To anyone who’s spent a decent amount of time either learning or educating themselves on the intricacies of coaching, one thing is painfully obvious: Most Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) coaches are terrible.
Spend a day at even the more prestigious tournaments, like an IBJJF Open, and you’ll hear all sorts of terrible instructions from coaches, from the vague to the anxiety inducing.
Here are some common mistakes that crappy coaches make all the time:
- Going berserk. There is no need to yell throughout the entire match. It creates anxiety for both coach and competitor. If your student has trained properly, you shouldn’t have to say much at all. (More on what to say in #2) If your student has not prepared as they should have, let them experience the frustration of that realization, then work with them on scheduling a more consistent training routine.
- Vague instruction. Instructions given during the chaos of a match should be clear and concise. Too many coaches scream things like, “Go! Sweep him!” or “You gotta pass! You gotta pass!” If your student is mounted, do you really need to tell him to escape? He knows he needs to escape, you should be giving him simple instructions regarding the escape that he is most comfortable with.
- Negativity in Motivating. I can’t think of a single BJJ competition situation where yelling, “No!” is the right thing to say, yet I hear it all the time. A competitor is executing a move incorrectly, and instead of giving clear and simple instruction the coach yells, “No!”
- Negativity in Instruction. When a student is being set up for an armlock, the coach should NOT call out, “Watch out for the armbar!” This causes the competitor to worry about the armlock instead of focusing on what they should do. A momentary lapse in focus can be the difference between escaping and submitting. Instead, the coach should simply call out: “Protect your arm!”
- Excuse making or Rationalizing. Everyone who’s been to a tournament has heard the coach of a losing competitor say, “It’s ok, he was a lot bigger,” or “Hey, he’s been training a lot longer than you.” None of that matters. What really matters is the experience and the result. If you ecourage your athlete to make excuses they will never reach their full potential.
Here are some helpful resources (books) that will help an instructor become a better coach for his or her competitors:
- The Mental Edge
- Sports Psychology for Dummies
- Coaching Wrestling Successfully
- 10-Minute Toughness.
Author Brad Court is a 2nd degree black belt, IBJJF National Champion and 2x IBJJF Pan American medalist, and head instructor at Paramount Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Downingtown, PA. Paramount BJJ has more IBJJF medals than all other Chester County BJJ schools combined.