By Tim Elmore
Growing Leaders
Six Steps Great Coaches Take to Help Athletes Reach Potential
Cristian Mojica, a high school student at Boston Latin Academy and a talented football player and swimmer, was far more serious about sports than his academic development. That is – until this past year. What did it take? Sitting on the side of the pool with a stopwatch timing other swimmers.
His coach, along with his dad, decided Cristian needed to see the bigger picture. So when his grades came in, it was the perfect time to act, as the student had a 1.66 GPA and athletes are required to have a 1.67 GPA to participate. Cristian approached his head coach, Mark Thomas, and asked him what he could do to help him avoid any penalties.
His coach stuck to his guns, and despite the athlete’s shock, told Cristian that no one could help him get back in the pool – except himself. “I honestly don’t think he took it that serious… he didn’t think it was a big deal and he’d be able to slide by. Well guess what, he didn’t,” Thomas said. “He came to me and said, ‘What can you do?’ I said, ‘Cristian, there’s nothing I can do. If I could do something, I would.' He needed to learn a lesson.” Seemingly, everything in our culture screams that sport ranks above all else. But in reality, athletics teach us lessons about life if we’ll approach them properly.
Coach Thomas and Cristian’s dad agreed he would sit by the pool, hold the stopwatch and time the other swimmers, knowing that watching them would add to his incentive to improve his GPA. According to his next report card, it worked. Cristian carried a solid 3.2 GPA and got to compete in the city championships, after being named the Boston Scholar-Athlete of the Month.
“At the beginning of my high school career, I never would’ve thought I’d be nominated for that because my grades weren’t where they should’ve been,” Cristian said during a recent swim meet. “It feels good to be nominated." His coach and parents saw what the athlete could not – his full potential. Now, he knows he can rise to the occasion.
How to Enable a Student-Athlete to Rise to the Occasion
1. Tell them what you see.
Very often, student-athletes hide behind vanity, blind to their inward potential or aptitude. If you see potential, be clear about your vision and let them know. Therapists today frequently identify a condition in kids they call, “high arrogance, low self-esteem.” It’s crucial that we help them see their aptitude far beyond their sport and express belief in them.
2. Use the word “yet.”
When student-athletes say they aren’t good at math, science or reading, they aren’t lying. So far, they may have only seen mediocrity in the classroom. Stanford professor Dr. Carol Dweck experimented with the word, “yet.” You can agree a student isn’t good at something… yet. Always cultivate a “growth mindset” instead of a “fixed mindset” because the brain works like a muscle. Development is possible.
3. Create incentive in them.
Stick to your standards for academics or character. Don’t let students slide by – their boss likely won’t on the job in five years. Suspend them so they can grow, but find a way to have them “hold the stopwatch.” Keep them close to the sport they love, to build a fire inside of them to return motivated.
4. Help them “own” their growth.
In Cristian’s story, his coach communicated that the only person who could help the student get back in the pool was himself. They put the ownership on him. Our culture today fosters a victim mindset that allows kids to blame someone else for their lack of performance. We owe it to our growing leaders to equip them to take responsibility and own their journey.
5. Position your standards in the right place.
It’s easy to hold standards too low or high for some of our student-athletes. You must size-up what you believe to be their potential. Compare it to your standards for the team, and choose your standards wisely. Influential leaders help teams reach heights they may not reach on their own, rather than discouraging them with standard’s they’ll never reach.
6. Consistently hold them accountable.
Once you’ve determined your standards, the only hope you have of players meeting them is to be consistent in your enforcement. Helping athletes achieve peak performance on and off the field is all about sticking to your guns and holding them accountable. It’s how people grow and how successful people reach their potential.
For more tips on preparing athletes for excellence, check out: Habitudes for Athletes. Implemented by the San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals, and college athletes from University of Alabama, University of Texas and Auburn University among others, the curriculum uses powerful images to teach important character principles. As a result, athletes are equipped and empowered to develop healthy character-based leadership skills that positively impact their life – on and off the field.
About the Author
Tim Elmore is a leading authority on how to understand the next generation and prepare tomorrow’s leaders today. He is a best-selling author, international speaker, and president of Growing Leaders (www.GrowingLeaders.com), a nonprofit that helps develop emerging leaders under the philosophy that each child is born with leadership qualities. For over 30 years, he has taught leadership through the power of images and stories that enable young adults to influence others in a positive way.
He and his team train high school and college students with skills to serve at school, work, home, and the community. Since founding Growing Leaders, he has spoken to more than 350,000 students and staff on hundreds of campuses across the country, including Stanford University, Duke University, Purdue, Auburn University, University of North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Baylor University. Tim has also provided leadership training and resources for the National FFA Organization and major athletic programs, including the University of Alabama, University of Nebraska, University of Texas, Virginia Tech and the San Francisco Giants.
Tim has written more than 25 books, including the best-selling, Habitudes: Images that Form Leadership Habits and Attitudes®, Artificial Maturity: Helping Kids Meet the Challenge of Becoming Authentic Adults, Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future, Life Giving Mentors, and Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child. His sought-after parenting expertise includes insightful blog articles, such as “7 Crippling Parenting Behaviors That Keep Children from Growing into Leaders,” on Forbes which has received more than 5.7 million views. You can follow Tim and Growing Leaders on Twitter @GrowingLeaders and @TimElmore.