Players who “shine”
André Rieu, a violinist, conductor and the world known composer has with his music and orchestra “Johann Strauss” has been credited for the international revival of the waltz in recent times. The concerts of his orchestra “Johann Strauss” are fulfilling halls and delighting people around the world.
What is the secret of successful leading of such a perfectly tuned orchestra full of talented artists of different nationalities? There is no secrets, the orchestra performance “Johann Strauss” is great because Andre Rieu, the orchestra leader has given to each orchestra member the opportunity to express themselves and exploit their potential.
Can the Johann Strauss Orchestra success be compared with the success of a soccer team?
Just the same as the orchestra’s performance will be excellent only if every musician has given his maximum, so the football team can only grow in the long run if it’s a leader (the coach) fully exploits the full potential of his players.
Each coach wants players to achieve their full potential exactly under his leadership. And how to take advantage of the full potential of a player is much easier for me to write than to actually implement it. Regardless of this, I suggest you take four steps to successfully manage sports talents.
1. Create the appropriate player profiles for the future
Just as the orchestra “Johann Strauss” does not only consist of violinists, so in the soccer team not only the attackers play. The coach needs a variety of players to cover different positions on the field. Therefore, it is crucial that the coach evaluates the player profiles that are available to the club or to bring the quality players to cove the positions missed.
Furthermore, the coaches should also be able to recognize the individual’s strength and the ability of their players, but also all that is needed for players to further develop.
2. Create as much space as possible to unleash the talents
Talent is a bud that needs space and light to blossom. Physical strength, technical skills, creativity and enjoyment of teamwork can not grow if there is no suitable positive environment.
In order to develop the potential of their players, it is crucial that their coaches give them the opportunity to develop by solving the real and concrete challenges in the game. Grappling with the concrete situations in the game is an integral part of the process of giving space to talents to agile thinking and experimenting but also to be accepted from the rest of the team.
3. Identifying talents and their needs
Players cannot simply be ordered to be motivated. The coach needs to recognize what motivates players and then develop and nurture such an atmosphere within the team. It is certainly not an easy task, especially if you are my age. Today, coaches are working with new Z generation od players, who come off the mobile phone just during training or games. These are some new kids, and they are hard to impress because they have the tools and knowledge to easily check all the information right away. It is most important for them that in everything they do the purpose and meaning is recognized. If you want to motivate them, keep this in mind.
4. Think about leadership
At the time of today’s technology, hard, authoritative leadership can no longer respond to all the needs of contemporary team management. Communication is imposed as one of the key coaching skills required. The ability to listen, the interest for each player as an individual, and the willingness to potentiate and allow players to “shine”. This helps to stimulate the passion and ambition of the players and to create a positive team atmosphere.