What Coaches do to Develop You to Be Your Best

What does coach do to develop you to be your best?

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? Or better yet, to develop your kids to be the best version of themselves?

I was interested in writing this blog because earlier in the week I saw a post that talked about the process a parent should go through to pick the best travel softball team for their kid.

This might sound harsh, but I know of coaches who primarily look at wins and losses and they justify their own ego by saying, people sign up to play for them because they win.

In some ways that is probably true. Winning is better than losing and if you win it can mask everything else.

However, long after the game, the important affect of coaching is this, how did the coach develop the player?

Develop the Whole Player to Be Your Best

Parents look for the best team they can find, but what they really want is to be on the best team if their kid is one of the best players and plays all the time.

They could find the best team in the league, but if their kid is not playing because they are being out performed, then no one is happy.

This summer, I had the privileged of coaching one of the most talented teams I have ever had, but it has been hard for some folks because their child is being out played.  And naturally, parents are having a hard time when their kid is not getting the playing time they anticipated.

My Advice

I tell them, if Johnny is getting the “other stuff”, those things that help them be the best version of themselves, then they are winning!

An athlete will not forever need her softball skills, but the life skills she learns now, will always have value later. 

As a mental coach, all my teams hear about important life development skills, like how to create dreams and set goals to accomplish what you want in life.

All my teams learn about the power of affirmations. How having a list of things that you know you are good at can change the direction of your life, putting where you want to be.

They all have accountability partners and they learn to trust each other; support each other.

Every player is taught about the power of their mindset. By how envisioning what they want, can help them attract those things in their life.

This stuff works, if you and your kid decide to use it.

If coaches are not equipped to teach life skills along with technical skills, they should hire a paid expert. Just like they might hire a hitting or fielding expert.

This season my daughter and wife came out to talk to my athletes and their families about the recruiting process.

They spoke of what helped my daughter get into Stanford and succeed at the best university in the nation.

I also brought a friend out who is an international speaker and trainer. He shared how beliefs are attached to results and those results will match with what they feel about themselves.

Parents make sure you know what you sign up for.

If you are on a team that whose focus is recruitment, know that is an on-going process.

We coaches have a history of showing our commitment to helping our players reach their highest level.

But that’s not all.

We are committed to coaching from a transformational perspective— meaning we develop the entire person, not just the player.

We are committed to develop you to be your best. And we are changing people and changing lives!

Be Blessed.

La Shawn B. Wells, JD

Peak Performance Coach