6 ways to be more coachable

Be willing to learn from others who have more experience than you. You don’t need to copy someone’s every move, but learning from others does mean you can identify your weaknesses and find ways to improve. A big component of being coachable means that you have a desire to learn from others and apply that to your practice.

Be respectful of your coach or instructor. They have the skills you want to acquire, so give them your full attention. Your coach’s methods may not be the only way of doing things, but being coachable means you are willing to try something different and put your full effort into making it work for you.

Be ready to check your ego at the door. While on the golf course, it’s important to maintain your confidence and desire to win. However, during practices, lessons, meetings and workouts, you must be willing to listen to your coach, learn and act. College coaches will tell you one of their biggest turnoffs is a player with an ego. Having an ego prevents that player from trying new things and seeing the bigger picture of what the coach and team is trying to accomplish.

Be willing to absorb what your coach is telling you and practice. If you are not willing to do things outside of your comfort zone, then you will take twice as long to improve as another player who is coachable. You must be willing to put the time into drills, tasks and assignments in order to see the results, even if you don’t feel it is something you should be doing.

Be willing to accept criticism. A willingness to accept criticism is easier for some players than others, but all athletes must be willing to accept critiques and work on their weaknesses. Mistakes are going to happen; it’s how you handle them and what you learn from them that determines if you improve or not.

Be gracious and humble. When it’s all said and done, being gracious to the person who is trying to help always demonstrates coachability. At times, there may be something you just don’t feel is good for your game, or you are really struggling to make the changes your coach has asked of you. Rather than accuse them of being wrong, thank them for their time and energy spent trying to help you. Be humble enough to accept that you don’t know everything, be willing to try new things, and be gracious for all of the lessons and skills you’ve learned.