Every athlete wants to achieve greatness.
You train hard, watch the pros, and remain consistent in your effort. You know what you have control over when it comes to improving your game.
But what about the things you can’t control? What outside forces can help take you to the next level?
This is where your coach comes in.
For most athletes, coaches are crucial for meaningful development. But here’s the truth: coaches aren’t one-size-fits-all. What works for you may not work for someone else, and vice-versa.
How do you as an athlete know who is best for your style of play?
In my experience being a professional golfer and coach for my entire career, there are 3 “green flags” to look for when choosing a coach.
This list isn’t complete or full-proof, but you should definitely keep them in mind when you’re deciding who to bring on. If they have these 3 qualities, they are worth considering in my book.
Let’s jump in.
You train hard, watch the pros, and remain consistent in your effort. You know what you have control over when it comes to improving your game.
But what about the things you can’t control? What outside forces can help take you to the next level?
This is where your coach comes in.
For most athletes, coaches are crucial for meaningful development. But here’s the truth: coaches aren’t one-size-fits-all. What works for you may not work for someone else, and vice-versa.
How do you as an athlete know who is best for your style of play?
In my experience being a professional golfer and coach for my entire career, there are 3 “green flags” to look for when choosing a coach.
This list isn’t complete or full-proof, but you should definitely keep them in mind when you’re deciding who to bring on. If they have these 3 qualities, they are worth considering in my book.
Let’s jump in.
They Leverage Coaching Technology
If your coach isn’t using technology, they are doing you a disservice
And I don’t mean just texting and emailing. I mean coaching technology designed to help you improve.
Because as I’ve said for years, using text, email, whatsapp etc. is SO inefficient. You WILL get confused and things WILL get lost.
Proper technology is crucial for modern coaching relationships. To show consistent improvement, you need to keep track of practice times, notes, videos, and takeaways from your training sessions.
That’s where using the right tech comes in.
You’d be amazed at the difference it makes when a coach uses a platform like CoachNow.
With enhanced feedback from video analysis, you can really take your training to the next level. Your coach can provide extra details and a closer look at your performance, which you can interact with as many times as you want.
Spaces are another great feature that bring the coaching experience together - you can capture videos, photos, and anything else essential to your practice into your very own digital folder AND collaborate with your Coach(s) all in one spot.
With the click of a button, both you and your coach can view your progress, add notes, update footage, etc.
And the best part? All this information is documented and accessible to you when you need it. CoachNow not only helps you improve – it acts as a training journal that tells your entire athletic journey.
Can a coach help you improve with no technology? Yes.
But if we’re thinking in terms of “green flags”, I think it’s safe to assume that coaches who embrace tools like CoachNow are much more likely to take your game to the next level.
And I don’t mean just texting and emailing. I mean coaching technology designed to help you improve.
Because as I’ve said for years, using text, email, whatsapp etc. is SO inefficient. You WILL get confused and things WILL get lost.
Proper technology is crucial for modern coaching relationships. To show consistent improvement, you need to keep track of practice times, notes, videos, and takeaways from your training sessions.
That’s where using the right tech comes in.
You’d be amazed at the difference it makes when a coach uses a platform like CoachNow.
With enhanced feedback from video analysis, you can really take your training to the next level. Your coach can provide extra details and a closer look at your performance, which you can interact with as many times as you want.
Spaces are another great feature that bring the coaching experience together - you can capture videos, photos, and anything else essential to your practice into your very own digital folder AND collaborate with your Coach(s) all in one spot.
With the click of a button, both you and your coach can view your progress, add notes, update footage, etc.
And the best part? All this information is documented and accessible to you when you need it. CoachNow not only helps you improve – it acts as a training journal that tells your entire athletic journey.
Can a coach help you improve with no technology? Yes.
But if we’re thinking in terms of “green flags”, I think it’s safe to assume that coaches who embrace tools like CoachNow are much more likely to take your game to the next level.
They Don’t Coach in Isolation
It’s imperative that a good coach is open to collaborating with other professionals. By doing so, they give you the best opportunity to improve.
“I know everything about everything. You don’t need to talk to anybody else. I don’t want you to get distracted by other coaches.”
If you hear anything like this from a coach, I’d stay clear.
Why? Because no one is everything to everyone. To succeed, you need to hone in on multiple aspects of your sport.
And the best way to do that is by hearing from specialized experts.
But I’ll go deeper into that in next week’s blog.
