“Relationships Determine Results”

“Relationships Determine Results”

By

Coach Jim White

One of the best managers I ever worked for had those words engraved on a plaque sitting on his office desk.  Whenever I had a meeting with him, there it was, staring me right in the face as I sat across from him.  Since I worked in a Corporate Human Resources department as an HR Manager, those words had special meaning in our line of work because almost every situation we dealt with had to do with relationships.  My manager believed in that phrase and used it as his guide in everything he did, both on and off the job.  He said the phrase had proven itself to him over and over again throughout his career.  He was a very successful manager, so those of us who worked for him adopted the same thinking in our training.  After 25 years in the Human Resources department, I found that no truer words were ever spoken when it comes to dealing with people.

Relationship quality is what determines the success of your personal life. This must be true, based on the number of self help books on the subject that I see in the book store.  Think of the relationships you have with your family.  Most are probably very good.  Some may be so-so and some may be struggling just to call it a relationship.  The same can probably be said of your friends, both close friends and casual acquaintances.  The quality of all these relationships usually determines whether you are happy, sad, angry, lonely or just indifferent.

In business, the quality of the relationship you build with individuals dictates the success or failure of the goals you have set for yourself.  Anyone who has ever worked in sales knows the value of a good relationship with potential clients.  Top sales people are masters at cultivating relationships….they have to be…their livelihood depends on it.

Social counselors, clergy, police officers, lobbyists, politicians, medical personnel, teachers and anyone who thrives in the business world, all have to be able to accomplish goals through building and maintaining a good relationship.

The same is true in archery.  As an archer, you must have a good coach to rise to the top of your sport.  I can’t think of any top athlete who didn’t have a good coach that helped them to reach the winner’s circle.  Even Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps have coaches and they are some of the most naturally talented athletes we’ve seen in the last twenty years.  Their natural talent is a blessing, but hard work and a rigid training program is what propelled them to the top.  But most important is the relationship between the coach and athlete.  It must be one of mutual respect and understanding and a willingness to listen and care about what the other person is saying, both verbally and non-verbally.  In a lot of ways, it’s almost like a marriage and it takes not a 50-50 effort, but rather a 100% effort on both sides to make it work successfully.

The selection of the right coach and the trust built in the relationship are the crucial elements in the success of the archer athlete. Both the coach and the archer must agree on the training program and both have to be fully committed in seeing it through.

Just as important is the ability of both to know when to ask for help when it’s not working.  The athlete usually can do this much easier because he or she is in the learning position and is expected to ask questions.  Sometimes, it’s hard for a coach to admit he or she doesn’t have the answer to a problem and needs to seek outside help.  A good coach must have this ability or the relationship will suffer and possibly cause a breakdown in the trust within the relationship.

So, how should an athlete go about selecting a coach?   How should a coach determine if he or she should work with a particular archer?

For the Archer:

• Do your homework – ask other archers who have used a particular coach you are interested in.  Learn about this coach’s style.  Does he/she dictate “my way or the highway” or do they have a style that encourages your input to the training process?

• Does this coach have the knowledge and sufficient training to provide what you need to meet your goals? Just because a person was a good archer doesn’t mean they will be a good coach….and vice versa.  Some of the best coaches were never world class archers.  Also, some coaches specialize in only one area like compound equipment while others only coach recurve archers.  Be sure to ask which discipline your potential coach is most proficient at teaching.

• Don’t expect the coach to make you an Olympic caliber archer overnight.  It’s not magic; it takes time to develop the skills needed to compete on the world stage.  Start with a realistic skills evaluation and then agree to what it will take to get to your goal.  You both have to be in the boat rowing in the same direction.

For the Coach:

• Before taking on the task of coaching an archer, the coach should begin with an assessment of the archer’s skill level and equipment. Then have a conversation.  Ask what the archer’s ultimate goal is and what the timeline is.  Then ask yourself if this is realistic and attainable.

• Determine if the archer has the time available to do the necessary training, the funds for equipment, travel, entry fees, lodging expense and your fee.  These details need to be covered up front so there are no surprises later.

• Based on your skills assessment, sketch out a proposed training plan with goals for the next six months and get feedback from the archer as to the acceptability of your suggestions.  Start with a six month plan; long range goals can be made after you have worked together for a while.  The initial plan will allow time to get to know each other.

For both the Coach and Archer:

• Once the training plan is in place, there must be accountability to follow the program.  The archer should make every effort to follow the plan and to keep good notes.  A report should be given to the coach weekly.

• The coach should use this information to assess the progress of the archer and make modifications to the plan as needed.  The coach should be available to answer any questions the archer may have and communications between the two should be frequent.

• The archer must be able to trust the coach’s instruction and ability and the coach must trust the archer to follow direction and do the work prescribed.  As long as both continue to live up to their promises, a good relationship will prevail.

In the end, it’s all about two people helping each other to reach a goal.  It doesn’t matter if it’s just keeping all the arrows on the target butt at the local club or winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games, it’s still a teamwork effort based on a relationship. If you really work at it, you will come to learn that “relationships determine results”.

We would like to thank our sponsors, including Easton Foundation and TaxMasters for lending financial support helping to cover travel and registration costs, Nike for the apparel, and Easton and Hoyt for their support in providing the Junior Dream Team Program with equipment