Softball Coaching Tips - How to Motivate Your Players Better

By Marc Dagenais
Motivating your players is one of your most basic tasks as a softball coach. But sad to say, it's also one of the most difficult things to master in this game. It's not easy to tell your players to perform better, to have a positive attitude towards the game, or tell them to relate well with their teammates.

You do not build your motivational skills overnight. You need all the experience you can get to do this well. Don't worry though, because I'll show you some of the most basic concepts of motivation through these softball coaching tips I have for you.

Let Motivation Start From Within

Many players have trophies and glory as their motivation to win games. However, these motivators - sometimes called external motivators - although good, are by themselves weak and do not push players well enough into wanting to become better players. This kind of motivation wanes when your players fail to claim the prize, or even after winning it.

What you should do, then, is to couple this with motivation that comes from within your players. You'll get lots of this type of motivation from players who really love the game. Let them share their enthusiasm with your other players, and it will eventually rub off on them.

Know Your Players Better

Motivation is not a one-way road. Motivation is a form of communication, and as such, you should learn to listen as much as you know how to talk to your players. Why should you do this? That's because only when you start listening to your players will you know how to motivate them well. That's the time you'll know which buttons to push to fire them up.

For example, you have a player who's severely unmotivated. This player often misses practices, and does not seem to relish the playing time you're giving him. And he's not complaining when you don't let him play, either.

To address this motivational issue, you should talk to the player why he's acting that way. You might feel surprised to find out that he doesn't like to play softball in the first place! Believe me, it happens. And the sooner you find out about this, the better. That way, you can prevent friction from building up and still part ways as friends. And more than that, you can find a replacement for that player immediately, if possible.

Shouting Does Not Motivate Players

Back in the day, coaches were a lot like drill sergeants. They always barked orders at you, and insulted you whenever you committed errors. But things have changed. Shouting doesn't work anymore. It could work for the first few weeks of training, but its effectiveness will wear off eventually.

What you should do then is talk to them as a normal person would. Again, motivation is about good communication, and you do not foster that by insulting and shouting at your players.

All in all, these softball coaching tips on motivation are all about relating well with your players. Following these tips will make it easier for you to find out what causes their lack of motivation and address the root of the problem.

Marc Dagenais is a Softball Peak Performance Coach that helps softball players turn their athletic talent into extraordinary performances and help coaches get more out of their players, turn their struggling team around or get an edge over their opponents. Visit us to sign-up to get our FREE softball pitching tips!

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