How to Master Strength Based Coaching: A Step-by-Step Guide for Sports Professionals
- Dr Paul McCarthy
- 3 hours ago
- 14 min read
 People who know their strengths are nine times more likely to thrive than those who don't.
These numbers paint an amazing picture! The reality shows that only four in ten U.S. employees strongly feel they get a chance to use their best skills each day.
Sports coaching has always focused on fixing weaknesses. But strength-based coaching brings a fresh perspective. The question shifts from "What needs to be fixed?" to "What can this athlete achieve at their peak?"
Strength based coaching puts the spotlight on an athlete's natural talents and magnifies them instead of just working on weak points. This performance strategy makes use of information from some of the best resources worldwide to create a competitive advantage.
The strength-based coaching model took off after the positive psychology movement started in 1998 , and with good reason too. Athletes who use their natural talents become more confident and ended up as successful performers.
This piece shows you everything in strength-based coaching. You'll learn to spot athletes' natural abilities and build them into your team's culture. These proven methods will revolutionize your approach to developing athletic talent, whether you're experienced or just starting out.
What Is Strength-Based Coaching in Sports?
Strength-based coaching changes how we develop athletes by focusing on what's right instead of what's wrong. This method comes from positive psychology principles. It helps maximize an athlete's natural talents and strengths rather than just fixing weaknesses. This marks a big change from the usual coaching methods used in sports for decades.
How it is different from traditional coaching
Traditional coaches use what experts call a "deficit-based approach." They spend their time spotting and fixing weaknesses in their athletes, programs, and coaching methods [1]. This old-school approach works on these ideas:
You must keep strengths while fixing weaknesses
People can learn almost any behavior with enough practice
The best performers all show the same behaviors
Success comes from fixing weaknesses [2]
The strength-based method turns this idea upside down. It sees weaknesses but doesn't make them the main focus. Five-time national championship baseball coach Augie Garrido put it well: "Why not focus on strengths instead of weaknesses? My contention is that we should use the best weapons available to us. Build momentum by building on whatever comes naturally to you" [1].
These approaches ask different questions. Traditional coaching asks "What needs to be fixed?" while strength-based coaching asks "What can this athlete achieve at their best?" [3]. The old methods often feel like punishment and can discourage athletes. Strength-based coaching creates a positive environment that equips athletes to succeed [4].
Core principles of the strength based coaching model
My experience with strength-based coaching shows these key principles:
Strengths are authentic energizers - Athletes' coaching strengths come naturally. These feel like the "real me" in action. They show up in behaviors, feelings, or thinking patterns that boost performance [1].
Only some behaviors can be learned - Unlike old-school coaching, this approach knows that many behaviors come naturally. Top performers reach similar goals using different methods that line up with their natural strengths [2].
Strengths require awareness - Athletes often overlook their strengths or can't describe them well. Some worry about seeming arrogant when talking about their strengths [5].
Strengths have risks - Two main risks exist with strengths: "overdrive" (using strengths at wrong times) and "drainers" (qualities that tire you out and might need work) [5].
Building strengths guides you to success - Fixing weaknesses stops failure, but developing strengths creates success. This difference shows why strength-based methods work better [2].
This model doesn't ignore weaknesses—it just puts strengths first while working around limits. Sport psychology experts work with elite athletes using this approach. It works especially well to build mental toughness and improve performance [1].
The STRONG model helps coaches use this strength-based approach:
Set goals
Translate into strategies
Release strengths
Overcome risks
Nurture progress
Get commitment [6]
Coaches who focus on their athletes' best qualities create teams where everyone feels valued. This matches the move toward more people-focused leadership in sports and beyond [4].
Why Strength-Based Coaching Matters for Performance
Strength-based coaching goes way beyond making athletes feel good. Research shows this approach delivers measurable results in multiple aspects of athletic development. Athletes see immediate performance gains and long-term psychological benefits.
Benefits of strength based coaching for athletes
Athletes experience a notable surge in energy and performance when they work with their natural strengths [1]. This heightened state creates several connected advantages:
Better engagement and motivation - Athletes who use their signature strengths show greater training involvement, higher motivation levels, and increased self-belief [1]. These psychological boosts directly affect training consistency and competitive performance.
