Caring coaching methods behind the classic meme...

Toyoko Olympics is underway and Aussie’s focus has started in the pool. As the medal tally starts to grow, as does media and public attention. As reported in many sports channels, Dean Boxall is the QLD based swim coach who just became the newest sports meme around the world. His now famous and emotional reaction when Ariarne Titmus touched ahead of fierce rival, US legend Katie Ledecky, to claim gold in the 400m freestyle final is one of the moments of the Toyoko Games thus far. However, it was some of Titmus’ comments that grabbed my attention. Titmus said after her win on Monday:

He means everything to me…Coming into this race we knew what we had to do. We didn’t discuss what I wanted to do in the pool.

It was more of a have fun moment…I love you. Have fun. We practised this for so long. I just knew what I had to do when I got out there.

This comes off the back of reports of Boxall’s gruelling scheduling; his coaching techniques have been described as military-style, and each year he puts his swimmers through “hell month” which can involve seven hours of intense work every day. It’s a program that forces talented swimmers to thrive and it’s produced more than a few Olympians, Commonwealth champions and world stars. Boxall has coached Mitch Larkin, Clyde Lewis and Jack Cartwright. He watched them all blossom into swimming superstars from a young age. However, with both a large number of elite swimmers under his wing and this publicized punishing schedule, what ideas or techniques from sports research shows that caring, even loving coaches can still develop high performances on the biggest of stages? How do caring coaches create competitive athletes??

The challenge of successful coaching is acknowledging social interactive dilemmas within individual goal setting and athlete development, offering suitable scenarios and choices with all members’ involvement and collaboratively dealing with matters as opposed to eradicating them. Past research by Mageau and Vallerand regards the “actions of coaches as (possibly) the most critical motivational influences within sport setting”. Coaching should be recognised as an educational dynamic relationship, where the coach can satisfy athlete’s goals and development but both sides have an investment of will capital, where human initiative and intentionality are both dedicated to show commitment towards goals and relationships. The role of performance coach for specialising athletes is highly important; coaches are “preparing athletes for consistent high-level competitive performance” (Côté, 2009a) through effective tactics such as integration of professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal knowledge and developing player’s specific competence, confidence, connection, and character needs on regular basis. New Olympic gold medalist Titmus described how her relationship with the coach was building her sporting confidence and competency in their “race plan” while having deep connection with her caring coach.

The main aspects of influential and successful coach-athlete relationships revolve around ideals such as mutual trust, respect, support, cooperation, communication and understanding of each other and impact of each other within the relationship. Both performance enhancement and physiological well-being is deeply ingrained within the coach-athlete relationship. Quality coaches like Boxall seem to acknowledge and recognise the effects of positive, interdependent relationships, which are dynamic and interlinked with cognition, feelings and behaviours to achieve common recognised goals (Jowett, 2007). Therefore, a coach’s ability to acknowledge and develop positive interpersonal connections, driven by interpersonal skills and united sense of purpose and achievement, can offer solid base for positive group climate. Like described by Titmus, Boxall’s deep understanding and relationship with harmonious passion (although his seemingly boiled over on day 3!!) between coach and athlete are extremely important for athlete development.

Attunement is “the ability to bring one’s actions and outlook into harmony with other people and context you are in”. (Balduck, 2011). Recent studies recognised high levels of individual’s intrinsic motivations when coaches, such as Boxall, exhibit a leadership style that empathised training and instructional behaviours while exhibiting democratic behaviour rather than autocratic leadership styles (Amorose, 2007). Applying Galinsky and Maddux’s research to sporting context would recognise that “taking perspective of (player) produced both greater joint gains and profitable individual outcomes”. In a sports context, this could be seen as improved coach-athlete relationships, regular player involvement in decision making processes, honest and accurate goal attainment for coach, player and athletic group as a whole and personal development from all stakeholders.

Research by Dan Pink (2010) acknowledges empathy as important as it can build enduring relationships and defuse conflicts. These ideas are supported by Jowett’s research, which recognises 3+1 C’s (closeness, commitment, complementary and coordination) (Jowett, 2007) being critical for successful coach-athlete relationships. I believe a coach’s ability to use contrast principle, offering clarity by adding context, honesty and reasoning when offering perspective for dynamic and interactive coaching scenarios experienced and athlete relations shall reap long term gains and reciprocal commitment and closeness from athlete in return. My beliefs are echoed in past research including investigations by Mageau and Vallerand (2003); they believe coaches need to offer players opportunity for choice, acknowledge player feelings and perspective, limit controlling behaviours while valuing initiative, problem solving and involvement in decision making (Mageau, 2003). These autonomy supportive practices allows coaches to act as mentors, focusing on relationships between coach and athlete while supporting players to develop meta cognitive skills where the athletes are aware of and take responsibility of appropriate practices and thinking strategies. This method positions coaches as mentors where they shift from knowledge expert for athlete as in early stages of development to learning manager or facilitator (Carnell and Lodge, 2002), offering constructive feedback for the player to investigate further.

These studied theories are supported by Entwistle and Smith’s research (2002); this allows an athlete to explore personal understanding of subject or sport in question, assisted with relevant, timely and challenging feedback from coach or mentor like described by Titmus and Boxall. These theories promote the ideas of both learner/athlete and educator/coach to act, reflect, evaluate, plan and experiment prior to acting and starting the cycle over again. I believe many of the key areas around coach-athlete relationships all comes back to understanding whom is standing in front of you. If you don't understand the individual or group, what drives them and how to communicate, your message shall not get across. My experience has led me to believe that team sports in many regions and countries as an example are currently suffering due to the "one box fits all" at lower levels, prescribing content from coach education as opposed to improving coaching techniques. Coaches feel they have to offer coaching and athlete learning experience in a certain way due to current coach education as opposed to understanding and responding to their group for development and engagement.

So, what does this mean for our club coaches, age grade coaches and coaches of future Olympians? Drawing upon a previous blog article, let’s focus on how we’re coaching as opposed to what we are coaching; how can we adjust our focus to the how and to whom we coach, rather than the specific content or focusing solely on the what aspects such as technical, tactical and strategic aspects? As suggested, a focus on empathy and close, meaningful relationships between coaches, players and all stakeholders involved offers meaningful impact and actions by the players. Athletes driving their own development and reflecting on personal and collective performance shall allow the coach to offer closeness and a desired commitment to their relationship through autonomy supportive practices. Let’s focus on relationships, empathy and player-centred approaches to encourage high performance behaviours which shall strengthen and develop their quality athletes as performers in the pool or on the track and good people away from their sports for years to come.