What A Coffee Shop Can Teach You About Becoming More Connected To Your Team.

As coaches, it is difficult at times to connect with student-athletes outside of team activities (practice, film, training, team meals, travel, etc), especially on teams with a large roster. For example, a 15 min meeting with 40 baseball student-athletes is a minimum of 10 hours if you tried to do it straight with no break. It is important to define what it means to be connected and what it truly means to you. Connected is a powerful word because it is alive, and constantly evolving, it is a vibe, and it is knowing others’ stories.

There is something about connecting with student-athletes outside of the training environment and not around the entire team. Even if it is simply running into them on their way to class or when a small group is headed to get coffee on campus. There are levels to becoming connected. We have all heard of the cliche, that coaches need to get to know the person, not just the athlete. The key is taking action.

Many times as coaches, we get into the habit of asking “how’s it going?” and we all know what is coming, “good”. That’s it. Then they ask us if we are lucky and we respond just like them. Straight to step 3 we start discussing the next game, practice, or an injury (”Hey how are you feeling?”) How can we get more connected without resorting to weekly hour-long 1 on 1 meeting?

Building Blocks

• Connection outside of team activities

• Equal the playing field with the environment. Not in the coach’s office. Coaches love saying “hey I would like to meet with everyone this week. Come by my office.”

• Ask lofty questions. What’s been the best part of your week? Celebrated anything recently? What has been the most fun you have had, outside of sports?

How can we actively and intentionally create these moments?

Coffee Connections. Think of your favorite coffee shop. The barista knows your order, they know some key things about you, you know some things about their life, and if you go to the same coffee shop for years like me they know you well. Like really well.

Coffee Connections.

My friend, Matthieu (Episode 11 of The Bryant Ferate Podcast) and director of operations at my spot, Cathedral Coffee, inspired me to write about this. When you are working behind the bar you have to be efficient. Say hi, get the order, accept payment, catch up, check in, smooth concise update, peace out, and then it is the next person in line. Those concise interactions add up. Great things have small beginnings (shout out to Danny Miranda & Noah Huisman). His and my friendship started from BS’ing for 5 minutes and being curious/asking good questions when I order my cold brew.

Bringing it back to coaching and applying coffee connections to our environment. Repeated small efforts, slow and steady, turn into you knowing someone. Knowing who they are, who they are becoming, and more than just the “Athlete Identity”. Who knows maybe over 2 to 4 years, all your little check-ins add up to help the student-athlete discover who they are. You are connected with them, as they realize who they are becoming. Those “coffee connections” add up to make a thriving relationship over time. Your impact could even help student-athletes gain more clarity to the questions of who am I becoming, how would I describe myself outside of my sport & my performance. Walking with them on the journey of them being the best version of themselves. Isn’t that what it is all about?

Great things have small beginnings…

Best Day of the Year Until Tomorrow.

Ferate