Improved confidence and resilience - Athletes coached through a strength-based approach develop better sports confidence [7]. This self-assurance helps them stay composed under competitive pressure and recover more quickly from setbacks.
Clearer focus and direction - Athletes gain better focus clarity and goal direction when they work with their strengths [1]. This targeted approach cuts out wasted effort and creates more efficient development paths.
Better team culture - Strength-based approaches encourage a more positive, supportive environment where athletes communicate better [8]. One coach using this model noted: "Deliberately focusing on positives transformed the culture in our team – and the way students communicated with each other on the field quickly followed suit" [8].
Measurable performance improvements - Teams show remarkable competitive improvements with strength-based coaching. A coach reported after adopting this approach: "My team has gone from U14 B Grade to A Grade and since employing these techniques, they haven't lost a game and now sit second on the A Grade ladder" [8].
Injury risk reduction - Athletes with better strength show lower injury rates [9]. Strength-based approaches help create balanced development that naturally reduces injury risk.
Moving from fixing weaknesses to building on strengths
Traditional deficit-focused coaching assumes fixing weaknesses leads to improvement. This approach often produces limited results despite hard work. Legendary baseball coach Augie Garrido advised: "Build momentum by building on whatever comes naturally to you" [2].
Strength-based coaching acknowledges weaknesses differently. These areas become things we "haven't spent as much time on—yet" [2]. This simple change transforms the psychological aspect of development.
Brad Gilbert showed this approach while coaching tennis star Coco Gauff. Despite criticism of Gauff's forehand technique, Gilbert made no technical changes. He focused on tactical adjustments that used her strengths—movement, backhand, and serve. This approach helped her win her first grand slam [2].
Research supports this change, showing that focusing on strengths leads to higher engagement, productivity, goal progress, and overall well-being [1]. Sports psychologist Jonah Oliver explains: "In life and sport we've got to focus on bringing people's competencies out... confidence actually follows competence" [2].
Success with strength-based coaching requires understanding its proper application. Top coaches develop "wise strengths application" – they control strength use based on specific situations [2]. This means knowing when to increase or decrease emphasis on strengths depending on competitive demands.
This shift to strength-based coaching creates a positive cycle. Athletes build confidence through their natural abilities. This confidence helps them tackle challenges better and develop skills in previously weaker areas.
How to Identify Athlete Strengths Effectively
A systematic approach that combines multiple assessment methods helps us find an athlete's true strengths. The life-blood of strength-based coaching lies in accurate strength identification. This lets coaches create training programs that increase natural talents while managing limitations.
Using subjective methods like interviews and observation
Numbers alone can't capture the rich, contextual information about an athlete's strengths that subjective assessment methods provide. These approaches depend on personal perception and interpretation through observation and direct communication.
Athletes reveal their self-perceived strengths during interviews. We ask them "How did you feel?" about specific workouts or competitions [3]. Their answers often include revealing keywords like "good/bad," "flat/fresh," or "sharp/sluggish" that point to areas of natural strength [3]. Athletes who use positive descriptors for certain workouts likely excel in those areas.
Observation gives us another powerful subjective tool. As a coach, I start my analysis by asking "How did it go?" before I look at any data [3]. This first impression tells us more about fitness, fatigue, motivation, and inherent strengths than the technical metrics that follow.
Research shows subjective measures have "superior sensitivity and consistency compared to objective measures" to monitor athlete well-being [10]. They reflect acute and chronic training loads better than objective measurements alone [10].
Objective tools: performance data and assessments
Objective assessment tools give us measurable data points that add to subjective impressions. To cite an instance, Performance Analysis uses "systematic observations to boost performance and improve decision making" through statistical and video analysis [1].
This method works well since athletes and coaches remember only 30% of performance correctly [1]. Performance Analysis helps with the remaining 70% by showing factual evidence of what happened [1].
