5 Athlete Character Qualities That Surpass Individual Talent

What do coaches look for when selecting and keeping a player on a team?

After interviewing several local coaches in the Miami area, I have compiled a short list of non-negotiable characteristics that coaches prefer in team selection. These qualities go beyond technical skills and add significant value to the team environment.

1. Coachable

Coachability, in my opinion, is the #1 character quality of any athlete. I can guarantee that most coaches feel the same way. Being a coachable player means that you have a willingness to be coached by your coach instead of trying to coach yourself. Wait a minute, Coach Ashleigh, are you contradicting yourself? Aren’t you the one who talks about self-reliance? Yes, I am. But I’m talking about accepting advice from your coach instead of trying to coach yourself in a team setting. Your coach has information that is directly relevant to the game, your position, your role within the team, your responsibilities on the field, the team’s style of play, and what they expect in training. This information needs to reach you and be absorbed by you. No coach wants to deal with a player who thinks they know everything. If a player knew everything, they should already be getting paid to play. If not, stop the noise and listen to your coaches. Even at the college and professional levels, all coaches want to know that a player is willing to learn and trust the coach’s plans, even if they don’t fully understand the big picture. Coachability is more than just listening to your coach and doing what you’re told. It’s about putting yourself in a position to be helped, taught, and mentored by your coach.

2. Self Confidence

If you can believe it, you can achieve it. Believing in yourself can take you to heights you’ve never imagined. Negative thinking will produce negative results, while positive thinking will yield positive outcomes. How you feel about yourself is everything. If you feel good about your abilities on the field, you will perform at your best. If you are unsure about your strengths, or if you speak and think negatively about yourself and your abilities, you will never perform well. Coaches can see when a player is confident. If a player walks with her shoulders caved in, drags her feet, and looks down most of the game or session, it reflects how that player feels about herself. She may visibly display frustration through her tone of voice, motions, gestures, or body language—or a combination of all three. She’s not confident. Coaches will observe how players respond emotionally to various situations in practices and games. They know that players who believe in themselves and trust their abilities can uplift the team and enhance the training environment.

3. Hunger

Players who are hungry get after it. They don’t whine. They don’t complain. They don’t make petty excuses. They have grit. (Click here to read up on grit). They have a burning desire for self-improvement and an utter excitement for practices and games. Can you think of a time when you were starving and felt that if you didn’t eat soon, you might pass out or even die—or something else dramatic? You’ve got to be starving for this game. Any chance you get to better yourself, you take, or you feel like you’re missing something. When you can’t practice for a week because you’re out with the flu, you’re dying to get back on the field. Just holding a ball at home satisfies your hunger for a little bit. But you aren’t full yet. You’re dying to get back on the field, and you would do anything to achieve your goals, regardless of what people say about you or what the circumstances are. Nothing else matters when you have a ball at your feet. Coaches can sense real hunger and passion from players versus those who fake it for clout or just to get by. Hungry players go above and beyond. They absolutely destroy the buffet and come back for seconds, thirds, and fourths. They don’t leave food on the table. Your actions show your true desire for the game more than your words ever could. Talk less, work more.

4. Leadership

This word gets thrown around so much that its meaning has become questionable. I’ll probably need to write another blog on this word alone to really get my point across and share what qualities make a true leader. Leadership is both a natural-born quality and one that can be developed, nurtured, and practiced over time. Its actions come in many different forms. When a coach sees a player gathering her teammates for a discussion, that’s leadership. When a coach notices a player coaching her teammates, that’s leadership. When a coach is running late to practice and the entire team is working together to get practice started, that’s leadership. When there’s a personal problem between players and another player steps in as the intermediary to solve the problem, that’s leadership. When a teammate goes down grabbing her knee, and you’re the first one to get there to make sure she’s okay while reassuring your team that everything is fine, you’re displaying leadership. When you show up to practice early and start training before anyone else arrives, you’re leading. You don’t have to be a captain or be appointed a leadership position to lead. You can be a leader wherever you go and in whatever you do.

5. Responsibility

Every player is tasked with responsibilities—some on the field and others off the field. Coaches like to see that players have a basic sense of responsibility for themselves. Does the player show up to practice on time? Is the player in match-fit physical shape? Does the player wear the correct uniform and have the proper gear? If the player makes an obvious mistake during training, does she try to fix it or does she blame someone else? Does the player have minimal incidents involving injury, or does she neglect her body’s needs, thus inducing injury? Is the player doing her job on the field specific to her position?