Taking Care of the Players Heart and Mindset is a Coach's Job / #edchat #edtech #sports #SunTzu #strategy

A great coach is sensitive to the homeostasis of the players and maneuvers with #foresight (anticipate/predict) to not just quell and redirect, but address the root of  issues as they pertain to the performance of the player. This is a fine line that is walked. Far from getting psychological, a coach is a mentor acting always in a supportive and guiding capacity and not with a 'let's sit down and tell me about your childhood' focus.  The player is valuable, the mindset..the heart set, these are non-tangibles that a great coach..mines.

A coach who minds the players sees the player as a human being, not some compartmentalized robot intent on simply winning games. Gathering information on how they are feeling helps the coach help them reach optimum performance levels as we work together. This is how I run my sessions always. 

Achieving excellence on the court or playing field then truly becomes a two-way street between coach and player(s). Sun Tzu illustrated this understanding again and again in his 2,500 year old masterpiece, The Art of War. In his writings, Sun Tzu, delineates the importance of valuing the welfare of the soldiers, maintaining a loyal army and addressing issues before they flare up.

When I work with my students, I know from experience that I must approach them with all my observation skills full-on, and if you can accept it, with all the heart too. We can all tell when the heart is brought forward. A coach who puts his heart forward for his players wins them in the end and does lead them on to winning, be it championships, victories, a world-series, or what ever the challenge may be.