Building a good rapport with players is key in so many ways within coaching and football in general. This article delves a little deeper into how coaches can build these positive relationships with their players.
Over time players and coaches should start to develop a positive bond with one another which in turn builds a level of trust. Players can start to be more open and honest with their coach when it comes to their football. Whether that’s their level of form, what the coach expects of them or even trying to understand certain decisions the coach has made e.g why the player didn’t start the last game.
As this trust builds the player should come to know that the coach has their best intentions at heart and therefore will become more responsive to detail delivered by their coach and give their all on the pitch.
Useful practices to develop and maintain these relationships:
Communication - Being open and honest with players in terms of what you expect with their behaviour, commitment levels etc can be good practice as players then know where they stand.
Good parent relationships - Maintaining positive relationships with the parents of players is key and not just for keeping up good relationships with players.
If parents know you are doing a good job and are helping their child to develop they will encourage their child to behave properly and try their best.
Check out this handy guide on ways in which coaches can sustain good contact with parents.
Motivation - If players are consistently motivated they will continue to put in maximum effort at training and in matches. It’s also important for coaches to show their high effort levels to set an example for their players and keep them motivated.
This should create a healthy and positive footballing environment for the players to thrive and develop in. Check out this article to see other ways coaches can keep players motivated.
Success on the pitch - A good level of technical and tactical coaching on the training field should yield some form of success on a game day.
Success can mean different things for different teams and coaches as explained in this article, but whatever it is this can naturally build positive relationships between a player and a coach.
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