Coaches ask me all of the time about how they can round out their coaching offer.
Their questions span from specific coaching knowledge, to growing their business, bringing in more money, and everything in between.
And I get it. Coaching has so many different aspects to it that it can be hard to even know where to begin.
While there are surely many ways you can improve, today I want to share 3 skills that I believe were most instrumental in making me the coach and business owner that I am today.
In my mind, these are the 3 skills coaches must have to take themselves, their athletes, and their business to the next level.
Let’s jump in.
Clear, Frequent, and Transparent Communication
All relationships live and die on communication.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much you know if you can’t communicate effectively.
Humans in general learn in a variety of different ways - some visually, some by hearing, some by kinesthetics, etc. There’s no one size fits all approach to coaching.
With that being said, that’s exactly why you need to be able to effectively communicate the things that you’re hoping to work on with your athletes.
Make sure that you prioritize communication during the coaching session, but even more importantly, outside of that session as well.
This lets the athlete know that you care and will help them to make forward momentum on their progress.
Plus, mastering the art of synchronous communication allows your athletes' support network to stay up to date on their development.
Often your retention depends not on what the athlete thinks about your coaching, but also the impression you leave on their parents.
Communicating through CoachNow ensures that your athletes always know exactly what to practice, ensures they are keeping their progress documented, and allows for “passive transparency” with their parents and other coaches.
Trust me. It really can make a world of difference.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much you know if you can’t communicate effectively.
Humans in general learn in a variety of different ways - some visually, some by hearing, some by kinesthetics, etc. There’s no one size fits all approach to coaching.
With that being said, that’s exactly why you need to be able to effectively communicate the things that you’re hoping to work on with your athletes.
Make sure that you prioritize communication during the coaching session, but even more importantly, outside of that session as well.
This lets the athlete know that you care and will help them to make forward momentum on their progress.
Plus, mastering the art of synchronous communication allows your athletes' support network to stay up to date on their development.
Often your retention depends not on what the athlete thinks about your coaching, but also the impression you leave on their parents.
Communicating through CoachNow ensures that your athletes always know exactly what to practice, ensures they are keeping their progress documented, and allows for “passive transparency” with their parents and other coaches.
Trust me. It really can make a world of difference.
Proficiency in Technology
As a skill coach, your main metric of success is quite simple - is your athlete improving as a result of your coaching?
To help them improve their technical skills, you NEED to give them detailed feedback and break down their swing, pitch, throw, etc.
In order to bring those goals to life, you’ll need to use technology.
With CoachNow’s video and image analysis suite, we’ve made it super easy to help bring your athletes to the next level - everything you’ll need is here, all in one place. And, perhaps most importantly, it’s super easy for anyone to use, regardless of age, experience, or technical background.
Not only will our features like skeleton tracking, voice overs, and slo-mo empower your athletes, they’ll also empower you to continue becoming a better coach.
Ultimately, you’ll need to use at least SOME technology to see meaningful growth. If you don’t, you’ll lose many athletes to coaches who embrace video analysis and other technologies to aid in their coaching.
To help them improve their technical skills, you NEED to give them detailed feedback and break down their swing, pitch, throw, etc.
In order to bring those goals to life, you’ll need to use technology.
With CoachNow’s video and image analysis suite, we’ve made it super easy to help bring your athletes to the next level - everything you’ll need is here, all in one place. And, perhaps most importantly, it’s super easy for anyone to use, regardless of age, experience, or technical background.
Not only will our features like skeleton tracking, voice overs, and slo-mo empower your athletes, they’ll also empower you to continue becoming a better coach.
Ultimately, you’ll need to use at least SOME technology to see meaningful growth. If you don’t, you’ll lose many athletes to coaches who embrace video analysis and other technologies to aid in their coaching.
Adopting The Mindset of a Business Owner
Here’s the thing.
It’s not good enough to be a technical master who communicates with the athlete - you MUST be able to monetize your business and your expertise appropriately.
If you’re not investing and leveling up your business skills, you’re missing out on a huge element of success.
Ideally, here are a few things that you should have a decent understanding of:
-Basic website building (eg: Wix or Squarespace)
-How to create and schedule social media content
-The basics of creating coaching offers (More on this here)
-The billing components of running a business
Ultimately, you need to have a cursory knowledge of all of these things so that when you’re successful enough, you can start to hire people to fulfill those jobs.
And, as I’ve stressed in the past, it’s crucial that you also upgrade your mindset.
You’re not just a coach, you’re an entrepreneur. Think like one. Adapt to the market, pivot frequently, and experiment.
You’ll be surprised how much of a difference this makes.
It’s not good enough to be a technical master who communicates with the athlete - you MUST be able to monetize your business and your expertise appropriately.
If you’re not investing and leveling up your business skills, you’re missing out on a huge element of success.
Ideally, here are a few things that you should have a decent understanding of:
-Basic website building (eg: Wix or Squarespace)
-How to create and schedule social media content
-The basics of creating coaching offers (More on this here)
-The billing components of running a business
Ultimately, you need to have a cursory knowledge of all of these things so that when you’re successful enough, you can start to hire people to fulfill those jobs.
And, as I’ve stressed in the past, it’s crucial that you also upgrade your mindset.
You’re not just a coach, you’re an entrepreneur. Think like one. Adapt to the market, pivot frequently, and experiment.
You’ll be surprised how much of a difference this makes.
To wrap this up, every coach has different strengths and weaknesses that they bring to the table.
But regardless of where you start out, you will achieve success and grow your business exponentially if you can master these 3 skills.
Helping athletes improve technically, communicating effectively, and knowing how to run your business are all crucial and interrelated parts of your coaching journey. Without each of them, your coaching and your business will fall flat.
But don’t let it overwhelm you - everyone needs to start somewhere.
With that, I encourage you to take the first step today.
Map out a plan for the next 3 months, audit your business, and take action.
Happy to help however I can, please reach out if you need anything!
But regardless of where you start out, you will achieve success and grow your business exponentially if you can master these 3 skills.
Helping athletes improve technically, communicating effectively, and knowing how to run your business are all crucial and interrelated parts of your coaching journey. Without each of them, your coaching and your business will fall flat.
But don’t let it overwhelm you - everyone needs to start somewhere.
With that, I encourage you to take the first step today.
Map out a plan for the next 3 months, audit your business, and take action.
Happy to help however I can, please reach out if you need anything!