Seven basic attributes have been identified that athletes between the ages of 12 and 20 look for in their coaches. It is suggested that priority by the coach should be in developing positive and helpful relationships with their athletes. Our own research over the years with competitive gymnasts here and abroad has revealed similar findings. These attributes will be discussed in this paper from the perspective of the sport of gymnastics.
Competence. Research has clearly shown that most athletes want coaches who know their business. This not only means technical, biomechanically-based knowledge, but also the ability to communicate this information to them in a clear and useful manner. It is of interest, in this regard, to note that a questionnaire format survey, conducted by your authors involving hundreds of gymnasts, the less successful athletes felt that “technical ability” was the single most important attribute in a coach. The ability to provide “spotting” was also identified with the competence variable. More successful and experienced gymnasts as determined by actual competitive performance and record placed far less emphasis on this characteristic and indicated that the empathetic, emotionally supportive qualities of a coach were more highly valued. The question was raised, at that time, whether a partial key to outstanding coaching involves the coach’s ability to grow and change in keeping with the changing needs structure of an athlete. Obviously rigid,set-in-their-ways coaches might have difficulty when such flexibility is needed .This issue has not been adequately examined to date and remains an intriguing question, with many ramifications for professional coaches and program development
Approachability. Another important identified attribute involves the gymnast’s desire to have a coach who is open to what they think, say, and feel. They also look for coaches who can handle feedback about their coaching style, without becoming defensive, and who have the capacity to admit to mistakes. Many gymnasts have indicated that they often do not communicate with their coaches because they feel their concerns will be invalidated. Two of the most common examples involved the gymnast’s reluctance to tell the coach that they are afraid of a skill and do not feel ready t oexecute it in the demanded way, or that they are hurting with some physical injury. Many have stated that the coach often denies the crucial emotional message in these kinds of statements and will respond with “What are you afraid o ?,” “so what,” “that’s foolish,” “cut it out,” or “you’re faking it.” Such a style, on the coach’s part, makes it most difficult for a gymnast to “trust” that they will be heard, and many would rather not risk enduring the coach’s anger. In terms of being able to admit to having made a mistake, a coach who says to an athlete, “Look, my behavior yesterday was out of line. I’m sorry,” will gain returns in personal credibility and in establishing the human qualities of the coach that few other actions could achieve.