Key objective assessment methods include:
Performance metrics tracking - Measurable data points showing physical abilities, training efficiency, and overall progress [8]
Video analysis - Detailed visual feedback on technique and movement patterns [1]
Strength and power assessments - Specific physical capability measurements [2]
Standardized psychological assessments - Tools like the Mental Skills and Strategies Assessment (MSSA) that measure Self-Awareness, Regulation, Self-Confidence, Resilience, and Motivation [11]
The UK Sports Institute Performance Analysis team uses objective methods to "provide the relevant key performance information that helps objectify the performance" [1]. This leads to evidence-based decisions and reduces speculation.
Triangulating data for accurate strength discovery
We get the most complete view of an athlete's strengths through triangulation—combining multiple assessment approaches. This method builds confidence in findings while reducing total errors [7].
Coaches at King Performance Ideology (KPI) treat strength identification "as a jigsaw puzzle, where each test provides a piece of information" [2]. These insights create a "360-degree view of an athlete's capabilities" when combined [2].
The process starts with watching human movement during competitive sport, then "peeling back the layers" to find physical qualities that contribute to these movements [2]. This layered approach acknowledges that "one test alone cannot exclusively provide definitive reasons behind sports participation performance" [2].
Triangulation usually leads to three possible outcomes:
So, coaches can create a complete strengths profile by combining subjective and objective methods. This guides targeted training interventions and arranges perfectly with strength-based coaching principles. The focus stays on development efforts where they'll create the biggest performance gains.
Phases of Implementing Strength-Based Coaching
A structured approach ensures lasting effects in strength-based coaching implementation. Research points to three connected phases in this process. Each phase needs specific strategies to work properly.
Preparation: gaining buy-in and setting context
The right foundations are vital to launch strength-based coaching. Coaches must first "sell" the approach to athletes, support staff, and administrators to build essential buy-in [2]. They need to explain the philosophy, address misconceptions, and outline benefits.
A coach highlighted: "You have to be able to get people to buy in to this way of thinking and sell it so you have to be able to frame this idea effectively to key stakeholders like athlete, coach, Performance Director" [2].
Clear guidance becomes significant after securing buy-in. Athletes should understand when, where, and how their strengths give them competitive edge. The context-setting stage has these elements:
Creating a strategic plan for strength development
Setting boundaries for appropriate strength application
Establishing psychological safety for strength experimentation
A participant observed, "The coach must give license for the athlete to employ their super-strengths without concern or fear of failure" [2]. Athletes can express their capabilities without hesitation with this psychological freedom.
The preparation phase needs patience. The core team should note that building a strength-based culture takes "time, intention, and consistency" as "it's not about applying a one-time fix" [12].
Application: adapting training and communication
Making concrete changes to training environments and communication approaches defines the application phase. Coaches must influence stakeholders who "create the environment that the athlete performs or trains in because that is the bubble" [2].
The program's language transformation stands as the main adaptation [2]. This helps embed strength-based thinking into daily operations and discussions. Of course, physical training modifications must accompany these verbal changes.
The application should create "specialized super-strengths training sessions" [2]Â where athletes develop their unique capabilities. Athletes can build resilience and adaptability by "testing them on their super-strength in pressurized situations" [2].
Support staff coordination ensures consistency: "It needs to be clear how much time they are going to spend on this aspect of their performance and how they are going to do that" [2].
Monitoring: tracking progress and adjusting strategy
Monitoring works as an ongoing process rather than an endpoint. Coaches establish systems for "tracking where you are at" and "adapting and evolving" the approach [2].
Regular review sessions prove essential—"Reviewing the super strength with the athlete has got to be quite a lot, so maybe every month you have a big review with the athlete and then every week you talk to them about how they are getting on" [2].
Recognition through verbal acknowledgment strengthens this phase, as "in every session, the coach verbally acknowledges and honors the accomplishments the individual makes towards realizing their goals" [13]. This reinforces progress and keeps momentum going.
Monitoring happens alongside other phases—"monitoring and checking 'you have the right thing' does not come at the end of the intervention, but should take place throughout the application and preparation phases" [2].
