The right height
How a proper use of height in relation to our players affects the message we convey |
- Keep an authoritative leadership;
- Stress the relation of complementarity between me and my players;
- Underline and show confidence in what I’m expressing;
- Reinforce through non verbal acts my disappointment for misbehaviors/broken rules etc.
- Keep a more democratic leadership;
- Create sympathy;
- Create emotional closeness;
- Be in a condition of authentic listening;
- Create a relation of greater symmetry for that specific moment.
If I don’t use this communicative element properly the risk is that I convey messages diametrically opposed to my intentions. For example, if in difficult moments, instead of being on the same level of my player I stand upright while he is sitting depressed, he could read our non verbal as a lack of listening and understanding, or even expect a reprimand.
Therefore, the more the communication takes place on the emotional/personal level, the more there must be a closeness that can be expressed also in being at the same physical level of the athlete. Instead, when communication moves to a technical/strategic level or to the management of group dynamics (respect of the rules, roles, expression of authority, etc.) the coach puts theirselves in a complementary relationship to express “superiority” in terms of greater technical and relational skills and experience.