By Gary McChalicher, Justin Loudon, and Jim Davis
Sports offer the most powerful learning environment on the planet, IF we decide to use that platform wisely. Power does not always elicit positive outcomes. While ‘sports gone wrong’ is still a daily headline, intentional, thoughtful coaching can teach lessons that last a lifetime. For those who are willing to go beyond strength and teach those lessons, the weightroom offers a unique opportunity to teach them. The season lasts three months, offseason training spans the rest of the year – in training, we have an extended teaching period. With a combination of experiences ranging from strength training, teaching, and athletic administration, we have identified 5 key concepts to ensure you can go Beyond Strength to maximize the potential of the weightroom as a learning space.
- Build Relationships
What makes an athlete tick? Motivation requires alignment with the motives of your people – the only way to accurately source an athlete’s motives is to ask them. Learn about them. Talk to them. Establishing strong connections allows a degree of education that is difficult to find in other realms of sport. The athletes have their helmets off, they are not face down in the water or tiptoeing a high beam – they are there with you in the same room, in close proximity, and eager to learn… if you’re willing to prioritize a relationship to the human being first.
- Provide Healthy Challenge
The adage that an athlete does not care how much you know until they know how much you care (which is why building relationships is a top priority) is absolutely true. When trust has been built, use it wisely. Challenge offers a great way to empower young people. While discipline is crucial, athletes also crave challenges that push them beyond their perceived limits. Even when athletes claim not to like challenges, overcoming them leads to a sense of accomplishment, assuming the coach takes time to frame the experience. The coach should name the challenge, identify that it is the athlete who has faced it, and acknowledge that success in the face of the challenge is theirs, they earned it. Coaches should provide opportunities for athletes to test their limits and celebrate their successes, no matter how small. As challenge-tolerance increases, the coach can push even further. With an atmosphere that embraces a growth mindset, the possibilities are endless.
- Create Small Victories
Create environments where athletes can collect ‘wins’. Each new PR, each attendance milestone, is worthy of celebration. There are few athletic settings where quantifiable improvements, such as a five-pound weight increase, are notable. If a quarterback does everything asked of him but throws two interceptions in a game, he collects feedback that is not necessarily indicative of his process – the process is where transferrable life lessons are often formed. But if that same athlete shows up routinely to training, works hard, focuses on technique, rests well, and shows up the next day (tired or not) ready to keep working and support his teammates throughout… life lessons are truly being learned. And we have data to back it up. Celebrate the 5lb PR. Celebrate a half-inch improvement in broad jump. Celebrate great attitudes and gritty competitive nature. Reward what you want to see more of and it will stick.
- Practice Empathy
Empathy is the ability to see things from another’s perspective, to understand the situation and feelings of someone else. It could also be defined as intentional social and human awareness. In some weightrooms, the term might sound soft. It is anything but. In fact, it can be incredibly difficult but always powerful. Whether it is related to home life, school, injuries, or personal confidence, coaches should adapt their coaching style to accommodate individual needs when possible. If you are working with high school or college athletes, take the temperature of the room and shift to a competitive game day. They will still get work in. Meet them where they are. If you notice an athlete is more reserved and down than usual, care enough to focus on the person first. Fostering an environment where athletes feel seen, understood, and supported will improve all outcomes.
- Be Intentional
Should a swimmer spend a full day doing sprints? Should an offensive lineman spend the day running miles? Strength coaches are intentional about how they train athletes for physical outcomes. They evaluate teaching methods, adapt strategies, and ensure that students not only receive information but also understand and apply it. This applies to all levels of coaching. Do you want your athletes to be excited about what they are doing? Model excitement. Do you want them to build emotion regulation? Don’t throw a chair across the room when someone walks in late. Name the qualities, physical and psychological, that you are hoping to develop, then align your strategies to those outcomes. When asked the question, “Does your behavior match your goal?” we should all be able to say yes.
Moving Forward
Empowering athletes in the weight room extends beyond physical training. Note the importance of building relationships, challenging athletes, creating small victories, practicing empathy, and being intentional about outcomes. By intentionally incorporating these principles into coaching practices, strength coaches can create a transformative and truly empowering environment that extends well beyond the weight room. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it is a fantastic starting point! Are you an experienced strength coach with insights to add? REACH OUT to write for us and share with the Good Athlete Project community of coaches!
