Coaches need to be grounded in the present moment, where their influence and leadership has the most impact.
“Fear and trust ride the same teeter-totter. When fear goes up, trust goes down. When trust goes up, fear goes down.” – Walter Aguilar
Like life, coaching also has its ebbs and flows. Being able to effectively manage stress reactions in the present moment, and make conscious decisions that serve you and your team, is the key to success. In the mind/energy connection to a coach’s performance, the difference between being able to coach from a trust versus a fear perspective affects how a coach shows up for their team. It will also affect the decisions a coach makes in the present moment. The higher the energy, the greater the consciousness, awareness, and confidence.
Coaches play players whom they trust.
I once asked an experienced coach, who I was working with, why he played mainly his first two lines, only a bit of his third line, and rarely his fourth. He answered, “Because I play players that I trust.” This was an honest response, one very revealing about the predicament coaches find themselves in.
Competitive sports are often very focused on the outcome performance. Hockey is no different, it is often focused on the mentality of, “What have you done for me lately?”, or as they say, “You’re only as good as your last game.” This can be the reason why fear begins to creep into a coach’s mindset, especially when the team gets onto a losing streak or their players may not be playing up to their potential. In this stressful state of being, a coach may experience stress reactions, where adrenaline dumps, cortisol releases, and muscle contractions take their toll on their physical body and mental well-being.
Physically, coaches may defer their self-care, and pay the consequences further down the road. Mentally, a coach may go into horizontal thinking (past and future). Fear is the result of past or future thinking. In the present moment, this kind of horizontal thinking projects about what’s going to happen and skews the present moment. You can only be afraid of what’s going to happen or fear that something will happen again. Fear creates uncertainty, which is why often coaches fall back to the predictable and familiar. Fear takes a coach out of the present moment and they may find themselves showing up angry, frustrated, and may even end up trying to force something to happen. That may have a coach show up as the kind of coach that is constantly yelling and screaming at their players and staff. They may also find themselves overplaying certain players, or lines, to win in the short term, but at the expense of the team‘s longer-term success.
For players to develop, they need to play. A coach who coaches from fear can be detrimental to their young players’ development. They may be able to motivate their team with fear and coercion in the short term but will not inspire them in the long run. This approach will only drain themselves, their players, and staff of much-needed energy to consistently perform at a high level.
Motivation wins games, Inspiration wins Championships
Coaches who cultivate trust are inspirational and inspire greatness in others. This creates a team shift from me mentality, to we mentality, and ultimately to us mentality. Trust is letting go of fear. Trust is a belief that all will be well. It is shifting from an outcome-focused mindset to a more effective and meaningful process mastery mindset. These coaches have a higher level of inner and outer awareness (emotional intelligence) and understanding that the true process is all about learning and growth. A coach who comes from a trust mindset is curious and doesn’t overly attach or focus on just on any given outcome, but is very grounded in the present moment, where their influence and leadership has the most impact.
The results will be that their players will not be afraid to make mistakes; they’ll be inspired, creative, and more likely to find themselves playing in the ‘zone’ consistently. This coach will confidently be able to roll all four lines at their discretion, trusting their players to execute their game plan with excellence. This will not only increase the likelihood of winning any given game, but perhaps, even go on a run and win a championship.
“For change to happen, there must be awareness and understanding” – Anthony de Mello.
The following are seven benefits of a coach who consciously chooses to coach from trust versus fear:
- Greater inner and outer awareness (emotional intelligence)
- A more grounded and open mindset
- Fewer stress reactions and better physical health
- Ability to inspire not just motivate their players
- Greater effective use of player skills and talents
- Detachment from outcome – focus on process
- Increased sense of overall flow and joy
True success is not just about achievement or accumulation, but rather about endeavouring on a journey with others, where all can thrive and experience the joy of being effective in the present moment.
