Mastering Athlete Feedback with SkillShark

Athletes are more likely to hold themselves accountable and strive to master their skills when hard work is recognized and appreciated. Verbally commenting on a player’s performance during practice is great; however, what are the chances of them retaining this feedback?

Below, we provide some examples of positive and constructive comments that coaches have sent and show you how you can effortlessly provide this type of feedback yourself using SkillShark.

Positive Feedback

Positive feedback refers to acknowledging an athlete’s strong performance, helping to further improve their motivation and enjoyment.

Let’s look at a few effective examples of positive feedback that coaches have provided to athletes using SkillShark.

Comment 1

“Your hard work is appreciated and noticed. Keep up the good work on and off the ice. Battle hard and don’t take a minute off.”

Why is this comment important? The coach makes a special effort to highlight the player’s determination and tenacity. This creates a strong foundation for the next part of the comment, which motivates the player to keep working hard. Lastly, some inspirational words will further encourage the athlete as they continue playing hockey.

Comment 2

“Very consistent in the box. Makes strong contact, starting with hands in a great position and has a good bat path to the ball.”

Why is this comment important? Recognizing a player’s consistency helps build confidence and reinforces good habits. The coach then comments on how the player is consistent in the box. This snippet of positive feedback provides clear guidance on what to keep excelling at—contact, hands, and bat path.

Comment 3

“Great attitude and hustle. Makes consistent throws and has a clean approach to the ball. Is able to get behind the ball and make a solid path to the ball when fielding.”

Why is this comment important? This is a great example of a well-rounded comment that highlights both a player’s soft skills (attitude and hustle) and hard skills (throws, approach, and bat path). Addressing multiple aspects of a player’s performance shows a balanced perspective.

Constructive Comments

Constructive feedback makes players recognize the skills they can improve. The key is to be specific, actionable, and encouraging.

Let’s look at a few effective examples of constructive feedback that coaches have provided to athletes using SkillShark.

Comment 1

“Need to work on getting the ball off your foot a little bit more in order to distribute quicker. But overall, you have a good first touch and the ability to keep the ball safe.”

Why is this comment important? This comment recognizes the player’s existing strengths with regard to initial ball contact while encouraging the player to improve their footwork. When providing constructive feedback, it is essential for coaches to keep the player encouraged, which is what this comment illustrates. 

Comment 2

“Need to work on expanding your dribbling toolbox and creating more 1v1 situations for yourself. You have the ability to do it, you just need to work on reading the play to do this.”

Why is this comment important? Starting off with providing specific feedback informs the player exactly what they need to work on, eliminating any ambiguity. The latter half of the comment demonstrates the coach’s belief in the player’s abilities, which helps to encourage the player to believe in their abilities.

Comment 3

“A strong backhand is a good shot to have in your bag. Focus on keeping the puck flat, about 18 inches off the ice, and follow through.”

Why is this comment important? A lot of the time, when coaches give constructive feedback on a skill, players are left wondering, “Why is this important to improve?” In this example, the coach begins by stating why developing a strong backhand is vital, which leads nicely to the next piece of actionable advice on how the player can improve their backhand.

How to Add Comments With SkillShark

The positive and constructive comments were all created by real coaches using SkillShark. What is the process for providing meaningful feedback, you might ask? There are two easy processes. Let’s walk through the step-by-step approach for each.

Process 1: Pre-filled comments

1) You will first need to draft the pre-filled comments in SkillShark.

2) After logging into SkillShark on your computer, click on “Evaluation Settings” on the left-hand navigation menu. Then click on “Pre-filled Comments”

3) Suppose you want to add some positive/constructive comments ahead of time for “Bunting.” Type out each respective comment and click save.

*With pre-filled comments, you can quickly provide feedback to multiple players without having to type a comment from scratch each time. As pre-filled comments are written ahead of time, this ensures that all critical aspects of a player’s performance will be addressed.

4) On the day of evaluations, you (or any other evaluator) can select which pre-filled comment(s) you would like to add for an athlete(s) when applicable on your mobile device. *These comments will automatically appear on an athlete’s report card.

Ontario’s Canada Games Program has athletes all over the province. Providing them with feedback about their performance is our biggest challenge. SkillShark’s software makes it easy for our coaching staff and guest coaches to record data and share it instantly with athletes. It is a great tool for teams and organizations of any size.

Scott Searle. Committee Member — Softball Canada

Process 2: Voice-to-text comments

1)Using SkillShark on your mobile device, you (or any other evaluator) will navigate to the event you are evaluating and select the player(s) you will be scoring.

2) Let’s suppose you are evaluating athletes on their hitting skills in baseball and want to leave a comment for a specific player regarding his power.

3) Click on the bubble button beside “Power.”

4) You can hand-type the comment or choose the voice-to-text option on your phone or tablet keyboard to create the comment. *These comments will automatically appear on an athlete’s report card.