| What makes up the heart and soul of a great | | | | maturity, |
| athlete? | | | | - They must have passion for the sport, the fire |
| As a coach for over 3 decades I have coached | | | | in the belly, |
| thousands of children, my coaching techniques | | | | - They must have commitment, dedication, set |
| have evolved and I still know I have so much | | | | goals and have an ethos of practice makes |
| more to learn. I am forever trying to improve | | | | perfect, |
| and fine tune my coaching skills and in a way the | | | | - They must have a balanced life: sport, family, |
| children are my "guinea pigs", but one constant | | | | friends, school, work, relaxation, hobbies, spiritual |
| remains - the traits of the great" athlete. | | | | health all need to be addressed for an athletes life |
| - Athletes need to be honest with themselves | | | | to be in harmony, |
| and their coach, if they don't communicate with | | | | - They must understand the opposition or |
| the coach, injuries can and will occur and the | | | | competition, |
| coach losses the ability to trust in the athlete to | | | | - They must get into the zone, block out |
| tell them the full story. The coach needs to be | | | | distractions and everything flows, |
| fully aware of the loads that the children are | | | | - They must accept criticism and learn from their |
| undertaking: other sports, school sports, illness, | | | | mistakes, |
| nutritional habits, study requirements, work | | | | - They must have a touch of talent, and finally |
| requirements and even sleep habits. Only then can | | | | - Great athletes have an aura that exudes |
| a coach monitor the training loads, recovery | | | | confidence with a dash of humbleness even when |
| needs and competition schedules of each child. | | | | they are just warming up. |
| - They need to have self belief, self confidence, | | | | Put all these traits together and you have the |
| self awareness, and an appropriate level of | | | | makings of a great athlete. |