The Benefits of Being Coachable

It is in the player’s best interest to listen to the coach, respond with an acceptable phrase, and execute whatever has been coached...Our resident Wideout Coach Erick Hernandez explores coachability.

Coachable : capable of being easily taught and trained to do something better.

Being a coachable player is one of, if not the most, desirable qualities in an athlete. When a player is coachable they have a willingness to improve their performance both on and off the field and it is consistently demonstrated by their words and actions. Instead of talking about the amount of uncoachable kids or why they are uncoachable I want to share how an athlete can be a coachable player. A coachable player takes responsibility for his or her performance both on and off the field. Being coachable means paying attention to your coaches when they are talking, responding with acceptable responses such as, “Yes coach,” “No coach,” or “I am not sure what you mean coach, can you explain that?”. Those three simple responses will answer the vast majority of questions a coach may ask and are also perfect examples of how to respond to statements a coach may make. These responses show coachability and allow for the note to be implemented appropriately on the field.

Kids need to be coachable before high school so that they are comfortable in an environment where there are such things as winners, losers, accountability, responsibility, and consequences. It is in the player’s best interest to listen to the coach, respond with an acceptable phrase, and execute whatever has been coached. Stay away from excuses. Excuses are used to defend poor play and poor play hurts the individual player and ultimately the team. It is no coincidence that the vast majority of athletes playing in college and the NFL are some of the most coachable athletes in the sport of football. For the most part, coaches have been through the grind as a player and have gained a clearer perspective through their own experiences.Successful teams are full of coachable players who have bought into the culture of the team and chosen to execute the coach’s game plan at an extremely high level.

From a recruiting perspective, coaches have a lot of say in the recruitment process and there are not very many ways for a player to get around that. A coach must put his or her name on the prospect and vouch for him as a candidate for the next level. Be an athlete that a coach is proud to put his name on and vouch for. Parents can help their athletes by advocating for coachability early on in their child’s adolescence and making sure that they are being coachable throughout their childhood. Ultimately, coachable kids are employable adults and being coachable will extend much further than the football field.