20 Questions Coaches Should Be Asking Their Athletes

In the Corporate world, most companies and teams set goals, have tasks to complete, have weekly or monthly check-ins with managers and employees, do quarterly reviews, yearly performance reviews, and yearly planning. 

These processes help provide the structure for organizations to thrive by aligning expectations, monitoring progress, giving constructive feedback, and setting everyone up for success.

But these principles aren’t always applied in Athletic settings.

In order to have a fulfilling, successful season (and beyond), we need to apply some of the same principles from the business world into Athletics, especially:

• Communicating expectations

• Discussing priorities

• Having & sharing goals

• Regular check-ins

In particular, Coaches need to be engaging with their Athletes on a regular basis.

Athletes should have a 1:1 meeting with a coach (head or assistant) at least every 2 weeks, regardless if you’re on a collegiate or professional team.

This helps to ensure the coach and the athlete are on the same page, the athlete feels supported, and adjustments can be made as needed.

Additionally, Coaches should do a deeper-dive with each Athlete at least once/semester.

I also encourage Coaches to utilize surveys at the beginning and end of the year to collect feedback and aggregate data.

Here are 20 questions Coaches should be asking their Athletes on a regular basis:

Note: All questions should be asked at least once/year, some more often.

1. What’s important to you this semester?

2. What’s something you’re proud of yourself for in the past 3 months?

3. What’s important about the college experience for you?

4. How much stress do you feel on a daily basis, in general?

5. What is most stressful for you? (Your sport, learning new skills, school, trying to balance everything, family, something else?)

6. How are you feeling about your mental health?

7. How do you best respond to coaching? What type of coaching do you like best?

8. What’s made you successful in the past?

9. How supported do you feel by me and/or the coaching staff?

10. Are you excited about what you’re studying?

11. What kinds of things are you interested in?

12. Do you have friends on campus outside of your teammates?

13. What do you like to do for fun / in your downtime?

14. How much time do you spend on social media per day, on average?

15. How much sleep do you get per night, on average?

16. How fulfilled do you feel right now?

17. What does “success” mean to you?

18. What are 1-2 things holding you back right now?

19. What are 1-2 goals you have this semester/year?

20. What big stressors do you have coming up this month?

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy my Top 11 Tips & Tools for Student-Athletes video!

I work with professional and college athletic organizations, teams, and coaches on mental health, mindset, culture, and leadership.

If you would like to work with me, contact me.