The Mana Enhanced Coach

Who am I?

The Mana Enhanced Coach represents the BEST version of yourself and brings out the BEST in the people they have in front of them everytime! As a coach you are HELPING people to step into their FULL POTENTIAL.

You can only do this if you are ready to step up to be the most REAL and AUTHENTIC person you can be each time you turn up. You need to know yourself before you expect others to know YOU!


Some TIPS on how to begin this journey:

  1. Know YOURSELF- what are my values, strengths, weaknesses, personality type

  2. Don't ADVISE- let them talk. Your ADVICE is your TRUTH not theirs, instead try to draw out information from your players

  3. Be PRESENT in the moment, withold judgement.

  4. Be AWARE of your body language and tone of voice- what is this saying about you?

  5. Make a difference EVERYDAY- you may not even realise you are doing this!

  6. LISTEN, LISTEN- drop the EGO, leave your own story at he door, let your players tell their story, this is where the magic happens. Practice MINDFUL Listening by using MLP (My Little Pony)

Mirror Acknowledge what you have heard

Link Validate what you have heard something like.... "that makes perfect sense because..." or I understand what you are saying and that this must be making you feel.....

Pause

  1. QUESTIONING : When you....? How did you....? What happened when you....? Try asking three questions to really get to the more meaningful and more useful information from your player. Eg: How was that? Where were you postioned when you got the ball? What did you have to do to get to that position?

  2. Allow and NOTICE the a-ha moments

The Activities 1-4 on pages 7-15 on the link below from the Growing Coaches Resource is a great start to help you to explore and reflect on your past, present and future attributes you have or may develop to be a successful coach.

The Authentic Coach

Our authentic nature has the ability to determine for ourselves who we are, who we want to become, and how we inspire others to become their best through the process of our own self-improvement and leadership. Self-validation requires a leader to be self-aware. Gardner and colleagues (2005) suggest self-awareness is considered a key feature of authentic leadership. Self-awareness calls for a leader to look inside oneself and truly understand strengths and weaknesses. When the leader and coach develop self-awareness, those they lead can develop their own self-awareness. Understanding ones true self is the first step to leading oneself, allowing for leadership of others. This can be difficult because it requires an honest evaluation of oneself. Ego must be put aside for an honest evaluation. If a leader can better understand oneself, their personal characteristics, traits, true desires and visions then the leader and coach becomes more authentic in leading ( taken from" Authentic Leadership and Coaching" by Coach Nate Hartman)

My Coaching Philosophy is......

Your philosophy is your set of values and beliefs. Its about identifying your and your Athletes Character Strengths ( see link below) Coach philosophy is understood and developed by reflecting on why you are doing what you are doing. It will set the foundation for your coaching.


What is your Coaching STYLE?

Coaching styles can vary. Coaches may have a preferred style of coaching, which is normally based on your personality, but you need to be adaptable and to be able to use different styles according to the situation and the needs of the performers.

Three main styles have been identified:

  • Autocratic' - 'Bossy' - 'Authoritarian'

  • 'Democratic' - 'Guider' - 'Personable'

  • 'Laissez-Faire' - 'Minder' - 'Casual

The Athlete - Centred Coach

Sport is played by people, coached by people and managed by people,

so it is imperative to get the people side of sport right.

When athletes take greater responsibility and have ownership of their results, they begin to understand what behaviors contribute to high performance and which ones to poor performance. Through this development of self-awareness, athletes learn to self-correct their technique and tactical play. They learn to make better decisions on the field or in a race, when it matters the most.

To coach more effectively, it is critical to understand who is in front of you and then build an environment that suits the needs, values, and priorities of the person being coached—not solely the person doing the coaching. In order to do that, you must:

  • Understand the critical components of a person-centered/ athlete-centered environment and build them into your coaching practice.

  • Take the coaching self-assessment to ensure you are creating an athlete-centered environment.( see article below "Every Moment Matters")

  • Ask your athletes to finish the sentence: “One thing I wish my coaches knew about me that would help them coach me better is…”

  • Conclude your player meetings with the question, “How can I be better for you?”


Great coaches are athlete-centered and person-centered. They recognise that if they connect with the individual and if they coach the person and not the sport, they will reach more of their athletes than by taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Good luck.