I have officially been an older adult for a while now. I am no longer the young generation and I talk about this new generation like my parents did about us. The difference nowadays is the technology and how it is making our communication skills diminish.

We’ve all heard the complaints. Kids won’t pick up their phones to talk, but they can send a quick text. Make sure you tweet me (caps it at 140 characters). I was witnessing my cousin text with his daughter and she was upstairs in her bedroom while he was in the kitchen.

As a coach, we have to be able to communicate with our athletes to make sure 1) we are giving them what they want and 2) provide the right type of training for them.

Here’s a scenario – I have a workout all planned for the athlete. Halfway through the training, the athlete mentions that he did squats in class today (after he had done 4 sets with me).  

What?

Upon me questioning him, he says he forgot to mention about the PE lifting class he was doing and they were doing legs today.  

You didn’t think to communicate with me about this and how it could be vital information to how I’m training you today??

Here are more reasons why the athletes need to communicate better:

  • Tell us when you will be missing a session. You would be surprised at how many people just don’t show up.

  • Tell us how injured you are. We are not starting them on a team. We don’t have that power. We are not your sport coach. You need to tell us everything so we can provide the correct workout for you.

  • If you aren’t feeling it that day, explain to us why. I’ve learned that having athletes train during exam week isn’t the best idea. Their minds are elsewhere, thus the training is subpar. But, we have no clue when your exam week is.  Let us know.

  • You need to specifically explain your goals. “I want to be better,” won’t cut it. Delve into exactly why you want to be better and how do you define better.

  • People are getting fired over texts. People are breaking up over texts. You will NOT discuss anything remotely serious with me over texts, email, etc. If it hits that tone, be prepared for a phone call at the very least. People hide behind the electronics. Communicate the issue with me verbally and let’s see if we can resolve it like adults. Or teach you how adults should handle it.

  • I will ask the questions and you answer them thoroughly. I know what to ask to figure out how the workout is going and what we need to do to improve them.

  • Conversely, if you have questions, ask them. Don’t assume one answer or another if you haven’t heard them come out of my mouth.

Communication is a big reason why we have all sorts of problems in this world. Don’t let it be a problem with our training. You sought me out for me to help you. It’s a two way street. If we want you to get the most out of it, then our communication has to be GOLD BABY!!

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Nova on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nnova/