Is Life Coach like Sports Coach?

If you’re like most people, hearing the word “coach”, leads you to envision a professional soccer team, swimming or even an ice skating trainer. 😊 While sounding similar, these professions are quite distinct and have very different relationships with their clients.

Let´s look at how these two differ & what they have in common:

A Sports Coach will assist clients in developing to their full athletic potential. This is done by analysing performance, giving feedback and providing instructions for improvement. The focus is on developing skills or collaboration relevant to a given sport. Sport Coach offers expertise from his point of view and motivates the athlete.

A Sports Coach aims to help clients accomplish goals specific to the sport, within fixed rules and timelines and ultimately win the game.

Essentially he manages, teaches and trains the individual or a team and is in a position of professional authority.

A Life Coach will assist clients in developing to their full life potential. That means he/she works with the client on relationship themes, work-life, behaviours, habits, emotions etc. This is done by guiding clients to find clarity within themselves, improving their approach to overcoming challenges and implementing solutions.

The ultimate aim of Life Coaching is to help clients accomplish their own goals on their terms, in their own time.

Essentially Life Coach guides clients to self-discovery and learning to grow as a person and overcome what limits them. She/he approaches clients from the position of a professional peer, confidant and guide. The Life Coach does not assess performance, offer life instructions or act from a position of authority as this would be counterproductive to the aim of Life Coaching.

My very simplified explanation:

Sports Coach = I am an expert in this game and know its goals. You are a student. You should listen to me to get better and win.

Life Coach = You are an expert on your life and know your goals. I´m an expert on creating space and perspective you can use to overcome your challenges.  Let me support you in listening to yourself and others better.  

Is there an overlap?

Of course, sports performance isn’t only about achieving physical strength and agility. The ability to make friends with one’s mind and emotions is vital for elite athletes. Therefore, some of the best professional Sports Coaches will use tools from Life Coaching and Sports Psychology, to help their athletes stay ‘’on top of their game’’.

Arguably it can be quite useful for Life Coaches to understand and use some of the tools of Sports Coaching, especially in contact with highly driven, business-oriented clients. In such cases and themes, a lot of parallels between elite business and professional sport can be found and built upon. There is also a group of niche Life Coaches focusing specifically on working with athletes seeking to improve the quality of their mental and emotional experience and performance.

So while there are very different end goals and types of relationships in these professions, they benefit from exploring each other’s tools and practices in the body & mind & emotions departments.

Want to know more?

Here are some good books to include in your library, should you want to know more, about how mental & emotional coaching helps athletes perform. 😎