The progression of where an athlete starts to where they finish is an amazing process to be a part of as well as observe. This is probably the most common characteristic of what makes coaches continue to come back for more when it comes to working with athletes. Getting the most out of each player can be very time consuming and challenging. Great coaches know that getting each member of the team going in the right direction is critical to achieve success as a team.
The process requires a great deal of strategy to figure out what works to get the most out of each athlete. The motivating factors that work for one athlete may not work for another or in some cases may do the complete opposite than you want it to do. So as a coach is is critical to figure out how each athlete can be reached. I don’t think that coaches should morph into what the athlete needs from them at every turn. Sometimes it is necessary for a coach to adjust but many players need to provide what the coach needs as well.
If you look at the process of how athletes are “made” in terms of a continuum it really helps to figure out the areas where individual athletes thrive. In other cases you can give them more time to figure out their growth process. In this blog I am going to look at athletes as though they are being prepared by being “cooked” or made. I believe it is the coaches job to provide the best environment for the team to thrive in.
Pressure Cooker
These athletes are incredibly rare. They are the kind of player that perform at the end of the game and innately want the ball in their hands at crunch time. They can show up right at game time and be ready to go without a warm up. They have incredible instincts within the game and due to that can be hard to reach coaching wise because they think they know things already. They are often very gifted offensive players but have to put in a lot more effort learning to play defence. If you open the pressure cooker before it is ready then you lose a lot of time to get it back up to the temperature it needs to be at to perform at a high level. In order to coach this type of athlete sometimes you have to ask the right type of questions to get them to come to the conclusion themselves rather than telling them the answer directly. If you need to get the message across being direct and unwavering is critical because otherwise they end up being un-phased by the message.
Microwave
Players that are in this category are pretty well ready made. As a coach you don’t have to do much with these athletes basically you just show up and they are ready to go. They can be gifted or physically ahead of their peers initially. Where they run into trouble is when other athletes catch up to them. They can sometimes get frustrated and quit easily because they aren’t sure how to handle the challenges in front of them. They can heat up fast but the heat often doesn’t last so they burn themselves out early unless they learn to transition or re-heat.
Toaster
These athletes are probably the easiest athletes to coach. You can push them and they bounce right back even if you push them too hard. They don’t take things too personally and really show their dedication to winning. They make steady measured progress that you can see consistently without wondering where they are at. Their ability to bounce back and consistently show up in their progress is key. These athletes are incredibly reliable and consistent over their career. They make coaching rewarding and fun with limited amount of energy expended on helping them to perform at their highest level. Athletes of the “Toaster Oven” variety are a lot more versatile and can be put into may situations where they can thrive. They are very resilient and don’t get rattled easily.
Deep Fryer
These athletes are a lot more up and down than their “Toaster” counterparts. They go into times when they are figuring things out and then emerge victorious just to be submerged again a short time later. Their progress is measurable and authentic. This category often has athletes who may be going through issues of physical and mental growth. They are a lot more up and down but on the plus side they cook very thoroughly. When they are done they don’t need to go back in to be finished cooking and it is a one time deal.
Conventional Oven
For this type of athlete it takes time and whenever you want to take a look at their progress you can turn on the light to peak through the window on the over door to see how things are going. The progress is slow but you can see it happening. It is best to let these athletes work on their own from a far because if you open the door before they are ready the heat escapes. It then takes longer for them to reach their potential when this happens. This style of athlete requires a steady amount of consistent coaching energy. The consistency is the key factor in providing their success they need to be checked in on from time to time but not micromanaged. The heat should be adjusted accordingly to ensure they are still cooking up nicely and on pace.
Luau Roast
Athletes in this category are the trickiest to handle and take a while to prepare. They have to be cooked for a long period and the process is very time consuming. Sometimes the progress they show over time is very steady but since it is underground you have to wait for it to emerge on its own. It’s similar to trying to watch a kettle boil as it seems to take forever. These athletes can emerge where you weren’t sure if they were going to make it. The struggle, analysis and ability to learn the game often makes up for physical limitations they may have. Their unique perspective and attention to detail helps them to see things differently and give extra on the team. Even though you may not be able to see the skills you can see they really are working behind the scenes. Their progress can shoot up unexpectedly and out of the blue. The toughest thing about this athlete is knowing when enough time has been given for them to try to achieve their best. For a long time it can feel like as a coach a lot of energy is being expended in their growth. It is very hard to judge sometimes when enough is enough because when these athletes finally emerge it is incredible to witness. When they don’t it can feel like limited results have come out.
Overall, athletes tend to stay within the area where they started. There might be some shifting between styles however it is pretty common for athletes to continue down the same path where they originally started. There may be some athletes who are also between categories in that they don’t exactly fit one area or type of growth.
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