Serving High School and College Team Sport Coaches

What’s Your Story?

As human beings, we continually tell ourselves stories—of success or failure, of power or victimhood—stories that last an hour, a day, or an entire lifetime. We have stories about our families, our sport, our relationships, and our health, as well as about what we want and what we are capable of achieving. The stories we tell ourselves profoundly affect how others see us and how we see ourselves. Ultimately, the stories we tell (especially to ourselves) determine our destiny.

In his latest work, The Power of Story, world-renowned sport psychologist’s, Dr. Jim Loehr’s, talks about how our stories impact our lives. And why do we tell ourselves stories? They help us navigate our way through life by providing structure and direction. They impose meaning into chaos; they organize and give context to our experiences.

Unfortunately, too many of the stories we tell ourselves are dysfunctional and in need of serious editing. For example, a coach might “run a story” in her mind that she inherited “two wise guys” who are going to impact the success of the team. For a player, a story might be that “I just don’t dribble with my left hand.” It’s important then to let go of these stories in order to create new versions that serve your goal and the team’s goals. To edit a dysfunctional story, you must first identify it. To do that, you must answer the question:

In which important areas of my life is it clear that I cannot achieve my goals with the story I’ve got?

Spend some time pondering and writing about this question. The results are not necessarily fun yet they are powerful.

Now shift your focus to your role as a coach. Take some time and write out your thoughtful answers to the two questions below. Your answers will shape the upcoming season.

ASSIGNMENT

1. What are the old stories on this team that will limit our success? If you are new to coaching the team, please write about the stories you’ve heard regarding the team.

2. What is the new team story that will drive our greatest success possible?

NOTE: this is also a great exercise for your players to complete at the beginning of the season. I used it last fall with a team and the players really connected to the idea of story in their lives.