Thanks to Coach Eric Musselman for this list of important coaching points from Tony Dicicco, former US Olympic soccer coach:* The first thing a manager or coach needs to learn is how to listen.
* Appropriate feedback is essential for peak performance. Communication is the art of making a difference.
* The most important lesson a coach needs to learn about feedback: What you think you're saying may not always coincide with what your players are hearing.
* While some people can give too much feedback, rambling on until your players just shut down and hear nothing, my experience has been that players look for more rather than less of it. For
instance, Michelle Akers, one of the best players in the world, often asked me, "What do I have to do to get better?"
* One thing to be aware of is that often the personality of the coach is picked up by the team. If you start complaining about every call, accusing the referee of screwing your team, that attitude is going to become part of the team ethos.
* At halftime, zero in on one or two or three key points because that's the amount of information most players can process in such a short amount of time.
* When you set a goal, write it down and then it's like making a promise to yourself.
* Placing blame on others is easy. Taking responsibility for yourself is empowering.
