How to Yell at Athletes
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009One day in practice an athlete had done something to tick Gable off. I don’t recall what it was, but it was bad enough that he was clearly going to catch hell for it, and was fearing it. So I watched, and got what may be the single best lesson in coaching I ever had.
Gable walked up to him scowling, stabbed his finger at the fellow’s face, and barked, “That’s not how you’re going to be a national champion!”
He then continued to chew the guy out, part of which consisted of telling him how great wrestlers trained; along the way, he indirectly told him several more times that he was going to be a national champion. By the end of it the athlete was almost crawling out of his skin, desperate to begin redeeming himself with a brutal workout.
I went away laughing from that one: Gable managed to punish the guy and brainwash him at the same time. It was just brilliant. But it was not at all a singular event… that’s how you do these things. Dan Gable was consistently positive as a coach, because it worked.
Recent Comments