The Characteristics of Great Coaches | Dr. Gordon Bloom

Dr. Gordon Bloom is a well-published scholar of scientific articles and book chapters, and a Professor of Sport Psychology at McGill University who has worked with the world’s leading coaches and athletes as both a researcher and sport psychology practitioner for over 20 years. He is currently the director of the McGill Sport Psychology Research Laboratory that is focused on applied and theoretical research within sport. There are currently two interrelated themes of research in his lab: 

(1) the knowledge, strategies and behaviours of coaches 

(2) the psychosocial aspects of post-concussion rehabilitation in athletes 

The majority of research has taken place under theme 1, and involves identifying effective knowledge, strategies, and behaviours employed by coaches in terms of leadership practices, mentoring, and team building to develop successful and well-balanced athletes. Related to this, he currently works for the United States Olympic Committee as part of their National Team Coach Leader Education Program. 

On the second theme, his research program has answered questions pertaining to the psychological and social factors that affect and improve recovery from concussions. For example, the results have identified the serious emotional responses (depression, attempted suicide) and reduced academic performance that athletes with this injury experience. The results of this research highlight the need for practitioners to incorporate social and psychological components for treating concussed athletes, particularly those with long-term symptoms. 

In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities at McGill, Dr. Gordon Bloom is a member of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association. In his professional practice, Dr. Bloom has consulted with amateur, professional, Olympic, and Paralympic athletes and taught them how to use mental skills to accelerate their level of performance in sport and life.

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Table of Contents

0:23 - Guest intro

0:50 - Growing up

1:42 - Fondest memory

3:10 - When did you get into coaching?

5:50 - Why pick sports psychology?

7:40 - John Wooden

14:00 - Top 3 characteristics of great coaches

15:40 - More about great coaches

24:20 - Chantal Vallée

34:50 - Mentorship

37:07 - Engaging parents

40:35 - 41-nothing game

43:45 - What can we do so kids love the game more at the end of the season than they did at the beginning?

44:55 - Resources

50:10 - #1 tip for new coaches to shave 5 years off their learning curve