Coachability: What it is, and why it’s important.

If you ask any coach, at any level, of any sport what one of the most important characteristics for an athlete to have is, I can guarantee that coachability would be one of the top answers. Coachability is both a skill and a character trait, and it’s defined by Google as the willingness and ability to seek, receive, and implement constructive feedback to improve performance. 

Every athlete no matter the age or sport wants to improve, but what separates the athletes who grow exponentially from those who grow minimally is their ability to not just listen to criticism or feedback, but to implement their learnings. True coachability is not just hearing suggestions and corrections from your coach, but actively practicing those corrections in practice, in games, and at home on your own time. 

I noticed this first hand when I was coaching a Middle School soccer team in the fall of 2023. Many of my players had a wonderful habit of coming up to me after practice and asking, “Hey Coach, what can I do to get better?” They nailed the first aspect of coachability, which is the “willingness and ability to seek feedback.” However, after I gave each player a unique instruction to work on, only a handful of them followed through with implementing that instruction in practice the next day, or in the game that week. Only a handful checked the second box of coachability which is, “implementing constructive feedback to improve performance.” 

After a few weeks it became evident to me who were the players that asked how they could get better because it was the right thing to do, and who were the players that were actually coachable. 

You see, coachability is a two-part skill because the coach-athlete relationship is a two-way relationship. The most underrated aspect about coachability — which I failed to realize until I became a coach myself — is that not only does it help the player improve, but it makes the coach feel happy and validated because a great coach always wants to see his or her players grow and develop. The essence of being a coach is not to help a team or player win, but to help them grow. As a coach there is nothing more validating than seeing an athlete grow because of implementing an instruction you gave them. Therefore being coachable is mutually beneficial to players and coaches. Moreover, athletes who do go the extra mile to seek AND implement teachings from their coach gain favor with them. 

So what does this mean for athletes? Understanding coachability as both the willingness to ask for feedback, and the necessity to implement that feedback could be the key to going from a bench player to a starter. It could be the difference in being a varsity player as opposed to a JV player. Or, it could be the separator from role player to captain. 

What does this mean for coaches? We need to make it clear to our athletes what coachability really is and how it can make a difference on your team. Inform athletes that if they want to reach their new level and develop rapidly they can do so not by just asking the right questions, but taking action on their learnings. 

In summary, a coachable player goes beyond simply asking for feedback, instead, they implement the feedback in a tangible way on the field, on the court, or on the track. As legendary growth and leadership expert Jim Rohn put it, “Don’t let your learning lead to just knowledge, let it lead to action.” 

If you are an athlete looking to reach your new level, the number one skill you can develop today is coachability.