick fixes”, not continuous, slow, long term work u The athletes may have up to 10 years of training ahead of them

Keeping youth motivated to the elite level (Cont’d) n What you need to do u 1. Believe in them u 2. Make them believe in themselves u 3. Help with goal setting within reality u 4. Get the athlete to surpass the coach u 5. Get the athlete to understand the process they have to go through and have them enjoy this process

Keeping youth motivated to the elite level (Cont’d) n How do you do it u 1-2. Supportive comments from coaches u 2. Don’t allow the athlete to get off easy u 3. break down the goals to something that is manageable (long and short term) u 4. Individualize the program – outside experts u 5. Help the athlete enjoy the process by trying new things u 5. Allow the athlete to “look like a fool” until they master the activity u 5. Provide challenges - if it’s easy they are not working

Keeping youth motivated to the elite level (Cont’d) n How does this relate to providing leadership? u 1. Encouraging, praising etc. u 2. Delegating, empowering u 3. Goal setting u 4. Getting expert opinions u 5. Enjoying the plateau - Mastering the skills

Coaching elite level athletes n The components of winning u Getting a coach you trust u Enjoying practising u Being willing to surrender to the sport u Finding the winning edge u Mind set (ability to concentrate - psychological toughness)

u Getting a coach you trust u Enjoying practising Coaching elite level athletes

u Being willing to surrender to the sport Coaching elite level athletes

n Finding the winning edge

u Mind set (ability to concentrate - psychological toughness) Coaching elite level athletes

Transferability of coaching n How do lead people to have the following winning traits? u Getting a coach you trust u Enjoying practising u Being willing to surrender to the sport u Finding the winning edge u Mind set (ability to concentrate - psychological toughness)