I want you to think about all the coaches you have ever experienced in your lifetime. What do all the best coaches have in common? Is their overwhelming knowledge of the game, their ability to deal with adversity, or are they just simply the best communicators? I am going to go with the latter. In my experience, the best coaches are always the best communicators. I don't care how knowledgeable you are, if you cannot connect with another human being and help them to understand how to get better, then you are back to square one. If you are like most of us out there, we need a lot of work on our communication skills which is why I wanted to share 7 sure fire communication techniques that will help you become a better communicator in your next batting practice session.
The first baseball batting coaching strategy is a bit counter-intuitive. If you have ever conducted a private lesson, you know that most of the time is spent giving the player advice and fixing his mechanical mistakes. This is precisely why I want you ask more questions. Players will agree with you by shaking their head and acknowledging that they are listening, but the real question is do they understand what you are saying? Experience has taught me that they don't. Ask players questions to get a feel for what doesn't make sense, do you have a different theory, what do you think your struggling with? The more you know about your player, the more you understand his learning style and the way he approaches hitting. More information allows you to more effectively design baseball batting solutions to his baseball batting problems.
The second baseball batting coaching strategy revolves around emotion and temper. Player emotions will always run high; it is in their nature. Performance feels very personal and when you fail it can be very embarrassing and self-deflating. This is exactly why your relaxed confident nature must never change. If you get frustrated and raise your tone you are only going to add pressure to the situation and fuel the fire. One of the main responsibilities of a batting coach is to ease player tension and get them back to a relaxed state so they can perform at a high level. Keep in mind that your frustration is a result of your lack of ability to help your player make the batting adjustments necessary. If you remain relaxed and positive, so will he.
#3: Change what you say. I was once told that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If this is your fifth baseball batting training session and your player is still struggling to understand what you are teaching, change the words that come out of your mouth. It's ridiculous to think that repeating yourself over and over again is eventually going to work. If you truly believe that, tape record yourself and play it back every time you meet because it will save you the trouble of talking! Be creative in your approach and find what connects with your player. Every player learns differently. If you find the sayings that connect with him, then you find the key to creating a better swing.
The fourth baseball batting coaching strategy revolves around failure. Help your players to see failure as an asset, not something to be ashamed of. Hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult things to do in life and you will fail, it's inevitable! In fact, I will make you a bet right now. Your players will fail at least 70% of time every season. That's a .300 batting average by the way. Here is a quote that will help you get the big picture. I have not failed. I've found 10,000 ways that won't work, said Sir Thomas Edison (invented the light bulb). It can be tough to see through the cloud of dust but every batting failure, is a chance to learn what you did wrong, and what you need to do right the next time. Playing the learning game is imperative to becoming a great hitter.
#5: You are in a suburb, not a city. Communication is a two way street, not a one-way road. Communication is not talking at your player and getting him to agree with you. Communication is allowing your player to freely form his own opinions and share them with you! I am sure he has feedback on how you could become a better coach! What's the matter, don't like what he has to say? Baseball Coaches are always at the front of the line in arrogance. If you want to be a better baseball batting instructor, ask your player what you could be doing better to connect with him. If he says nothing or that you are doing a great job, he is lying. Find out what he doesn't like about how things are going and you will establish much stronger bond of trust.
Batting Training Communication Technique #6: Be lavish in your praise, and short to criticize. This is an old sales technique. People like to know that they are making progress and are doing a good job. On the flip side, players hate to be criticized and will resent you for it. It has nothing do with you, it's just the way of the world. If you want to get your players to work harder, be lavish in your praise. Reward your players for the smallest accomplishments in your baseball batting training sessions and they will work twice as hard to get better.
Batting Training Communication Technique #7: Baseball is fun, make a joke or two. A lot of comedic things happen the baseball field. Let your players know that it is okay to laugh when something is funny. I have played for too many coaches who take the game to serious. Players play their best baseball when they are relaxed and enjoy the game. If you find things are getting a bit too tense, add some humor to the situation. After all, the reason you start playing the game is because it is fun.
