One of the most controversial topics out there but also perhaps the most empowering, is putting the control back into the players and/or athletes hands to choose who they resonate with best and/or who they like to have on their team. Changing this perspective can be an incredibly rewarding experience for a player/athlete as the roles are somewhat flipped on their heads giving the player/athlete the power to really think about ‘who’ they’d consider as an invaluable additional to their playing future.
Too often than not many coaches manipulate their players/athletes into believing they’re equipped to deliver their lofty dreams and/or aspirations without any prior experience or more importantly, education in really being able to help the player/athlete understand the road ahead and what steps need to be taken over set periods of time.
There’s a whole world of specificity out there and there are also a lot of tools to be leaned on to help upskill and/or navigate the entire coaching process. Perhaps most significantly is an awareness around what skills do you need to learn, at this point in time, to progress further — and the type of coach that is fit-for-purpose. This may or may not be a coach who’ll be by your side for the next 10-20 years, or for the next 6 months.
It’s incredibly important to choose wisely and that is where the parent/guardian comes into play to help their child and aspiring player/athlete look through a new lens and gauge the perspective required to really think about their journey ahead.
It’s an incredibly controversial and yet important discussion to be had and more and more players/athletes should feel empowered to take charge and initiate these conversations with their coaches if they’re not being upfront and tackling the hard questions before they arise!
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