My son has recently turned fifteen. He has been training with various teams at different levels from club to state to country over the last few years. It has been just over a year since he last received one-on-one training from a private coach. I decided to ask him about his experience and if private coaching had offered a real benefit to his game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without hesitation he replied, “yes!” He said it was more than a singular benefit; it was the best and most practical training<\/strong> he had ever received.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n He went onto explain the reasons why the private coaching was necessary for his skill development and the attitude he needed to have towards the coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At times, he went out for the hour of private coaching, sharing the time and cost with another friend of similar ability. I thought this would\u2018ve been more encouraging and effective. I found out later it was only more helpful to my hip pocket. He said he preferred the coach being totally devoted to him<\/strong>. He wasn\u2019t being selfish or inconsiderate; it\u2019s just that he gained little knowledge from hearing the input for his friend whom had different issues to work on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He liked the idea that the private coach was focused completely on him and every movement he made. The coach didn\u2019t have an agenda to get through a certain amount of knowledge in that hour, but he could adapt and devote however long on a particular weakness. Yes, the coach wanted him to get to a certain skill level in a particular time frame, but it wasn\u2019t about the coach\u2019s time frame. It was about my son grasping and developing the correct technique<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I once witnessed this same coach attempting to train four kids in an hour. (I get it; it was much cheaper. And if the coach was as good as what others said, then he should be able to focus on different kids\u2019 weaknesses.) All the players were at different levels and ages. They wanted to hit on the field and not in the batting cages. Therefore, each child got about fifteen minutes of his time. And most of that time was picking up balls in the outfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What else? I asked my son. What else have you grasped from private coaching? He said it shouldn\u2019t matter if the coach is demanding or gentle; whether he smiles or not …<\/p>\n\n\n\n The coach has his style, and if I\u2019m there to learn, I should be able to accept whatever style or tone, and how the coach delivers his message.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n He said his batting coach spoke with a softer tone and was more encouraging. He said his fielding coach was demanding and tough and pushed him hard until he got it right. My son appreciated both, because, as he said, he was there to learn. He was hungry to learn. It didn\u2019t matter how the message was delivered. He said (now you may disagree with him here) that, “if you\u2019re worried how the coach is talking to you then, you\u2019re not ready for one-on-one coaching yet. I\u2019m there to learn a skill, not there to critique how soft or tough I need the coach to be. If I\u2019m not listening, it is my problem, not the coaches.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trying to relate to my son with what he just told me, I told him the age-old quote, when the student is ready, the teacher appears<\/em>. He looked a bit baffled at that one. But I think he gets it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the attitude he needs to take into a one-on-one session, he harped on not needing to impress his private coach.\u00a0 Rather, he needs to let the coach see him \u2018warts and all\u2019 (my words not his) and not feel like he\u2019s got to be perfect. He is not trying to prove anything to the coach, but trying to learn everything he can. If he’s worried about what the coach thinks, he won’t be focused on soaking up the knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I believe one of the biggest benefits my son has received from private coaching is he has learned to know his body. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said actually, \u2018feel his body\u2019, and though it made sense to him it didn\u2019t make sense to me. So I changed the concept to “know his body” here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each time a weakness has become exposed in his batting, pitching or fielding technique, the coach was able to focus on the fundamental root of the problem. And moreover, the coach was able to get my son to always relax and quickly identify the problem himself in game or training situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow private coaching helped my young athlete develop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Choosing the right coach is important, but so is the athlete’s attitude<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Private coaching helped my athlete grow as a player and a person<\/h2>\n\n\n\n