Ten years ago, I found myself coaching at a young age. While my technical skills were solid, my coaching was still a work in progress.

I was deeply humbled. I thought that sharing my knowledge repeatedly and patiently would be enough for others to learn. Nope, it just didn’t work.

I realized the problem was with me.

Just saying whatever I saw that needed improvement made me think I was helping my mentees. It didn’t. This is what I call spraying and praying.

I’m here writing so you can avoid this… So let’s dive in!

Spraying and praying creates mental confusion. It’s spreading your mentees too thin.

To better illustrate this example, I’ll use basketball as a medium.

It’s not just limited to basketball; it applies to most fields that require multiple skills.

When you teach someone to score, the concept is straightforward: just put the ball in the hoop. Against a defender, there’s multiple advice you can give:

• Where is he facing? Can you get him off-balance on your dominant side?

• Is he farther away? Can you take the shot immediately?

• Can you outrun him to drive directly to the basket?

Imagine trying to process all these information. Being the expert you are, you see a lot of loopholes for improvements.

So how does your mentee process information?

Your mentee will trying to do the right thing by processing everything at once.

But that’s impossible.

There’s only so much time to improve skills and only so much attention you can give to focus on specific ones. This is especially when you expect quick results.

If you try to do everything at once, you end up with a half-baked approach.

Focusing on one skill directs all their attention.

That’s where I noticed progress accelerated for my mentees.

Instead of thinking superficially about each concern, they dive deep into one.

In our basketball example, instead of explaining multiple facets, you can focus on creating space to take the shot.

What happens:

• He starts thinking about strategy in creating space.

• He then has more time to practice spacing so he can get his shot off.

• Finally, he becomes more observant - focusing on other ways to create space.

As a result, he gets better at it. So when the task arises, his skills are developed enough to make a difference.

This may sound simple, but I’m constantly impressed by how much my mentees improve.

I often hesitate to take credit because their progress comes from their own efforts.

Here are some guidelines I use that you might find helpful:

1. Encourage Questions: This helps dispel any misconceptions.

2. Set Clear Goals: This gives them something to look forward to achieving.

3. Encourage Reflection: This is my personal favorite. Not many people take the time to think about their actions.

4. Focus on the Biggest Impact: Your time is limited, so concentrate on driving meaningful impact.

5. Follow Up: This creates accountability and allows you to see how they’re applying your advice.

That’s it for this week. See you next Tuesday!

Ciao!