At this stage it’s critical to raise the level of expectation and explain why you are doing so to the athlete.
The art of coaching is bringing players to a point that they could not have gotten to on their own.
This is a popular quote that is in on bulletin boards across the country. At the heart of this quote is that coaches must inspire their athletes to grow. While there is no one universal way to accomplish this, there are a few principles that hold true when you are looking to motivate an athlete over the course of a season.
Creating the Motivated Athlete
The most critical component is showing the athlete you care about them. Our natural instincts are to respond more directly when we know a person cares about us and is invested in our success. This has roots in the evolutionary biology where early man had to struggle together for survival.
