When a player says: “I can’t do this”. That is not necessarily a bad thing. I can’t do this just means I can’t do it right now. If someone says I can’t do this at the moment or I can’t do this now, that implies that they’re ready to go a little bit further. If they didn’t say the “now”, in the end, maybe that implies that there is a judgment as to what do they want you to do.

Do they want you to make this easier or do they want you to give them more time? Do they want you to leave them alone? And do they want you just to be a lot less judgmental? What are they really saying in that?

More than anything, we as coaches need to listen. We need to understand where the players are at, and when you start understanding where they’re at and you are conscious of what you’re trying to say then you have the opportunity of getting on the same page.