7 Benefits of Coaching from Trust vs Fear

Walter Aguilar

Walter Aguilar – is a Certified Professional Coach and COR.E Performance Dynamics Specialist. Using the mind/energy connection to performance, he teaches a unique approach to peak performance. He specializes in teaching mindfulness for hockey using the COR.E Performance Dynamics energy leadership system. This is based on the 7 levels of energy that thoughts create. These affect awareness, confidence, engagement, creativity and intuition. His equation of Performance = Potential – Interference, provides a framework for success in hockey and life.

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“Fear and trust ride the same teeter-totter. When fear goes up, trust goes down. When trust goes up, fear goes down.” – Walter Aguilar

Like life, coaching also has its ebbs and flows. Being able to effectively manage stress reactions in the present moment, and make conscious decisions that serve you and your team, is the key to success. In the mind/energy connection to a coach’s performance, the difference between being able to coach from a trust versus a fear perspective affects how a coach shows up for their team. It will also affect the decisions a coach makes in the present moment. The higher the energy, the greater the consciousness, awareness, and confidence.

Coaches play players whom they trust.

I once asked an experienced coach, who I was working with, why he played mainly his first two lines, only a bit of his third line, and rarely his fourth. He answered, “Because I play players that I trust.” This was an honest response, one very revealing about the predicament coaches find themselves in.

Competitive sports are often very focused on the outcome performance. Hockey is no different, it is often focused on the mentality of, “What have you done for me lately?”, or as they say, “You’re only as good as your last game.” This can be the reason why fear begins to creep into a coach’s mindset, especially when the team gets onto a losing streak or their players may not be playing up to their potential. In this stressful state of being, a coach may experience stress reactions, where adrenaline dumps, cortisol releases, and muscle contractions take their toll on their physical body and mental well-being.