#bitesize

Guest: John Kiely, Associate Professor in Performance and Innovation, PE and Sports Sciences at the University of Limerick, Ireland

Highlights from the episode:

00:00 How psychological factors influence athletic performance
00:53 Are soft skills trainable?
01:57 How to design practical coaching sessions
03:06 Athlete recovery for in-season
04:10 Building awareness and doing mental warmup before starting a training session

Importance of Soft Skills: Successful coaches often excel not just in technical ability, but in their ability to inspire athletes, foster trust, and build strong relationships, helping athletes align with shared goals and expectations.

Training Beyond Technical Skills: There's a need for more comprehensive training for coaches that goes beyond mechanical processes to include psychological and emotional aspects, which are often underemphasized.

Athlete-Coach Relationship: Effective coaching involves a balance between guiding athletes and allowing them to take ownership of their training and recovery, particularly as their experience grows.

Recovery and Fatigue Management: Managing in-season recovery is complex due to individual differences in recovery times; monitoring fatigue with multiple methods can help but still may miss parts of the overall picture.

Continuous Improvement for Coaches: Coaches should regularly evaluate and improve their own thought processes, reactions, and communication strategies, much like athletes preparing for training, to enhance their effectiveness.

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