START in coaching and sport

The Olympics have just ended and the Paralympics are starting soon. Many very gifted athletes, who sometimes need a little extra support ... and this is where a coach or a team coach can help the athlete individually or at a team level.

Try to think about the fantastic work that Julio Velasco has done with the Italian national volleyball team. He certainly worked on a technical level, but he was able to develop a relationship of trust, self-awareness and changed some beliefs by replacing them with new ones.

START is a five-step coaching framework designed to support clients from the initial planning stage all the way to taking meaningful action. It’s aligned with the core competencies of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), ensuring that each step is grounded in professional and ethical coaching practices. The START framework is designed to support the client from setting the goal to taking action, with a strong focus on emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. It inspires its structure with the GROW model (designed by? Sir John Whitmore, Alan Fine, and Graham Alexander) and Kurt Lewin model (unfreeze, change and freeze). It emphasises creating a supportive environment, setting targeted goals, assessing the current reality, refining the plan, and taking consistent action while tracking progress. It is particularly effective in a sportive environment, where performance, grit, resilience, and emotional management are crucial.

In the world of coaching, especially when working within a sportive environment, and it can be utilised in organisations as well, achieving goals isn’t just about physical preparation or setting targets. It's about understanding and managing the intricate connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. To support this holistic approach, we’ve developed a tool called START.

This tool is particularly effective in environments where performance is key, such as sports or any high-pressure setting. However, what makes START unique is its strong emphasis on the client’s internal landscape - their thoughts, emotions, and how these influence their actions. By addressing these elements head-on, the framework helps clients not just achieve their goals but do so in a way that fosters long-term personal growth and resilience.

The START framework, help the coach to support the client through the five steps that can be used as a sequence and going forward and backwards as needed and as the client is evolving and defining their goal, their strategy and how they fit with their emotions, needs and thoughts.

S- Set the Goal in a safe environment - This phase is important as it helps to understand what the client has in mind, but before defining the goal it is important to build the rapport.

T - Thoughts, Emotions and Beliefs - Explore and understand how the feeling is, the mental and emotional aspects of the client’s journey.

A - Assess the Current Reality - What is the current situation, in terms of strengths, challenges and how they are supported or hindered by the client's beliefs.

R - Refine the Plan - Define and develop a flexible, actionable strategy and think how it could be structured,

T - Take Action & Track Progress - Support the client to move forward, to be accountable and consistent. Celebrate success and adapt as needed.

Each of these steps are designed to be both reflective and action-oriented, helping the client to move forward with confidence while staying attuned to their inner experiences, values and strengths. START offers a structured approach to coaches and managers to better understand how to clarify, move forward and succeed.?

You are a coach, you’re working with a client who’s got big goals but also dealing with cognitive distortions, beliefs and a mix of feelings and emotions that come with striving for something new. The START framework creates the opportunity to move forward and at the same time to observe what’s going on inside the head and the heart.