Aiming to be a Top Athlete? Four Ways to Get the Most out of Your Coaching Sessions
Make sure your coaches know your goals.
This will enable them to give you the most helpful feedback. They will likely have different feedback for you if you’re trying to become a professional athlete vs trying to exercise or play a sport recreationally.
Be open to all kinds of feedback.
Hearing positive feedback is the easy part. Be open to accepting negative feedback. While taking constructive criticism isn’t always easy, it’s important to remember that the purpose of the feedback is to grow and improve. Resist being defensive and insisting on why you were doing something a certain way. It’s not about being right, it’s about getting better.
No matter your level of expertise – trust the coach’s eye.
We can always learn more. You may be the best player on your team or the strongest athlete in the gym, but trust that the coach is seeing something that can help you improve even more. They have worked with a lot of athletes and they have experience that can be helpful.
Fully listen first, then ask questions.
Questions are great, but first fully listen to what your coach is saying. You aren’t going to learn much until you make sure you’re listening more than you’re talking.