Coaching lesson

Learned a few good lesson this week.

1. Listen to your athletes - they know what's best for them
2. Its easier to change yourself than it is to change a group of athletes

I've been struggling trying to enthuse my group of Mountbatten girls on a Wednesday morning. Every week we all turn up at 7.30am with the intention of doing a 25 minute run around Romsey. But the last few weeks have been increasingly frustrating as we spend more time moaning about injuries, the wrong footwear and why can't we run somewhere else.

Tuesday I asked Poppy what the solution was. She was very clear - 'Dad, you need to change your attitude'. 'You're too nasty'. Not the answer I was expecting, but on reflection she had a point. My frustration with the group meant I was always shouting at them all the time. Not ideal if your trying to get the best out of them.
So I gave it a go and changed my attitude. We did a mystery tour of Romsey, a couple of miles on paths they hadn't seen before - and I was nice to them. And guess what - they were good as gold - probably the best run they've done so far.
As my coach says: 'It's the athlete that makes the coach, not the coach that makes the athlete'.