Relationships in sport. Are you getting it right?

I’m going to suggest a relationship is the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected.

One of the relationships you must pay attention to is the one between you and your coach and I’d like you consider the following three questions and give yourself truthful answers. Noone will see these and you don’t have to show your coach but you can take your answers and choose to do something positive with them.

1. Which of the following ways of communicating does your coach interact with you – criticise, praise or ignore you
2. Do you believe the coach wants you to be the best you can be?  Either way, what makes you come to that conclusion?
3. Are you honest with the coach with your feelings about your own performance? If no, ask yourself why you aren’t honest with your coach about your feelings.

To be successful there must be mutual trust and respect between player and coach and this relationship thrives when communication is honest, supportive and open with each having the mindset of “What can I do to help others be the best they can be” for when each player and coach has this mindset, their focus becomes more about the team and others rather than a selfish approach that can leave a person blinkered as to what’s possible.

Now let’s consider the relationship between team mates and others.  In my younger days I had many teammates and I was very judgemental about their performances on the court.  I had something to prove to myself and wanted to be the best I could be but also wanted my team to win so I would challenge my team-mates to step up and improve, if only with increasing their hustle levels.  I believe any player, no matter your ability, skill set or technical ability can bring hustle and it’s hustle that brings a small increment of improvement over the course of a game.

If you’re lazy, I will call you out!

When you think of a team, you think of roles, and when you think of roles, you think of the people filling those roles and when you think of the people filling those roles, you can begin to understand what needs to be done to improve or what’s working really well.

The relationship between players again must be one of mutual trust and respect for a team to thrive.  You don’t need to be best friends away from the field of play but as soon as you cross that line into competition you shift your mindset and place your trust and respect into your teammates and if you’re unable to do that, then that’s a sign that something needs to change.

Of course you’ll form stronger bonds with some which can sometimes cause a fracture between the team, usually the better players will create their own click so it’s important you recognise the fracture and tell yourself no matter a players ability you must place your trust and respect into them for the sake of the team.  Another benefit of placing your trust and respect into lesser players is they will feel your positivity towards them and that can inspire them to play better.

As a recap over these last few episodes, we have explored the 7 pillars of growth that each of us need to spend time understanding when it comes to improving performance and wellbeing.

Moving forward I’ll be sharing insights and tips from my experiences with the aim to help you be the best you can be.