5 Tips to Become More Coachable

July 18, 2024
By Sofia Medrano

Talent, skill, and dedication make a good player, but being coachable makes a player great. Several great athletes have credited their ability to be coachable as the main reason for their success.

Respecting your coach enough to do what they ask of you and trusting that they are effectively leading you is being coachable. Of course, listening to your coach is a good place to start, but here are five tips to become even more coachable.

Be open to learning

As a player, being open to learning is a small but essential attribute that instantly makes you more coachable. When you are willing to get out of your comfort zone, you’ll be able to soak up more of what your coach teaches you. It’s important to remember that no player knows everything, so the more open you are to learning, the greater your skills will benefit.

Accept critiques

Receiving any type of critique can be tough to hear and even more difficult to accept. Sometimes it’s hard to realize that critiques aren’t a personal attack. Critiques are intended to help you improve, so don’t view them negatively or as an attack on your style of play. Rather, take any constructive criticism you receive as a detailed outline of specific areas of growth.

Be vocal

Communicating with your coach is key to your success. Don’t be afraid to ask your coach for clarification when you don’t understand something. Additionally, speak up about areas in which you feel both strong and weak so that your coach knows what to focus on in your training. They may even notice different areas than you, which can lead to good discussions.

Strive for growth

Despite the amount of time any player has devoted to the game, there is always room for improvement. Simply doing the minimum to get through drills and practice shows a coach that you aren’t ready to accept more challenges. On the contrary, your desire to get better as a player makes a coach’s job easier because they will know that you are willing to put in work.

Stay positive

There may be days when it is hard to remember why you dedicate your time and effort to soccer. You may even question what your coach is telling you or take it negatively. But, ultimately, your attitude affects your game more than anything. So, keeping a positive mindset makes all the difference in how coachable you allow yourself to be.

Every player can be coachable and, in turn, have the chance to develop into a great player. So give these tips a try during your next practice and see how much your game can improve!

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