If you have agreed to be my coach, to turn me into a champion ice skater, the first thing you notice is that my skates are untied.
As a habit, I am sloppy about my equipment. The knots in my laces are loose and within minutes, they come apart and the laces drag the ice. As my coach, you want to be positive, but my laces are untied. Do you ignore this weakness, or is it part of your obligation, as a coach, to deliver some negative feedback?
This is not a rhetorical question.
Tom – past behavior/new behavior. If the basics aren’t solid how can you ever hope to get the discipline to be a champ. Find a new skater…
Negative feedback unnecessary.
Positive feedback: “Tie your laces better and you’ll remove one more obstacle to championship. You will skate faster and stumble less.”
As a coach, you should be aware of such things as “Granny Knots”, which are the number one cause of shoelaces that come untied. This is the sort of inside knowledge that people expect their coaches to possess. Your first lesson as coach: “How to prepare your equipment”, will impress them enormously, and will surely not be seen as “negative feedback”!