Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
In this past Saturday’s New York Times sports section, a front-page article entitled "For the Court, a Head Coach, for the Head, a Life Coach", speaks to the whole notion of how do we maximize our performance.” And for these elite college basketball players at the pinnacle of their sport, performance hinges on how they show up in the moment. There is no second chance.
Firstly, let’s put some words to “life coach”. Simply, a person who listens, engages the person to dive deep in to what’s getting in the way of their goals, so they can reach them. These are not “fix-it” people, but those professionally trained to listen acutely, with real empathy, and allow the person to formulate their clarity of purpose so present and ready to perform. Many have resorted to life coaches, like Michael Jordan and LeBron James to name a few.
And in the world of collegiate athletics, where demands and expectations are high, student-athletes face many distractions that influence their performance. Adequate preparation for studies, conditioning for games, social interactions and other influences effect how all of them every day and ultimately in big moments. March Madness!! It's a distraction but an opportunity.
Good for the New York Times to bring to light the power of life coaching. Whether it is the student-athletes, the coach or other person, it starts in the inner sanctum of each person to get to their highest level of performance on and off the court.
Coaching life yields big returns for coaching on the court.
So I ask you....
- What do your student-athletes value?
- How do their values show up, personally, and from a team perspective?
- How do they define their success and what does it look like?
