Why Would An Athlete Work With a Performance and Well-Being Coach?

Jane Taylor
JT - Nothing will work unless you do

There are many reasons why an athlete would work with a performance and well-being coach. Subsequently, in this post I wanted to share you you some of those reasons. However, before I share why an athlete would work with a performance and well-being coach, let’s make sure we are on the same page about coaching.

 

What is Coaching?

The International Coach Federation (ICF) refers to coaching as –

“partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Another definition of coaching from Anthony Grant includes –

“A collaborative, solution-focused, results-orientated and systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of performance, life experience, self-directed learning and the personal growth of people from normal (non-clinical) populations.” 

Coaching recognises the client as the expert in their own world (personal and professional) and knows every person is creative, resourceful, and whole.

Basically the coaching process is about identifying where you are now, where you would like to be and then close that gap. The coach does this through –

  • discovering, clarifying, and aligning with where the client wants to be,
  • encouraging self-discovery and trust within themselves,
  • eliciting client-generated solutions and strategies,
  • keeping the client accountable and ensuring they are taking responsibility for themselves, and
  • providing support to the client.

 

What Coaching is Not –

  • a quick-fix, one size fits all approach for your current challenges (as we are all unique),
  • therapy or counseling (please seek a licensed medical professional if this is what you need),
  • about giving you advice (you are the expert in your own life),
  • financial advising or estate planning (again please seek a licensed practitioner if this is what you require).

You can see more about what coaching is and is not in the following video –

What is Wellbeing?

Defining wellbeing is complex and an area that continues to evolve. Following are some definitions of wellbeing from a variety of sources:

Then, the following definitions go a little deeper, including –

  • Subjective Well-Being (SWB) was defined by Deiner (2009) as the general evaluation of one’s quality of life. The concept has been conceptualized as the three components: (1) a cognitive appraisal that one’s life was good (life satisfaction); (2) experiencing positive levels of pleasant emotions; (3) experiencing relatively low levels of negative moods (Deiner, 2009).
  • “Well-being is more than just happiness. As well as feeling satisfied and happy, well-being means developing as a person, being fulfilled, and making a contribution to the community” ~ Shah and Marks (2004).
  • Headey and Wearing’s (1992) indicate that wellbeing is shown “as depending on prior equilibrium levels of wellbeing and of life events, and also on recent events.“
  • Dodge et al (2012) – “as the balance point between an individual’s resource pool and the challenges faced”. 

After reading the above definition on wellbeing, do you think wellbeing is something to recover and return to in your own life?

What is Well-Being Coaching?

Basically, Well-Being Coaching is coaching for your life. For me personally, my life makes up 12 areas. However, I support my clients to come up with their own version of life, so they can win their day.

Why Would An Athlete Work With a Well-Being Coach?

There are many reasons why an athlete would work with a well-being coach as wellbeing is linked to an athlete’s performance (and of course life). Some of those reasons include –

  • increasing confidence and motivation,
  • identifying and establishing clear goals as well as clear plans and strategies to align with them,
  • expanding professional career opportunities (yes being an athlete doesn’t last forever),
  • increasing your level of genuine self-confidence – both inside and outside of their profession,
  • optimising your performance (i.e. helping you “be in flow” with your sport and life),
  • increasing ways to manage stress (i.e. self-management strategies and mindfulness),
  • increasing the habit of rest and recovery to help prevent injuries,
  • managing the transition process of life after sport,
  • enhance personal development (i.e. self-awareness, emotional regulation and life skills), and
  • improving harmony and balance within your sport and life.

 

Over to You…

I hope this post has give you some insight in to why an athlete would work with a performance and wellbeing coach. If you would like to find out more about coaching, click here to schedule a chat with me. Ready to reconnect with your heart and start living a more connected and whole-hearted life, click here to receive the toolkit 🙂

 

Reference –

Diener, E. (2009). Subjective well-being. The Science of Well-Being, 11-58.

Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222-235.

Grant, A. M. (2001). Towards a psychology of coaching: The impact of coaching on metacognition, mental health and goal attainment. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

Headey, B. W., & Wearing, A. J. (1992). Understanding happiness: A theory of subjective well-being. Melbourne, Australia: Longman Cheshire.

Shah, H., & Marks, N. (2004). A well-being manifesto for a flourishing society. London: The New Economics Foundation.

 

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