I don't expect you to walk away and put these techniques into your next baseball batting training session immediately. Like anything else, it takes time to work it all in. The key is to identify these situations when they arise so you can resolve the issue immediately. If you are running on all cylinders and master these baseball coaching techniques, it won't be long until you have one of the most rewarding experiences life hast to offer which is helping another person reach their goals.
The first baseball batting coaching strategy is a bit counter-intuitive. If you have ever conducted a private lesson, you know that most of the time is spent giving the player advice and fixing his mechanical mistakes. This is precisely why I want you ask more questions. Players will agree with you by shaking their head and acknowledging that they are listening, but the real question is do they understand what you are saying? Experience has taught me that they don't. Ask players questions to get a feel for what doesn't make sense, do you have a different theory, what do you think your struggling with? The more you know about your player, the more you understand his learning style and the way he approaches hitting. More information allows you to more effectively design baseball batting solutions to his baseball batting problems.
The second baseball batting coaching strategy revolves around emotion and temper. Player emotions will always run high; it is in their nature. Performance feels very personal and when you fail it can be very embarrassing and self-deflating. This is exactly why your relaxed confident nature must never change. If you get frustrated and raise your tone you are only going to add pressure to the situation and fuel the fire. One of the main responsibilities of a batting coach is to ease player tension and get them back to a relaxed state so they can perform at a high level. Keep in mind that your frustration is a result of your lack of ability to help your player make the batting adjustments necessary. If you remain relaxed and positive, so will he.
#3: Change what you say. I was once told that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If this is your fifth baseball batting training session and your player is still struggling to understand what you are teaching, change the words that come out of your mouth. It's ridiculous to think that repeating yourself over and over again is eventually going to work. If you truly believe that, tape record yourself and play it back every time you meet because it will save you the trouble of talking! Be creative in your approach and find what connects with your player. Every player learns differently. If you find the sayings that connect with him, then you find the key to creating a better swing.
The fourth baseball batting coaching strategy revolves around failure. Help your players to see failure as an asset, not something to be ashamed of. Hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult things to do in life and you will fail, it's inevitable! In fact, I will make you a bet right now. Your players will fail at least 70% of time every season. That's a .300 batting average by the way. Here is a quote that will help you get the big picture. I have not failed. I've found 10,000 ways that won't work, said Sir Thomas Edison (invented the light bulb). It can be tough to see through the cloud of dust but every batting failure, is a chance to learn what you did wrong, and what you need to do right the next time. Playing the learning game is imperative to becoming a great hitter.
#5: You are in a suburb, not a city. Communication is a two way street, not a one-way road. Communication is not talking at your player and getting him to agree with you. Communication is allowing your player to freely form his own opinions and share them with you! I am sure he has feedback on how you could become a better coach! What's the matter, don't like what he has to say? Baseball Coaches are always at the front of the line in arrogance. If you want to be a better baseball batting instructor, ask your player what you could be doing better to connect with him. If he says nothing or that you are doing a great job, he is lying. Find out what he doesn't like about how things are going and you will establish much stronger bond of trust.
Batting Training Communication Technique #6: Be lavish in your praise, and short to criticize. This is an old sales technique. People like to know that they are making progress and are doing a good job. On the flip side, players hate to be criticized and will resent you for it. It has nothing do with you, it's just the way of the world. If you want to get your players to work harder, be lavish in your praise. Reward your players for the smallest accomplishments in your baseball batting training sessions and they will work twice as hard to get better.
Batting Training Communication Technique #7: Baseball is fun, make a joke or two. A lot of comedic things happen the baseball field. Let your players know that it is okay to laugh when something is funny. I have played for too many coaches who take the game to serious. Players play their best baseball when they are relaxed and enjoy the game. If you find things are getting a bit too tense, add some humor to the situation. After all, the reason you start playing the game is because it is fun.
I don't expect you to walk away and put these techniques into your next baseball batting training session immediately. Like anything else, it takes time to work it all in. The key is to identify these situations when they arise so you can resolve the issue immediately. If you are running on all cylinders and master these baseball coaching techniques, it won't be long until you have one of the most rewarding experiences life hast to offer which is helping another person reach their goals.
About the Author:
Get more effective batting lessons from our blog! When you want to improve your baseball batting skills, you can get the complete information you need today!
No comments:
Post a Comment