When it comes to coaching athletes with mental disabilities there are some different ways to extract better results from your athletes.

First of all, mental disabilities doesn’t mean that the athlete isn’t intelligent.
Also, these athletes are more apt to be harder on themselves than any coach could ever be.

The first thing that must happen is to develop a trusting relationship with the athlete.

Encouragement to keep trying to overcome personal failures is essential, as well as praise for a job well done.

These athletes have most likely suffered some form of stigmatism from the general population, and may have a hard time believing they can participate in sporting activities because they have been told they cannot possibly succeed in the sport they wish to attempt.

It will be most effective to focus on one performance correction at a time, give positive reinforcement when applicable, and give consistant instructions on how to improve.

Be patient, it may take some more instuction time before the athlete ‘gets it’, but the rewards will be worth the extra effort, and in fact may surprise you with the results they achieve.

finding a training partner that has the same or a similar disablity may benifit the athlete as well.