The Best Coaches Change Their Mind

One of the biggest mistakes coaches can make is believing that changing your mind is a weakness.

Early in your career, there can be a lot of pressure to have the answers. You want to be confident in your coaching and certain in your approach. After all, you’ve invested time learning, studying, attending conferences and developing your coaching philosophy.

But coaching has a way of challenging that certainty.

A programme that worked brilliantly with one group doesn’t always work with another. An athlete responds differently than expected. A new academic paper pops up with research. The game evolves or fundamentally changes the rules (I’m not looking at any organisation in particular!). Before long, something you once viewed as a certainty becomes a little less clear.

And that’s not a bad thing.

The coaches who continue to grow are usually the ones who remain curious. They keep asking questions, seeking different perspectives, and testing their own assumptions. They understand that experience isn’t about collecting answers. It’s about getting better at asking the right questions.

I know there are things I believed strongly when I first started coaching that I wouldn’t be as convinced about today, such as the idea of changing an entire gym programme every six weeks. Not because it was completely wrong, but because experience gave me a different perspective. Working with different athletes, coaches, and environments has a way of doing that.

The best coaches aren’t afraid to adapt. They don’t hold onto old ideas simply because that’s how they’ve always done things. They’re willing to challenge themselves, learn from others, and change course when experience points them in a different direction.

Because coaching isn’t about defending your opinions. It’s about helping athletes.

And if a different approach helps the athlete more, then that’s the approach worth exploring, and as coaches, I think we should have opinions. But we should also hold them lightly. The moment our ego becomes more important than the outcome, learning starts to slow down.

So here’s a question worth reflecting on - What coaching belief have you changed your mind on in the last five years?

Food for thought
Michael