CONNECT BEFORE YOU CORRECT

CONNECT BEFORE YOU CORRECT

As I begin to transition into more of a coach than a player in my career (working camps and clinics, giving private instruction, and even being a captain at Athletes Unlimited), I often have to remind myself that the best way I can help people is to love them before I try to “correct” anything that I see wrong.

I travel pretty frequently to work with all types of baseball and softball players. Some have great swings and just need a different voice, some have serious swing flaws, and some just need a boost of confidence. Everyone is always working on something, which I love. What I don’t love? Parents or coaches that say something to a player in between every rep. Listen, I’m all for coaching cues and being passionate about development and improvement, but I can’t imagine getting coached on every single rep of my playing career. If my dad or any other coach that I have had did that, I wouldn’t have had a career at all. I would have been too overwhelmed to actually improve at anything. I would have given up because perfection was never going to be attainable.

More often than not I see this “coach every rep” approach from coaches or parents who haven’t had a ton of experience and that is perfectly okay. The best advice I could give you if you are new to the realm of coaching or parenting a ballplayer? Connect before you correct. What does this look like?

Have a conversation with a kid before you address a swing flaw.
Ask them how their day at school was.
Treat them like a human being rather than just a player.
Create failure forward environments. Show them that your love/care isn’t based on how they perform.

Coaches and parents have the most opportunity to impact kids' lives. Do we want that to be transformational or just transactional? As the famous coach John Wooden said, “A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.”

Let your corrections inspire your kids to lean in instead of pushing them away. Connect with them as people before you correct their swings. Once they know they are unconditionally loved, everything changes.

Don’t just inform. Transform.

--Halo