How Coaching Reduces Negative Media Attention
Coaching can help keep athletes from drawing negative media and social networking attention. Coaching can help prevent athletes from saying and doing things that will bring unwarranted attention to themselves, the organization and to the organization. According to Whitmore, Coaching for Performance (2007), coaching brings out the best in individuals and in teams something that instructing does not even aspire to do. Coaching improves performance and productivity and helps to raise awareness. If an athlete is aware of the impact both social networking and the media can have on their lives, they are more likely to refrain from doing and saying things that bring unwarranted attention to themselves and to the organization.
Gallwey(2001), noted the role and practices of the coach were first established in the world of sports and have proven indispensable in getting the best performance out of individuals and teams. He goes on to say that a business coach, as in sports, is not the problem solver and teaches less so the athlete can learn more.
Stowell & Starcevich (2003) have explained that comparable athletic ability is a given across the world. The determining competitive factor is not athletic ability, but the coaching those athletes receive. In order to overcome challenges media challenges, there are quite a few options an athlete can use. Many hire life or business coaches, to work with them to help strengthen them mentally to prepare order to enhance and improve their athletic performance.
Coaches are trained to help people understand themselves and how the environment can affect them. They can help also help athletes understand how pressure from negative media attention affects them, and then help them arrive at strategies to help them overcome the cause and effects of the pressure. A coach can also educate athletes on mental techniques such as goal setting, motivation, confidence, relaxation, focus and concentration, team cohesion, and effective communication (Dunn, 2005).
Moreover, professional life/business coaches can assist athletes using principles to enhance their athletic performance, which also helps them with their overall mental health when having to deal with difficult situations caused by pressure from family and
fans, harsh comments from their coaches, or media criticism.
Coaches can help athletes find perspective and grounding, and balance and guide them to achieve a realistic sport life balance. Coaching has significant impact on the athlete, in helping them helping them establish and meet life goals and objectives, and to take action in areas that need focus and change. Coaching also helps create awareness of additional areas of their lives that require attention using such tools as a Life/Balance Coaching Wheel.
Additionally a coach can help the athlete with a reality check, that the skill and fame and money will not last forever, and to prepare for that eventuality and position them for a life after sports.
Conclusion
This paper supports the premise that the media does have an impact on an athlete’s mental state causing distractions which impacts their overall performance in both their work and personal lives Hardy, L., Jones, J. G., & Gould, D. (1996). Athletes need to take control of their image and improve their ability to use the media to their advantage. With coaching, athletes can learn to use the media (both live and social) to help market them and portray them positively to the public. This paper demonstrates the athlete always has three choices: 1.succumb to the challenges associated with media distractions, 2. meet the challenges of the media, or 3. invest in a coach (life coach, performance coach, business coach etc.) to help them prepare for and navigate through the inevitable media challenges they face. Meeting the challenges of the media with the guidance of a coach will escalate their chances of success.
If the athlete invests in a coach, it can help to shape their image and brand thus making them more attractive to other teams seeking their talents. Sponsors seeking endorsements will be more likely to seek them out because of their “clean” image. Most importantly the athlete will be positioned for their life after sports. At the end of the day, athletes need to build something outside of their sport because eventually their sports career will end. Athletes have a very small shelf life as they are only in their sport from three to ten years on average. Everyone wants to be the super star athlete that the public recognizes, respects and continues to make a substantial income. A coach can help an athlete to be somebody beyond just the sport. Investing in coaching has the ability to help athletes protect themselves from negative media attention and social networking. Coaching also has the lasting ability to help athletes improve their overall performance and change their lives.
References
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