The subject is wide and the issue can be viewed from different perspectives. The coach role can be viewed from many angles. The coach doesn’t just throw programs at the athlete and wishes for good luck, or if she/he does like this, it’s worth considering a coaching change.

The role of the coach

What is the role of a coach and what is a good coach? The relationship between a coach and an athlete is truly diverse, the coach helps the athlete with progress, is involved in the ups and downs of the athlete’s life, and helps the athlete reconcile life and sports. The coach is responsible for following certain rules and working ethically right.

The coach is a listener, learner, planner, executor, reviewer and supporter. The relationship with the athlete must be based on trust and the discussion must be open. Even if a coach makes plans for the future, she/he is not a fortuneteller, without good communication with the athlete, one cannot find the factors that develop the athlete in the best possible way.

Each coach has their own perspectives, coaching styles, and ways of working that may not work with everyone. Someone may be an excellent coach, but he or she is unable to give the athlete exactly what he or she needs. Despite his/her own coaching principles, an athlete always makes a coach. Every athlete is an individual who acts differently. The coach must be able to relate his/her skills to the needs of each athlete. Even if the coach-athlete relationship works great, the athlete can change coach and the coach can end the coaching relationship. Even after years, an athlete may need a new stimulus or perspective/style to do so. The coach must also note if he/she is no longer able to give the athlete the help they need to move to the next level. It’s easy to become blind and end up in a dead-end.

A coach who asks for help from others does not show weakness but strength. For example, a coach without qualified nutritional training or knowledge is not the right person to guide an athlete with nutrition. The same goes for mental coaching, rehabilitation, and other areas.

The role of the athlete

The athlete is part of the planning and execution of the training. Too often, athletes do things without knowing why they do it. There are a lot of emotions involved in sports. Learning, development and the rest of life go hand in hand along with sports and emotions. If the athlete does not speak to the coach, the coach will not be able to react to anything, in which case the impact may be reflected in training and development.

An athlete should not do anything blindly. Many may find themselves too tired from training, but are quiet, considering it part of the matter. Many may eat supplements that a coach (often without deeper understanding) has prescribed to an athlete without knowing why they are even eating them. Athletes’ responsibility is to be active, ask and find out why certain things are being done. It is the athlete’s responsibility to tell honestly what he or she thinks about things or how life is generally going. If there is an obstacle to this kind of conversation, you can start thinking about an athlete-coach relationship.

The athlete makes a coach

Although a group of individual athletes train together, each of them is an individual that the coach should treat as a separate individual. Coaches teach athletes a lot and help them, but in the end, it is always the athlete who makes the coach.