Philosophical Roots: Socrates and the Maieutics

The methodological ancestor: The search for truth.

Although sports coaching is presented today with modern, Anglo-Saxon terminology, its methodological foundations are millennia old.

We must go back to classical Greece to find the man who is considered the first "coach" in history: Socrates (469 B.C. - 399 B.C.).

This Athenian philosopher established a form of pedagogical relationship that broke with the sophists of his time.

While the others sold knowledge, Socrates sought the truth that already resided within people.

His practice was not to fill an empty mind, but to help a confused mind find clarity.

Like the modern coach, Socrates understood that true transformative knowledge cannot be imposed from without; it must be discovered from within to have real and lasting value in a person's life.

Irony and the method of dialogue

The main tool of Socrates, and of today's coach, is structured dialogue and the art of asking questions.

His method began with "irony", a phase designed to cleanse the mind of prejudices and false knowledge.

Through incisive questions, he led his interlocutor to recognize his own ignorance - the famous "I just know that I don't know anything".

In sport, this is equivalent to challenging the athlete's limiting beliefs ("I always fail in finals", "I'm not good at rain").

The coach uses this questioning not to humiliate, but to destroy the apparent knowledge and negative certainties that limit performance.

Only when the athlete recognizes that his or her beliefs are not absolute truths does the space open up to build a new winning mentality.

Maieutics: Giving birth to the new athlete

The second phase and heart of the method is "Maieutics".

Inspired by the profession of his mother, who was a midwife, Socrates claimed that he did not "give birth" to knowledge, but helped men to "give birth" to their own ideas.

In sports coaching, we apply maieutics to clarify the ideas in the athlete's mind.

The coach acts as a clean mirror and a facilitator who, through powerful questioning, allows the athlete to find his own tactical and emotional strategies.

There is no such thing as teaching in the traditional sense, only learning; and this learning comes from recognizing that tactical wisdom and competitive intuition reside within the athlete, waiting to be unlocked.

We help the client examine their sporting life so that it deserves to be lived with excellence.

Summary

The foundations of coaching are millennia old and date back to Socrates in classical Greece. His pedagogical approach sought inner truth, avoiding imposing external knowledge on a mind in formation.

The method uses structured dialogue and irony to clear prejudices. By recognizing one's own ignorance, the athlete can destroy limiting beliefs and make room to build a winning mindset.

Maieutics allows new ideas and strategies to be "birthed" through powerful questions. The coach acts as a clean mirror, facilitating the athlete to find his or her own tactical and emotional wisdom.