• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Header Logo
  • About Us
  • Podcast
  • Blog
    • All Articles
    • A Healthy Athlete
    • Coaching and Team Culture
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports Parenting
    • High Performance
    • Mindset and Mental Health
    • Girls Sports
    • Ask Dr. Sam
  • Inspiration & Humor
  • Videos
  • Join the Community
Facebook Instagram Twitter youtube pinterest

As seen in

What Does It Mean To Be Coachable?

  • 63shares
  • 53
  • 10

By Dr. Jon Coles

What does it mean to be coachable?

Being a great athlete often starts with being coachable.  Venus Williams’ coach, Eric Hechtman, defines being coachable as an athlete who listens, is always seeking ways to improve, accepts feedback, is open to positive criticism, and is process-driven.   

The Unfortunate Cost Of Being The Best

Venus is coachable. And given her former world #1 ranking, 49 WTA titles, and Olympic gold medal, it seems to have worked out well for her. 

Hechtman says the coach and player dynamic is critical for the success of any athlete, professional or youth. And suggests three more ways to improve the coach-player relationship.  

  • Coach and player should continuously communicate and update goals.  

There should be dream/long-term/short-term goals, and they should be interrelated.

Dream goals exist to keep their spirits high and to keep them reaching for more. For example, a 10-year-old could say, “I want to win Wimbledon” someday.  Players and coaches should also have long-term goals like perfecting technique on their backhand by year’s end. Agreed upon short-term goals to reach the task; hit 500 backhands on my own against my garage wall each week.    

  • Sometimes, you need to go backward to go forward

Players must be open-minded when it comes to major overhauls in technique.  Sometimes this means that the skill might be worse for a few sessions before it gets better.  The most coachable players like Venus are open-minded and trusting.  Coachable players focus on the process knowing the results will follow.  

  • The player should trust and enjoy the coach:  

The bond between player and coach needs to be fun, trusting, and the results will come.  If the player loses trust or enjoyment with the coach, an open heart-to-heart discussion needs to occur to get back on track and get on the same page. The parents’ role here is to not consistently second guess and criticize the coach. It’s a process, and if they believe and trust in the coach, they need to allow the process to occur. If they don’t, then the easy solution is to find a coach that their family does believe in and can get behind.

Team sports create even more difficulties maintaining a good coach and player relationship. A team coach has the goal of the team over any one individual. That being said, the relationship is of equal importance in a young athlete’s personal development and should be given just as much thought and care.

Dr. Jon Coles is a former collegiate coach, administrator, and high school athletic director.

He is now a practicing sports counselor and professor of sport management.

Dr. Coles can be reached at colesj@gvsu.edu 

  

 

Primary Sidebar

  • Raising Sisters in Sports and What the Humphrey Family Got Right
  • When Grandparents Attend Youth Sports Events
  • ☀️Youth Sports Summer Survival Guide: 10 Things Every Parent Needs
  • Raising A Goalkeeper
  • If All Else Fails: How Brain-Based Therapy Can Help Athletes Overcome Mental Blocks, Injuries, and Slumps 
  • Managing Performance Anxiety in Young Athletes: An Easy Guide for Parents, Coaches, and Athletes

Categories

  • A Healthy Athlete
  • Sports Parenting
  • Coaching and Team Culture
  • High Performance
  • Lifestyle
  • Mindset

Footer

WHAT'S TRENDING IN YOUTH SPORTS?
Asia Mape Video
follow us
facebook instagram twitter youtube pinterest

We Believe In The Power Of Sports

Injuries in young athletes have soared. Costs to compete have skyrocketed. Kids are quitting in record numbers. But we believe strongly in youth sports, and the many ways it improves our childrens’ lives.

We are here to help parents regain balance and sanity, and to help restore the joy, accomplishment, and core values derived from sports.

Begin your journey today.

 

More About Us

Join the Community

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for the latest news, articles, inspiration, stats, funny videos, tips and everything you need if you are a parent or coach in youth sports, delivered right to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About the founder

According to a survey conducted over 30 years by two coaches and athletic administrators about what young athletes want to hear most from their parents after a sporting event, it turns out it is: “I love to watch you play.”

Become a Contributor

Advertising/Media

Contact

Privacy Policy/Amazon Affiliate Notification

Copyright 2025 © I Love To Watch You Play. All rights reserved. | Accessibility Feedback | Developed by Tiny Frog Technologies

Join Our Community

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for the latest news, articles, inspiration, stats, funny videos, tips and everything you need if you are a parent or coach in youth sports, delivered right to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up for our newsletter
  • Sign up for our weekly newsletter for the latest news, articles, inspiration, stats, funny videos, tips and everything you need if you are a parent or coach in youth sports delivered right to your inbox!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.