Performance metrics show tangible progress. A coach shared this example: "We will review performance so if I know his opposition has made 4 direct errors [at the beginning of the year] then at the end of the year he has played him again and he has made 6/7 direct receive errors, well then I know that it's working" [2].
Tools and Techniques for Strength-Based Coaching
The right tools help you work better as a strength-based coach. They help you discover and build on what naturally drives your athletes forward. You need specific techniques that work in sports settings to make this happen.
Strength based coaching questions to ask athletes
Good questions help athletes see their natural talents clearly. A strengths interview approach works well to help athletes express their abilities in their own words. Here are some questions that get results:
"What do you enjoy doing the most in your sport?"
"Tell me about a time when you think you were at your best."
"What brings out the best in you during competition?" [14]
Athletes spot patterns in their best performances through these questions. The GROW model adapts well with strength-focused questions at each stage. During goal setting, ask "If you were at your best, how would you approach this outcome?" For a full picture, ask "What strengths helped you handle similar situations?" [14]
Using CliftonStrengths and VIA in sports settings
Standard assessments offer clear ways to spot strengths. Sports teams commonly use these two tools:
CliftonStrengths - Athletes learn their unique mix of talents through this assessment. A high school hockey team went from struggling to winning state championships after their coach used CliftonStrengths [15]. The tool works best when coaches go beyond just giving the assessment and treat each athlete uniquely [9].
VIA Character Strengths - Teams with tight budgets can use this free tool that looks at character instead of talents or skills. You get a report showing 24 character strengths ranked by importance [16]. Coaches should take this assessment before they give it to their athletes.
Creating a strengths profile for each athlete
Performance profiling shows an athlete's abilities in a visual way. Athletes take an active role in their evaluation through this two-step process [17].
Athletes first list what it takes to perform at an elite level in their sport. They group these traits into physical, mental, technical, and tactical qualities and explain what each means [17].
Next, they put these qualities on a performance wheel and rate themselves from 1-10 on each one. This creates their personal map of strengths and growth areas [17].
Check progress every 4-8 weeks while keeping focus on the original strengths [18]. This method builds a complete picture of the athlete's abilities piece by piece, like putting together a puzzle.
Embedding Strength-Based Thinking in Team Culture
Building a strength-based team culture takes consistent effort beyond using new coaching techniques. The change must spread through every aspect of team operations and communication.
Influencing stakeholders and coaching staff
The team needs to "sell" this approach to everyone involved. All stakeholders—athletes, coaches, and administrators—should understand the philosophy behind strength-based coaching [2]. One coach put it this way: "You have to be able to get people to buy in to this way of thinking and sell it effectively to key stakeholders like athlete, coach, Performance Director" [2].
We focused on influencing people who "create the environment that the athlete performs or trains in because that is the bubble" [2]. The core team and support staff who interact with athletes need to embrace this approach. Leadership support remains crucial since this represents a fundamental change from traditional deficit-based coaching methods [19].
Creating a shared language around strengths
A shared language creates clarity and line up team members naturally [20]. Team members need common terms, communication norms, and behaviors to interpret and respond to each other with confidence [20].
The team should use strengths terminology in daily conversations—team meetings, feedback sessions, and informal check-ins. Your language becomes visible through posters, digital reminders, or team glossaries [20]. The team can create behavioral agreements that define good communication [20].
Avoiding overuse or misapplication of strengths
Strengths can become problematic when overused. "When people truly have the freedom to do what they do best, their point of difference will shine... there is still a responsibility to make good decisions around that because it's not a case of play to your strengths and to hell with the consequences" [2].
Coaches need to watch how "working on those super-strengths could relate to other weaknesses or those becoming evident or indeed how an overdone strength could become a weakness" [2]. Smart use of strengths means adjusting based on the situation—dialing up or down as circumstances require [21].
Conclusion
Strength-based coaching revolutionizes athletic talent development. We've seen how changing focus from fixing weaknesses to magnifying natural talents creates athletes who are more confident and successful. This approach acknowledges limitations but puts athletes' natural abilities first.
Research results are clear - athletes perform better, show more resilience, and work better in teams when they understand and employ their strengths. Brad Gilbert's coaching of Coco Gauff proves this philosophy works. She won her first grand slam without changing her criticized forehand technique.
