Athlete biography questions

A Questionnaire to Use When Coaching Young Athletes

How well do you know the athletes that you coach? Are you aware of their likes, dislikes, attitudes, goals and expectations?

Over time I have learnt two things:

1. Every athlete is an individual.

   Never assume an athlete’s motivations, goals or what they want from a coach.

2. An effective way to getting to know an athlete is through a questionnaire.

When a new athlete joins my training group, I give them two questionnaires to fill out.

The first one asks for the personal details of the athlete: name, contact details, parents’ names, relevant medical history, etc.

The second asks them about their likes, dislikes, attitudes, goals and expectations.

The answers to this questionnaire often makes fascinating and sometimes surprising reading. Most of all I gain a valuable insight into who the person is and how I should approach coaching them.

Here are the questions:

1. What are your main motivations for doing athletics?

   (Why do you do