Understanding Who Your Players Are

Every player that you will have the fortune of working with as a coach is different. And it is extremely important that you get to know each one of them, very well. As coaches we can sometimes avoid getting to know who our players really are, and this can effect the progress of the player and also the progress of the team as a whole.

How often do you see coaches who simply show up to training, coach their session, and then dismiss the players without ever really interacting with any of them? Instead a good coach will make some time to speak with his/her players and get to know them on a personal level. This can be before training, after training or even at times during training or away from the training ground altogether.

Sir Alex Ferguson taking some time to speak with a young Ronaldo

Why is this interaction so important? Why do we need to get to know our players on a personal level? Why is it crucial that we make this time available to speak with each player on our team?

It has such great importance because by discovering who the player really is only then will you be able to adjust your approach and deal with the various situations that arise through the course of a season.

By getting to know each player you will discover what motivates them, what turns them off, what ignites them to play at a higher level, why they may be inconsistent in their performances, and most of all you will get to know who they really are and in turn they will get to know you too. You will begin to build a relationship which allows you to build trust and gain confidence in one another. They will understand that they can come to you with questions or concerns and that you are there to help them become a better player and person overall.

This will only begin to truly happen once you, as a coach, as their leader and someone they look up to, really finds out who they are. It is more than the “hi, how are you?” approach, it is digging deep into who they are. Find out their hobbies, their likes and dislikes, the activities they are involved in outside of football. Ask them about school, the classes they enjoy or don't enjoy, who their friends are and what they like doing. Find out about their parents, parents names, a bit about who their parents are, what type of work they do, the relationship they share with each parent and if possible get to know their parents as well. Of course when players speak to you about their personal lives and who they are it must be kept confidential as they are entrusting you with this information.

Build a relationship with your players

These types of conversations shouldn't happen all at once and they shouldn't happen all the time. However, they should happen, and as a coach it is important that you get to know each player as best as you can. It will take time, a lot of time, but it will show great benefit for both player and coach in the long term. There will be times where the player does not want to share certain things with you, and that is fine too. But overall the more you can know about your players the better.

As you start to have deeper conversations with your players you will find that your players will begin to approach you about certain things. They will learn to trust you and find it easier to speak to you about different matters. Your coach/player relationship will grow and they will begin to work harder for you on the pitch. You will find it easier to motivate them and learn which ways work best when dealing with them. Overall they will gain confidence in you and know that you are there not only to help them win their next football match but more importantly you are there to help them.

Victor Satei
January 16, 2013