COACHES

Does your team have a competitive mindset?

Or, are they recreational paddlers who want to win?

Who likes to lose? We all want to win. But have we set our team up for victory or for winning?

Teams that are competitive are groups of individuals focused on being their personal best to support the mandate of the team.

A competitive paddler is someone who is developing themselves according to the teams requirements for success. This paddler mindset understands that as they improve they become a valuable asset to the team and it’s victory.

Recreational mindsets are focussed on their own individual improvement based on their own opinion.

Although coaches applaud individual paddler development its the attitude of this mindset on the boat that creates division of people and lack of commitment to the team.

The victory is in the team reaching its mandate not just winning a heat. Although competing to take gold may be a goal the victory lies on the teams success based on the seasons mandate.

So how do we shift a recreation mindset to competitive? Here are 3 top things:

1. Build a process for athletes to follow and measure their progress
2. Create clear and specific requirements in skill, attitude, team contribution, behaviours and technical improvement
3. Create opportunities in training sessions to implement the mindset of competitive paddlers such as how they adjust their stroke, take feedback, show up for practice and treat their team mates