Learning from more experienced colleagues

Learning from more experienced colleagues

To carve out a succesful career in sport, you need more than just the knowledge you acquire through a degree or textbooks. One way in which you can thrive, is to ensure you are always learning from other people that are more experienced than you. Working in sport is a collection of unique experiences and relationships. The more you can soak up from others around you, the more knowledgable you will become too. In this post I want to look at the importance of learning from more experienced colleagues that you cross paths with throughout your career.

Finding people to act as mentors (such as a more experienced coach or analyst) can be of great benefit to your career and many people will be happy to give back. 

Hands-On Experience
One of the most significant advantages of working alongside someone more experienced than yourself is the ability to learn from real-life situations:

  • Dealing with different situations: Observe how mentors handle high-pressure game situations, make split-second decisions, and cope in different situations in the workplace.
  • Player/Staff Relationships: Learn how to form and maintain strong relationships, with a focus on trust and performance improvement.
  • Adaptability: Learn first-hand how experienced coaches and analysts adapt their approaches in response to evolving game dynamics and unforeseen challenges.

Decision-Making
Working as an analyst or coach often involves quick decision-making. Learning from people who have been there and done it, can be invaluable:

  • Strategic Choices: Discover the rationale behind specific game strategies, tactical changes, and substitutions made in various situations. If you observe this, ask questions afterwards to gain a better understanding.
  • Player & Team Evaluation: Understand how they use data and observations to assess player and team performance and make those informed decisions. Did what they see correlate to what you thought?
  • Training / Development: Gain insight into creating effective training routines and adapting them to suit individual player needs. See how the analysis really shapes the practice of the team. How does a more experienced analyst link the analysis to the sessions? How do they work alongside the different player/coach personalities?

Development of soft skills
Beyond the technical aspects, working with more experienced colleagues in a similar role enables you to improve essential soft skills:

  • Effective Communication: I always mention how important communication skills are, especially when working as a coach or analyst. The best will be good at this so be aware of how they operate with different colleagues. How you communicate with a player is different to how you communicate with a chairman, or head coach for example.
  • Motivation: Learn how to motivate athletes and other colleagues to instil a winning mindset within your team. Working in sport is great when things are going well. If results aren't going your way, it can be a tough environment.
  • Problem-Solving: Develop problem-solving skills by witnessing how coaches and analysts handle challenges during training and games.

While on the topic of skills, here is a video I did going over important skills that any successful analysis MUST have:


Staying on top of Trends
The sports world is ever evolving, with new strategies and technologies emerging constantly. Learning from experienced coaches keeps you up to date:

  • Innovative Techniques: Stay informed about the latest coaching and analytical techniques, and where the more experienced coaches learn and take ideas from. Always be open-minded.
  • Adapting to Changes: Understand how they adapt their methods to the evolving world of sport, whether new software, rules, or coaching ideas.

In the realm of sports coaching and analysis, learning from experienced colleagues is vital. Embrace mentorship, soak up hands-on experiences, gain insights into decision-making processes, and hone essential soft skills.

By doing so, you'll not only become a better coach/analyst yourself, but also contribute to the ongoing growth and development of the sports industry. Remember, your journey to excellence can be significantly enriched by the wisdom and mentorship of those who have done it before you. 

Stay open-minded, take on ideas and see what works best for you and your environment.

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