The Power of Strengths-Based Coaching

Introduction

All too often, our young talent is told everything that’s wrong with them. And while it’s good for them to know where they can improve, too much focus, too often, on what they’re not good at, just leads to a lack of self-belief, poor confidence – and potential dropout.

Strength-based coaching turns everything on its head. It identifies and builds upon our high school and college athlete’s signature strengths rather than solely focusing on their weaknesses.

Examples of strength-based coaching

Let’s imagine Jo, our young 17-year-old track ace.

One of her signature strengths is perseverance. She can stick to the training schedule even when the pressure is on. And she’s high on self-regulation – she can manage her emotions and take control of her diet.

Yet, Jo’s not the most prudent. She doesn’t always follow the coach’s advice when she needs to. Instead, pushing forward too fast and too early in races, Jo often blows up on the track. She also struggles with humility, finding it tough to take on board feedback and recognize the contributions of coaches and teammates.

And that’s ok. None of us are perfect.

The ‘strength-based coach’ recognizes what their athletes are not so good at. And while they don’t ignore their lesser strengths, they prioritize their signature strengths because they know that’s how each sportsperson can maximize their chance of success.

So, the coach works with Jo to use her strong perseverance and self-regulation skills to develop, or overcome, her lack of prudence and humility. She learns to recognize that her signature strengths form part of her long-term goals that she’s working towards and how focusing on her strengths overcomes her weaknesses.

Let’s look at a real example.

As an athlete with a stellar NFL career, Tom Brady focused on his leadership and team player strengths. He knew the importance of being part of a team and excelled at planning and preparing. He wasn’t the most gifted player of all time, but was dedicated, committed, and had an overwhelming belief in himself.

When he left sports, he continued using his strengths, extending them beyond football into the boardroom, becoming a business strategist, and excelling at getting the best out of people.

So, how do we help our young athletes become aware of their strengths, explore them, and apply them in their lives?

The strengths-based coach

The Aware – Explore – Apply Model

The strength-based coach typically adopts a three-step approach to their work with young athletes.

They:

1. Help the athlete become aware of something positive they may be ignoring – their signature strengths.
2. Support them as they explore how, when, and where they are using their strengths – and recognizing their successes.
3. Encourage them to apply these strengths to areas of their lives they currently find challenging.

Sports psychology tells us that helping athletes identify, examine, and use their strengths boosts their performance and well-being.

And it works.

A 2023 review of 51 studies on youth sports found that strength-based coaching alongside other positive approaches supports positive attitudes, a more social environment, well-being, and sporting performance.

Research from 2022 tells a similar story. 

Focusing on appreciating and leveraging athletes' existing strengths can:

• Develop a positive mindset
• Build confidence
• Increase motivation
• Support engagement
• Boost performances
• Heighten self-awareness
• Develop resilience and coping abilities
• Build psychological resources and wellbeing

And that’s precisely what we want for our athletes.

So, let's dig deeper into our aware-explore-apply model.

Awareness of strengths

Once they have a list, they reflect on what strengths they were using at the time.

Let’s consider Mia, a high school basketball player. During games, she is full of energy and enthusiasm (zest), lifting her teammates' spirits, especially when they are behind. She is also great at coordinating plays and communicating effectively on the court (teamwork).

Explore strengths

Once our young athletes have their list of signature strengths, connecting them with past successes, positive relationships, achievements, when they were at their happiest, and how they overcame tough times is essential.

The coach may ask the athlete to reflect on the following questions to explore their strengths:

When were you most successful, and which strengths were you using?
How do you express these strengths daily?
What strengths are you using when you imagine your best possible strengths?

Consider Alex, a college soccer player. He reflects that perseverance helped him focus during brutal training sessions and overcome a mid-season injury. He also uses his leadership signature strength almost daily to encourage his teammates during challenging drills and to strategize their plays.

Applying strengths

Here’s where our young athletes get their biggest wins.

The athlete begins by reflecting on their short-, mid-, and long-term goals and the actions they need to take.

Then, they take time to think about how they can use their signature strengths to make change happen:

Which strengths would you like to use more often? And how?
How can you use your signature strengths to reach your goals?
How could you use your signature strengths to deliver your sporting dreams?

It’s time to let the signature strengths impact their behavior.

Here’s Jamie. His long-term goal is to play college basketball. His zest will help him improve his physical conditioning and technical skills, while his teamwork will make him more vocal in games and practices – inspiring and guiding his younger teammates.

Wrapping Up

References