Players and coaches alike have a tendency to think that talking can lead to victory. Let me be clear there is a difference between talking and communication. Talking is transmitting only – the listener does not understand or maybe care what is being talked about. This has no impact or a negative impact. Communication on the other hand is where the sender and receiver are the same page – words are being spoken and understood by the listener. This is what wins games.
Many times coaches are talking to players without the players fully understanding what is being said but more importantly they don’t know how to do what is being said. I have seen it too many times where a coach has yelled at a player – you have to make that tackle, you have to make that block, I told you to watch him, etc. Now sometimes the player has been trained to do the thing being asked but simply made a mistake but often it is a result of the player not being able to do it. I can imagine a coach saying something like – I told you to not let him score 50 on us in a basketball game and the player thinking “I could not stop him – I needed help”. What has happened there – a coach will tell everyone “I told them not to let him score 50” and the players thinking the coach had no plan that worked. The result is a division between coach and player. A coach must communicate.
The most effective communications are when a coach asks a player – what are you seeing out there. Then a coach can correct and show the player where they can improve. Many times it is where the players eyes are – they have to read the play off the correct keys otherwise the player will never see the play until it is too late. A player must be willing to ask questions and look for ways to improve communications with the coach. The coach has to communicate with the entire team and many times needs to do so quickly so the player is responsible for making sure they understand by either asking a coach or another player for clarification. The real trouble is when none of their teammates understood it either….
The coach must be clear as to what they are communicating at all times. Sometimes coaches argue with officials to show their team that the coach has their back. Often times in baseball the manager comes out to argue a call just so the player feels better. This is fantastic as long as the discussion with the official does not go too far – young players are affected by a yelling, ranting coach no matter who he is talking to. A coach must demonstrate to the players that he has their best interest in mind at all times and communicates it every time.