When referring to my athletes, I often talked about their coach-ability, attitude, work ethic, and whether they were low or high maintenance.
A low maintenance athlete was one that…accepted coaching with eagerness and an open mind, always worked hard, had a great and unselfish attitude, was always on time and in the right place, attacked his academic responsibilities without prodding, and had a smile on his face.
You actually never seem to worry about the low maintenance players as you just know they are ready to practice and play.
When describing the high maintenance athlete, he was one that struggled with…taking care of his schoolwork, being on time, off field discipline, cutting corners in the weight room and practice field, inconsistency in what you could expect from him, moodiness, being unreceptive in your ability to coach them, and tough to count on at game time.
Fortunately, I did not have many of these athletes.
The analogy I use here is if you have a high maintenance car that burns oil, the AC or heater doesn’t work, the tires have air leaks, the radio doesn’t work, the clutch grinds, etc… you get the point.
What do you do?
You trade the car in and get a new one.
As a coach, we all tend to gravitate to the low maintenance car!
I always enjoyed working with the low maintenance player as he was coachable, approachable, eager to learn, had a smile, and was receptive to your teachings and the hard work that it takes to be a champion.
So if you want the coaching and extra effort from your coach, strive to be a self-motivated and low maintenance athlete.
And if you want your athletes to be receptive to your coaching, you need to be a low maintenance coach who has a plan, is organized, and is consistent in the treatment and approach to your players!
If there is mutual trust, the chances for more fun, less drama + distractions, and success are greater.
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