Coaching better coaches starts with better communication

1. Coaching Better
Coaches Starts With
Better Communication
By Mario Ashley, Owner Naples Strength
and Conditioning

2. Coaching Has More To Do
With Communication Skills
Than How Much You Can
Lift

3. Skill vs Talent
Before you get mad at me for stating communication skills are more important to coaching let me explain...
At our gym a few weeks ago, we presented a new way of displaying our workouts to our members.
It has 3 different tracks: Health, Fitness, Performance.

4. This is already being done with some of the best CrossFit gyms in the world. If done
correctly 70% of our members will fall in the middle (Fitness) track. I won't discuss the
philosophy of the training style her but understand the benefits outweigh the cons.
Though, we had been working on this idea for months, it was the first time our members
were hearing about it.
What followed was a plethora of different emotions. Some loved the idea. Some were
confused about the change.

5. I’d say handling people is the most important thing you can
do as a coach. I’ve found every time I’ve gotten into trouble
with a player, it’s because I wasn’t talking to him enough.– Lou
Holtz
When I got to the root of the confusion it didn't have anything to do with the programming rather, it was based on
how our members felt being placed in a certain track they didn't think they belonged in.
As a coach we had to explain the purpose of the tracks and calm individual concerns of being placed in a
perceived easier track. If communicated properly to the member without offending them they were more open to
the new system than if we remained inflexible and difficult to talk to.

6. Our hardest job as coaches is not teaching someone how to squat properly it's learning how to manage
different personalities on any given day.
“A common mistake among those who work in sport is
spending a disproportional amount of time on “x’s and o’s”
as compared to time spent learning about people.”– Mike
Krzyzewski, D1 Basketball All Time Winningest Coach

7. Over the past year, I've become quite interested in how improved
communication skills can separate me from ordinary coaching styles. I've
learned and honed in on a few skills this past year that have greatly improved
my rapport and continued trust with our members. They include:
1. POGO
2. Follow Ups
3. Empathy

8. 1. POGO
I've written about this in a previous article. POGO is an acronym we use as a touch-point
for social interaction with our members. It is one of the easiest ways to initiate
conversation with people. Believe it or not I hate social settings, I get very nervous and
anxious around people I don't know.
POGO is a skill I've used outside the gym as well to get conversations started and to help
keep them going. Another question that helps get members talking is how their workouts
have been coming along. They usually follow with "Monday was an awesome
workout!". In my head, I'm like aren't they all awesome?!

9. 2. Follow Ups
If you feel a disconnect between you and a member it needs to be addressed immediately. Not
tomorrow, not the next day. Don't rush to the gym owner to complain about them. In the most calm
and respectful manner possible ask for a few minutes of their time after class.
Person-to-person contact is key.
If I'm at home thinking about a member in a negative way that is a clue I need to talk to them
immediately. Emails don't count. Mannerisms, voice inflection, and compassion cannot be
represented well via email. This take immense Emotional Intelligence 2.0 to manage these
conversations without getting emotional. What could have been blown out of proportion is rectified
where both people win and understand each other better.

10. 3. Empathy
This requires the skill of active listening. This is a skill because the more you use it the better you get at it. The less
you use the worse you become.
EX: A member comes in complaining about a tight calf. What I really hear if I'm listening correctly; I'm hurt, can
you help me? I ask if I can perform manual therapy on it. Another members says how bad their kipping pullup was
performed during the workout, what I hear is; "I want to get better at this movement but I don't know what I'm
doing wrong". I ask for 5 minutes of their time after class to help them. And the hardest to respond to as a coach is
a bad attitude. A member comes in telling me how bad of a day they are having. What I hear is, "don't be tough
on me today, leave me alone". I apologize for their bad day as I stare directly into their eyes and tell them this
workout will make them feel better. In that case, she ended up thanking me the other day for the kind words and
how it encouraged her to focus on the workout.
It ended up altering the rest of her day because I listened and did my best to communicate with empathy.

11. Conclusion
In studying how I can communicate better to my members and staff over the last year I have found hundreds of
skills that could help me. As overwhelming as it has been to learn I made it a job to focus on one communication
skill at a time until it became natural.
Though this takes patience and humility to become a better communicator I am proud to
have developed these skills as it has made me a better coach, boss, and human being.
I'm convinced if I didn't have these skills sets in place the launch of our new programming gone have gone really
bad.

12. Bio
About Mario Ashley
Mario Ashley is the owner of Naples Strength & Conditioning. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University
of Florida. He has certifications in the following CrossFit Courses: Mobility, Gymnastics, Football, Kids, Goal
Setting, Endurance and Level 2 Certificate. He is also the creator of WarehouseGymExpert.com where he helps
gym owners professionalize the warehouse gym one lesson at a time. He also has created an Ebook that fitness
professionals can use to help improve their clients flexibility and reduce the likelihood of injury called
mobilitydrills.com.