3 answers
Joe’s Answer
Mark’s Answer
Kyle,
Great question to ask here today. Coaching others is an opportunity to make an impact on another persons life. I have coached in sports and mentored/coached in the professional world both. In my experience finding common ground and what motivates the person/s your working with can initially be challenging. Once you have identified the drivers for whomever you work with help them develop and write out their goals. I have found it is super empowering once they write their goals down and the are more likely to complete. If you run into a situation where you feeling like the situation is not improving ask your mentor for ideas on how you can move forward.
Alexandra’s Answer
So, I would like to preface this by saying that I have only coached small groups in rhythmic gymnastics and I am not a professional coach. However, from my experience being coached when I used to practice and from coaching as well, I would say the most difficult part is staying motivated and motivating your team. Sports can be fun but there is a lot of hard work involved. When you go to practice, you have to be 100% percent focused to make the most of it. You can't be checking your phone, thinking about your Friday night plans or taking long breaks. You have to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses and be willing to constantly improve. A coach's job is to give a team the confidence that they can do it. That is very difficult.
The second most difficult part is teamwork and getting along with other people. Even if you are not in a team sport, you have to work with others, you have to make many compromises and be willing to understand that people are different so they train differently. That may be especially challenging as a coach because you might be setting standards for the people you coach that are based on your own skills and experiences. You can't do that. You have to get to know the people you coach and be considerate of their skills and backgrounds. You also have to help them get along with each other and, hopefully, have fun together.