To become skilled at strength-based coaching, coaches must work through three phases systematically. The preparation phase builds trust and psychological safety. The application phase changes training environments and communication patterns. The monitoring phase tracks progress and adjusts the approach as needed.
Coaches can identify strengths accurately by combining different methods. They use interviews and observations along with performance metrics and standardized assessments. This comprehensive approach gives a full picture of an athlete's natural abilities.
Strength-based coaching needs consistent work, but the results make it worth the effort. Teams using this approach see remarkable improvements in performance, culture, and their athletes' well-being.
Note that coaches must apply strengths wisely. They should adjust strength usage based on competitive situations to avoid overuse or misuse. The program should also develop a shared language around strengths to reinforce this philosophy.
Without doubt, strength-based coaching stands as one of modern sports' most powerful tools. We should ask "What amazing possibilities exist when athletes perform at their natural best?" instead of "What needs fixing?" The answer lies in unlocking each athlete's unique combination of strengths.
Key Takeaways
Master strength-based coaching to unlock your athletes' natural potential and create a more positive, high-performing team environment.
• Shift focus from fixing weaknesses to amplifying strengths - Ask "What's possible when this athlete is at their best?" instead of "What needs fixing?" to boost confidence and performance.
• Use triangulation for accurate strength identification - Combine subjective methods (interviews, observation) with objective tools (performance data, assessments) for comprehensive athlete profiling.
• Implement through three structured phases - Preparation (gain buy-in), Application (adapt training/communication), and Monitoring (track progress and adjust strategies).
• Create a shared strengths language across your team - Embed strength-based terminology into daily conversations, meetings, and feedback sessions to build lasting cultural change.
• Apply strengths wisely to avoid overuse - Monitor when to dial strengths up or down based on competitive situations, as overdone strengths can become weaknesses.
When implemented correctly, strength-based coaching creates a virtuous cycle where athletes experience success through their natural capabilities, building confidence that enables them to tackle challenges with greater resilience and eventually develop previously weaker areas.
References
[1] - https://uksportsinstitute.co.uk/service/performance-analysis/[2] - https://shura.shu.ac.uk/11213/13/Butt StrengthsBased Consultancy Approach in Elite Sport.pdf[3] - https://trainright.com/power-of-subjective-feedback-athlete-training/[4] - https://www.modernhr.co.uk/blogs/news/strengths-based-coaching-popular?srsltid=AfmBOoq5GLVVNz9ZCYuybld73NEhuNUhwL8sqzDfQkp1-yBjNht2WvVb[5] - https://www.strengthscope.com/blog/what-is-a-strengths-based-approach-in-coaching[6] - https://www.toolshero.com/management/strengths-based-coaching/[7] - https://researchworld.com/articles/triangulation-for-a-better-accuracy-part-1[8] - https://coachmeplus.com/assessing-performance-metrics-in-athletes/[9] - https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/250382/coaching-truly-strengths-based.aspx[10] - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4789708/[11] - https://www.apadivisions.org/division-5/publications/score/2023/01/athlete-performance[12] - https://www.facet5global.com/building-a-strength-based-coaching-culture/[13] - https://strengthscape.com/eight-phases-of-strengths-based-coaching-training/[14] - https://www.the-coaching-academy.com/blog/2025/02/using-strength-based-coaching-for-growth-and-success-3688[15] - https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/251096/developing-strengths-entrepreneurship-sports.aspx[16] - https://playerdevelopmentproject.com/from-caution-to-courage-the-role-of-character-strengths-in-coaching/[17] - https://www.mzkperformance.com/blog/performance-profiling-for-athletes[18] - https://www.brianmac.co.uk/perprofile.htm[19] - https://www.strengthscope.com/blog/creating-strong-coaching-culture-organizations-can-implement-strengths-based-coaching-cultures[20] - https://www.strengthify.com/insights/how-to-improve-team-communication-with-a-shared-language[21] - https://coachesinsider.com/track-x-country/identifying-and-coaching-to-your-strengths-6/