BARRY PALM

Educational,

Sports Coaching, 

Communication

Consultant

Good communication is the foundation of all successful coaching. It is well known that outstanding and effective coaches all have communication skills which can

•shift an athlete or a team from negative to positive attitudes;

•can express the intricate mechanics of movement in a manner which is clear and understandable; 

•can lift a player from mediocre to elite performance by zoning in on an athlete’s individual learning and motivation styles.

Athletes and players have a high regard for the coach who understands their experience as they struggle with the challenge of developing their skills and performance. They appreciate the coach who treats them as an individual and communicates with them in a manner which obviously honors that individuality. Negative self consciousness ( a special kind of fear) is the great sabotage of skills development. The coach who is a  skilled communicator protects players from this trap and connects them to the huge resources of energy  available when intrinsic motivation is tapped. There are communication skills which enable these positive states to prevail. This is the content of this workshop.

Special  emphasis will be placed on:

• Getting your message across, tools on how best to achieve this.

• Team communication, increasing team harmony

• Good communication, its effect on performance

1. •Overcoming the sabotage of negative self-consciousness
   

2. • Assertiveness, confidence and dealing with conflict.

Level 2 Coaching Principles

A presentation of communication skills to support the coach:

1. •when both the coach and the athlete are intent upon moving from mediocre to elite performance;
   

2. •when the relationship between the coach and the athlete is a significant factor in performance enhancement;
   

3. •when aspects of the athlete’s self esteem and confidence are critical factors in performance;
   

4. •when the athlete needs help to overcome sabotage thoughts and behavior;
   

5. •when team building is the challenge;
   

6. •when communication is necessary with the parents of the athlete to seek their positive cooperation.

A presentation of communication skills to support the sports official:

1. •when the official is intent upon clear communication
   

2. •when the relationship between the official and the other person is considered important
   

3. •when aspects of the other person’s self esteem and confidence is an important issue
   

4. •to avoid any sabotage elements manifesting in the communication
   

5. •to anchor the personal authority and expertise of the official
   

Participants will:

1. •Identify barriers to effective communication processes.
   

2. •Develop techniques and strategies to improve communication.
   

3. •Identify signs and causes of conflict.
   

4. •Develop greater confidence in situations of misunderstanding and conflict.
   

5. •Evaluate the effectiveness of  personal facilitation and honouring skills
   

Conflict Resolution

Content outline of notes for Communication and Conflict Resolution for coaches and officials.

Introduction                                   

Noticing

                                   

Conditions for conflict

                          

Conflict and Unmet needs                           

Physiology of fight or flight

                           

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs                           

Conflict types, cause, signs and consequences

                  

The benefits of conflict

                          

Barriers to effective communication

                   

Response...Not Reaction to conflict

                   

GAME

                                   

Managing stressful situations

                          

Assertiveness                                   .

The feedback process

                           

Conflict situations and strategies                          

Respect for the Official                           

Humor as a strategy

                           

F.E.A.R

                                   

You are not the target                           

You are an elite educator and your athletes look to you for support and guidance to achieve many personal goals.  For most of them sport is a means of significant personal expression.  They enjoy the public demonstration of their skills and they enjoy their significance as an individual and a team player. They love the fun, the simple physical pleasure of superior movement and the dynamic sensation of flowing team communication.

So, as you would know, performance is deeply personal and, consequently, edged with risk and vulnerability.  Wherever there is a risk to one’s self esteem and confidence you will find anxiety lurking.  You, the coach, will bear the focus of this anxiety as athletes, parents, administrators and fans seek to shed their tension and other uncomfortable feelings.  It takes a person of exceptional qualities to bear these projections and deal with them.  It requires admirable skills of communication and leadership to sift the criticisms, separating unfair projected fear from the valid and constructive comment.  The best coaches, the best leaders, have a courageous commitment to the big picture.  They can resist expediency and the ‘quick fix’ and dedicate themselves to the good of the athlete, the team, the sport, and, ultimately, to themselves as coaches.

Much of the passionate interest in sport has been confused by simplistic viewpoints, which assume that all athletes are the same and that all would be well if only the players trained harder and the coach was up to it.  It is well known that sport serves an important sociological function such as the social identification and bonding of fans; the provision of surrogate champions and tests of character, and the enormous community and psychological benefits of a  sporting victory. 

The fact remains that communicating this unique experience of the coach is difficult.  Most people haven’t got a clue about the realities of the coaching experience, and for coaches it’s been a frustration about how to communicate to others the ways in which they professionally nurture and support their athletes’ abilities.

This is the intention of this conference presentation:  to speak of coaching in terms which are understandable to everyone who has a stake in the sporting challenge.  I will present skills and insights from learning theory and current cognitive and brain research.  I am sure the information will resonate with your experience and validate you and your work.

This presentation invites your curiosity and inquiry.  You bring to this conference your unique professional and personal experience, and this is a valued contribution to the learning opportunity presented here.

So, welcome,

I trust you will enjoy sharing your enthusiasms, experience and questions, as I will with you.

My best wishes,

Barry Palm

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