The best coaches out there are those who realize where their limits lie. They really want to be good at more specific, niche things, rather than everything.
By having multiple coaches who specialize in different, yet complementary areas, you can be confident in knowing that they’re the best person for that specific job… Whether it be improving your swing, increasing your speed, upgrading your mindset etc.
“I know everything about everything. You don’t need to talk to anybody else. I don’t want you to get distracted by other coaches.”
If you hear anything like this from a coach, I’d stay clear.
Why? Because no one is everything to everyone. To succeed, you need to hone in on multiple aspects of your sport.
And the best way to do that is by hearing from specialized experts.
But I’ll go deeper into that in next week’s blog.
The best coaches out there are those who realize where their limits lie. They really want to be good at more specific, niche things, rather than everything.
By having multiple coaches who specialize in different, yet complementary areas, you can be confident in knowing that they’re the best person for that specific job… Whether it be improving your swing, increasing your speed, upgrading your mindset etc.
They Value Input From Your Network
Ego can get in the way of a productive coach relationship.
Specifically, I’ve seen this being true when it comes to the coach-parent dynamic. I’ve seen this relationship be quite dicey.
When coaches aren’t communicating clearly or parents overstep their bounds, it becomes easy for them to view each other as the enemy.
But that shouldn’t be the case. After all, you both have the same goal: for your athlete to reach their full potential.
So when a coach understands the intrinsic value of the athletes’ parents and views them, as an asset, not a liability, that’s a coach worth keeping.
So how should your coach keep your support network engaged and helpful? By being as transparent as possible.
Those times the coach-parent relationship becomes dicy is usually the result of them feeling out of the loop.
Remedy this by using technology to communicate, encouraging what I’ve called passive transparency.
CoachNow makes this healthy relationship really easy to achieve. All your coach needs to do is add your parent (or any other supportive party) to your Space and they can see everything you see.
It’s a win-win-win scenario. You get everything you need to practice effectively, your support can keep track of your development, and your coach doesn't have to do any extra work.
Another benefit that arises from coaches valuing parents is that when a coach lets parents see them in action, they can “ better convey the goals, hopes, and dreams” they have for the athlete.
In turn, this helps to create a common goal, and lets parents know how they “ can play a supporting role.”
Specifically, I’ve seen this being true when it comes to the coach-parent dynamic. I’ve seen this relationship be quite dicey.
When coaches aren’t communicating clearly or parents overstep their bounds, it becomes easy for them to view each other as the enemy.
But that shouldn’t be the case. After all, you both have the same goal: for your athlete to reach their full potential.
So when a coach understands the intrinsic value of the athletes’ parents and views them, as an asset, not a liability, that’s a coach worth keeping.
So how should your coach keep your support network engaged and helpful? By being as transparent as possible.
Those times the coach-parent relationship becomes dicy is usually the result of them feeling out of the loop.
Remedy this by using technology to communicate, encouraging what I’ve called passive transparency.
CoachNow makes this healthy relationship really easy to achieve. All your coach needs to do is add your parent (or any other supportive party) to your Space and they can see everything you see.
It’s a win-win-win scenario. You get everything you need to practice effectively, your support can keep track of your development, and your coach doesn't have to do any extra work.
Another benefit that arises from coaches valuing parents is that when a coach lets parents see them in action, they can “ better convey the goals, hopes, and dreams” they have for the athlete.
In turn, this helps to create a common goal, and lets parents know how they “ can play a supporting role.”
As I mentioned before, there isn’t a perfect recipe to figure out who will be the best coach. With countless options out there, it can be super overwhelming.
Focusing your search on traits and qualifications that are important to you specifically is a great place to start.
In many years of coaching, I’ve found that athletes achieve the greatest success when they:
If a coach has these traits AND the other qualities that are specific to your needs, they will likely be a great fit.
I’d love to hear from you: How did you find your coach? Do you have any other tips to help fellow athletes find their dream coach?
Let me know!
Focusing your search on traits and qualifications that are important to you specifically is a great place to start.
In many years of coaching, I’ve found that athletes achieve the greatest success when they:
- Train with coaches who leverage of coaching tech,
- Work with complementary specialists,
- Respect and inform their existing support network (e.g. their parents).
If a coach has these traits AND the other qualities that are specific to your needs, they will likely be a great fit.
I’d love to hear from you: How did you find your coach? Do you have any other tips to help fellow athletes find their dream coach?
Let me know!