One of the most crucial aspects to developing high level gymnasts is to fine-tune your ability to motivate them. A coach needs to be able to find out what motivates them when they come to practice. Do they want to win a gold medal? Are they wanting to learn a new skill? Are they trying to earn a college scholarship? Or is it something intrinsic, like overcoming challenges or becoming a better teammate? Whatever their reason, the perceptive coach needs to be able to discern each athlete’s priorities and use words and actions to reward and remind the athlete of the reason they come to practice.
At a young age (5-9 years old) it’s relatively easy to find out what motivates your athletes. By simply observing how they react when you give verbal cues like, “I see someone really being a hard worker!,” or “Someone is really working hard today!” Usually this results in one or more of the gymnasts asking, “Is it me?” Responding with, “I’m going to pick who I believe is working the hardest to demonstrate in just a moment” will usually get the majority of the group working hard.
As they get older (10-15 years and up) motivating them becomes more about reminding them of their goals and giving them a solid effort every day. Being consistent with how you respond to their effort or lack thereof shows them that you care more about them as individuals and aren’t just interested in what they can do for the team.
Motivational techniques should always be used first when dealing with a group of gymnasts that are giving less than the minimum effort that you expect. So many coaches start with using discipline that usually comes in the form of negativity. Instead of challenging a group to find out who is going to give a solid effort that day, they start with a comment like, “you guys are not working hard,” or “if you don’t work hard you are going to have to sit out.” This rarely results in the gymnasts who aren’t working hard improving their effort level and is usually demoralizing to the athletes that are working the hardest. While the need to discipline an athlete will arise on occasion, it should be done only after a solid attempt at trying to motivate them. If a coach can be successful motivating an athlete, the need for discipline will vanish.
Lastly, it is important to remember that if an athlete remains unmotivated after your best attempts, don’t let it trigger you. Maybe you lack the skills to motivate them at this time in your coaching journey (and that’s ok), or maybe there is nothing that will motivate them. Remember it’s not a personal attack on your coaching ability if an athlete doesn’t want to give a good effort. Instead, stay focused on trying to improve your ability to motivate them. Even if it never works for that athlete, you’ve improved your coaching abilities and will be able to help more gymnasts achieve their goals.
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