Coaching today is about far more than tactics, playbooks, and physical performance. To truly lead, coaches must understand the people behind the game—their strengths, their challenges, and the dynamics that drive a team. Few people know this better than Ariane Riedl, founder of Me-We Coaching, who brings over a decade of HR leadership experience together with her passion for performance and leadership. In our conversation, Ariane shares how systemic coaching offers a fresh, solution-focused approach that helps basketball coaches (and beyond) unlock clarity, build trust, and create lasting impact both on and off the court.
1. Can you tell us more about your background and how did you start with systemic coaching?
I’ve spent more than 10 years in Human Resources most recently as Head of HR, working closely with C-level leaders and high performers in international companies. At the same time, I have always been enthusiastic about leadership and performance, and it was through my son that I came to these topics in sports.
And then systemic coaching became the bridge:
It allowed me to combine my business experience with my passion for guiding people through a process in the shortest possible time, opening up new perspectives, solving challenges more quickly, and helping them perform at their best.
2. Please, explain to us what is actually systemic coaching, how it differs to sports psychology and mental coaching and how basketball coaches can benefit from it?
Systemic coaching considers the entire basketball game/set up with everything that surrounds it, and everyone involved, not just the individual person.
In contrast, (sports) psychology often deals with why problems have occurred in the past, for example, by analysing old mistakes. It takes a very long time and requires many sessions before changes occur, and the desired results become visible.
And traditional mental coaching often teaches and trains mental techniques and visualization that the individual player/coach should practice. Same here, it can take a very long time to have improvements.
Systemic coaching is different, it’s not about endless theory, adding more pressure or repeating mantras.
It’s about finding fast clarity and focus. It enables participants to reflect on positive things, resources, strengths, and successful situations that have already occurred in all their systems (current team, former team, relationships with individual players, other coaches, family, friends, etc.).
Means it’s about using existing resources to find new angles, perspectives, and small but quick solution steps that really fit the situation and work on the court and in real life, right away.
For basketball coaches, this means:
You don't just work on your own mindset.
You learn how to lead your team better, read the dynamics, and create an atmosphere in which everyone performs at their best.
In short:
Psychology looks back.
Mental coaching often pushes you to try even harder.
Systemic coaching looks further ahead and helps you to see and use all the systems.
3. How quickly can coaches and teams see results of your work?
To be honest right away after just one session, because systemic coaching works very clear, direct and solution focused.
Coaches and players quickly gain new perspectives and solution steps they can apply immediately in training and games. It’s about small but powerful shifts that have a visible impact.
4. What do you think is the future of sports coaching and what skills will coaches have to master to stay at the top?
The future of coaching will be less about pure tactics, physical strengths and talent but more about mindset, stimulative and clear leadership and communication. Coaches will need to „read their players on real time “, master empathy and clarity under pressure, and to have the ability to create trust and resilience in their teams. In high-performance sports, it’s no longer enough to know the playbook, you need to know how to read, hear, understand and lead people.
5. What is one advice you would give to coaches who are just starting their journey?
Don't try to copy others. Trust your intuition, develop your own authentic style, and focus on relationships, not just results. See and emphasize the positive things and convey to your team that you are genuinely interested in getting the best out of them, Involvie them in your processes and, if possible, in decisions. A team will only go as far as the trust, belief, and clarity it shares with its coach.
6. Please, tell us how people can contact you and learn more about your work?
The easiest way is a through LinkedIn, where I share insights. You can also reach out via my website (www.me-we-coaching.de) or email (hello@me-we-coaching.de) to book a first free call.
Ariane Riedl’s approach is a powerful reminder that great coaching isn’t just about pushing harder or analyzing mistakes—it’s about creating clarity, trust, and the right conditions for people to thrive. Whether you’re leading a basketball team, managing a business, or guiding individuals through change, systemic coaching offers practical tools to unlock potential in real time.
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