Reader,
How do we get players to consistently maintain high standards of performance and effort? Usually, the coach acts as the enforcer, barking instructions and demanding more energy when the session drops flat. But if the coach owns the standards, the players never will.
Performance is a behavior, not just an outcome. To foster true accountability, players must define what good looks like. Coaching expert Mark Bennett uses a brilliant method: he has athletes define what acceptable, unacceptable, and exceptional looks like for a specific training activity. This includes tactical elements like speed of play and spacing, as well as values-based elements like effort and communication.
When the players define the standards, they take ownership of the process. If the session drops into the “unacceptable” zone, the players, not the coach, are the ones who must identify it, call each other out, hit the reset button, and do it right.
Of course, within your culture, you may still have individuals who do not buy into these new behaviors. When specific players struggle to meet the player-led standards, use individual interventions rather than calling them out in front of the group. Sit the athlete down one-on-one and ask them to personally identify which team value they aren’t adhering to. This ensures they aren’t publicly embarrassed and gives them a safe space to reflect, take accountability, and change.
Three Things to Consider
1. Challenge their stamina. Ask your players, “How long can we sustain acceptable and exceptional?”. This gives them a tangible behavioral goal to shoot for.
2. Stop play for behavior, not just tactics. Allow an activity to continue as long as the behavior is acceptable or exceptional, but stop it immediately when the level of effort or focus becomes unacceptable.
3. Apply the “Rule of 3”. To truly empower your players, try Mark Bennett’s Rule of 3 for problem-solving: let the player try to work it out first, then have them work it out with a peer, and only as a final step should the coach step in to help them figure it out together.
One thing to try this week
Before your main training activity, gather your players and ask them to define the standards for the session. Have them explicitly state what an “exceptional” repetition looks like and what an “unacceptable” one looks like. Step back and empower them to manage those standards.
One Critical Resource on the Topic
Read John O’Sullivan’s article Performance is a Behaviour, Not an Outcome to learn more about creating an environment of autonomy, learning, and accountability.
