Coaches must avoid carrot and stick motivation with very few exceptions. Contrary to popular belief, carrot and stick motivation will drive more behaviors coaches don’t want than behaviors coaches do want. The reason for this is that carrot and stick motivation promotes short-term tactical thinking over long term strategic thinking. However, that’s not the worst […]
When an athlete is struggling with motivation, a coach’s first instinct is to step in and offer an external motivator to kick-start the athlete’s motivation. A coach will either default to a carrot or stick depending on their coaching style. More often than not this is the wrong answer. Although this may feel like the […]
Mental skills training primarily focuses on teaching the skills to increase self-awareness, focus, confidence, and mental toughness. To teach the various mental skills to support each of these areas, clients must commit to an iterative process of assessment, measurement, goal setting, progression planning, and follow-through. This iterative process of mental skills training is uncomfortable by […]