How to build Trust

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Building trust right from your coach to your parent is a process, and if you think that it can happen overnight then you are sadly mistaken. Most players who love the game of Basketball fail to build enough trust in their parents and coaches by not meeting their laid down expectations, and this could, in a worst case scenario, waiver your career as a basketball player. Let’s look at how you can build trust in your coach first.

Your coach can do a lot for you. He can in fact teach you skills that will not only help improve your game, but will also help in pushing you to the limits without you having to encounter any injury. Coaches are excellent mentors and advisers who offer a perspective on non-sports problems on and off the field as well. Many successful NBA players have a strong relationship with their coaches and this is because they have built their trust in them. So, how do you go about gaining trust and confidence from your coach?

Why Trust is so important in Team Sports

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If you are currently coaching a sports team such as a basketball or baseball team, you may underestimate the importance of trust in any team sports. Because you are the coach, it is critically important that your team trusts you so that they can react appropriately to the instructions that you are giving them and they can then begin to realize their full potential as athletes.

Trust begins even before your players get on your team. Truly great coaches have established reputations for trustworthiness that have taken them years to establish. It comes from guiding young players wisely and helping older players navigate the tricky subjects of balancing game and life. As the coach develops a reputation for being trustworthy, a higher caliber of player will be attracted to the team and the team will improve overall.

Dealing with other Coaches and Players

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Coaching a basketball team is a very complicated task. The job as a coach demands a lot out of an individual. A head coach would have to successfully deal with the other coaches in the team and also the players. All these individuals will have different personalities, socio-economic backgrounds and also behavioural attributes. Therefore, to successfully deal with each one of them, a coach must possess a few qualities that distinguish a successful coach from a bad one.

Good coaches usually have different game plans, different styles and different approaches to training. However the things that they have in common are the key attributes that make them good. These attributes are indispensible towards successfully dealing with other coaches and players. Besides being intelligent and being able to spot problems in the team before it spirals even more, coaches need to be equipped with attributes such as humility, respect, trust and optimism.

Humility is very essential to get the team to want to work with you as a coach. You must bear in mind the fact that you alone cannot ensure the success of the team and also your career. As head coach, you must acknowledge the roles that are played by the other coaches as well. In fact, if these coaches decided to stop working one day, you would definitely be in a lot of trouble. Therefore, you should be humble enough to ask them for their opinion and also accept their ideas. Instead of forcing them to implement your ideas, you should try to discuss with them why you believe your idea is better.

You should also be humble with your players. Never try to belittle them because of their weaknesses. Instead, always encourage and support them to continuously improve to become better players.

In addition to this, having a sense of mutual respect with the other coaches and the players is very important. Mutual respect goes a very long way towards ensuring a teams’ success. When the coach successfully instils mutual respect within the team, unity and understanding within the team will flourish. The simple rule to achieve mutual respect with other coaches and players is to be humble, polite and above all, walk the talk. Also, a coach must, at all costs avoid favouritism.

A coach is essentially a leader. A leader is only able to lead his men if and only if his men trust him to lead them. The moment a leader breaks his word, players will immediately lose trust in him. Losing the trust of the team is equivalent as loosing the whole team. Therefore, it is very important that the head coach deals with other coaches and players in a trustworthy way.

Next, a coach must at all times be optimistic about his team. The head coach is basically the focal point of the team. During times of despair, the team looks at the coach for inspiration. The optimism of the coach will somewhat pass on to the other coaches and players in the team. However, if the head coach is a pessimist, this negative attitude will pass on to the other coaches and players as well.

These three attributes are very essential to ensure that a team is run smoothly and at its best. A coach who neglects these attributes will most probably have problems in dealing with other coaches and players.

Photo credit: Tulane Public Relations