Post on 18-Jul-2015
Three major objectives to coaching
1. To have a winning team2. To help young people have fun3. To help young people develop:physically (sport skills, conditioning)psychologically (controlling emotions, self-
worth)Socially (cooperation, appropriate
behavior in sport settings)
What is your coaching style?
Command…Submissive…CooperativeCommand (Dictator): coach makes all the
decisions, athlete’s job is to listen, absorb, and comply
Submissive (Babysitter): roll the ball out coach, makes few decisions, lazy with little instruction
Cooperative: Shares the decision with athletes (to a point)
Here is an useful analogy
Coaching is like a wet bar of soap, too much pressure and it will shoot out of your hand and fall to the ground, too little pressure and it will fall out of your hands onto the floor, but with just the right pressure, it will stay in your hands and not fall.
Three keys to successful coaching
1. Knowledge of the sport: knowing the rules, tactics, and sports skills needed to properly instruct the participants
2. Motivation: A coach has to be able to properly motivate the athletes, and be motivated enough to put the time in to be prepared to coach
3. Empathy: Having the ability to listen to the athletes, understand their feelings and thoughts on things, and respond positively
Eight communication skills that are essential
1. Pretentious Pete- Does not admit to being wrong, demands respect, but never gets it, the athletes tune him/her out
2. Nelly Negative- Always negative, frequently criticizing her athletes
3. Jonas the Judge- always evaluating his/her athletes, when athletes make mistakes, blame is placed rather than positive feedback
Eight communication skills that are essential
4. Flabby Fickle- Wishy-washy, tells you one thing, then does another, treats players differently for the same thing (i.e. fighting)
5. Gabby Glades- Constantly giving directions during practice and games, does not listen to any of the players
Eight communication skills that are essential
6. Stewart Stoneface- Never shows emotion, does not smile, wink, or show any emotion, which leaves the players wondering what he is thinking
7. Captain Gobbledygook- Constantly talking above the heads of the players, or in difficult contexts
8. Jermaine Jellybean- Frequently gives rewards, but he usually rewards the wrong behavior, or comes down very hard on minor problems
Why do coaches use the negative approach to coaching
1. Bad Habit: They are used to telling their athletes what they do wrong, rather than what they do right
2. Unrealistic expectations: Coaches may forget that 14 year olds are not the same as 28 year olds, and that even players of the same age have different skill levels
3. Short-term success: can work initially, but usually interferes with long term goals and success
Using Rewards- what should you reward?
Reward the performance, not the outcomeReward for the effort rather than the
successReward little things on the way toward a
larger goalReward the learning of emotional and
social skills, as well as sport skills
How often should you reward?
Reward frequently when youngsters are first learning new skills
Once skills are well learned, you only need to reinforce them occasionally
When should you reward?
As soon as possible after the correct behaviors
Reward athletes only when they have earned it
What type of rewards should you use?
Tangibles: trophies, ribbons, certificates, decals, money and T shirts
People rewards: praise, smiles, pat on the back, publicity
Activity rewards: playing a game rather than doing drills, taking a trip to play another team, getting to take a rest
Dealing with misbehavior
Extinction: ignoring the behavior. Sometimes the attention you pay towards the misbehavior is what the player wanted in the first place, behaviors like clowning, grandstanding, and other mischievous behaviors
Dealing with misbehavior
Punishment: use it in a corrective way to help athletes improve now
Punish in an impersonal wayOnce the punishment has been agreed
upon by the players, give it to them if they break the rule
Usually give one warning before delivering a punishment
Dealing with misbehavior
Be consistent If you cannot think of an appropriate
punishment at the time of the misbehavior, tell the player you will get back to them with the consequence
Make sure that what you perceive as a punishment is not perceived by the athlete as a reward
Dealing with misbehavior
Do not punish athletes while they are playing
Never use physical activity to punishPunish sparingly
Reasons athletes learn to fear failure
When the emphasis is on performance, not learning
Unrealistic goals: examplesExtrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation:
what is the difference, and can one become a problem?
Three stages of learning
1. Mental: beginning stage that required a great deal of mental activity to put the steps of the skill into the proper order
2. Practice: This stage emphasizes practicing the skill over and over again. You will spend more time in this stage, but your mental activity will be less
3. Automatic: You free up even more mental capacity, which you can use to focus on achieving superior performance
Four steps for teaching sport skills
1. Introduce the skill: make sure the team can see and hear you, speak clearly and in plain language, and try to keep it under 3 minutes
2. Demonstrate and briefly explain the skillWhat if you cannot demonstrate it properly?The demonstration should be performed from
several angles, and several times.If the skill is complex, demonstrate the major parts
separately
Four steps for teaching sport skills
3. Practice the skill: whole versus part practice, what is the difference?
Part is best for complex skill acquisition, whole is better for simpler skills
Practice should be short, but frequent when teaching new skills
Practice should also occur in game-type environments, why?
Four steps for teaching sport skills
4. Correct errors: provide feedback that the athlete can use to try and fix the errors in the skill being performed
Take this quiz on feedback
1. Save feedback until the end of practice so that you do not disrupt practice
2. More feedback is better than less feedback
3. When an athlete is making several mistakes, it is best to try and correct one at a time
4. You and your assistant coaches should be the only ones providing feedback
5. You do not need to tell the athlete what was done incorrectly, just tell the athlete how to do the skill right
6. Give simple and precise feedback about how performance can be improved
7. Provide frequent positive feedback (Nice job!)
8. Use sight and sounds in providing feedback
The ten principles of training athletes
1. Readiness: Speed, strength, stamina, etc are largely based on maturation with regard to prepubescent, and pubescent boys and girls. Neuromuscular skills can be honed regardless of age
2. Individual response: Athletes will respond to the same training in different ways (i.e. heredity, nutrition, rest and sleep, illness, level of fitness, etc)
The ten principles of training athletes
3. Adaptation: the body takes a while to adapt to training (what does that mean for your athletes)
4. Overload: Pushing the body harder than it is normally pushed
5. Progression: Slowly increasing the demands that you place on the body
The ten principles of training athletes
6. Specificity: Train the muscles that you use the most related to the skills you use during the sport
7. Variation: vary workouts from hard to easy, use different types of drills/activities, cross training, etc
8. Warm-up and cool down: A warm-up does what? A cool down does what? How are they performed?
The ten principles of training athletes
9. Long-term training: It typically takes years for athletes to perform at very high levels, do not expect great things in a short amount of time
10. Reversibility: Fitness can disappear quickly if not maintained, a off-season training program can help the athletes come into the season better prepared
Topics for team rules
Player’s languageAttendance at practice and games (what
will your policy be)Behavior at practices and gamesInteractions with officialsDiscipline for misbehaviorBehavior when travelingLocker room behavior
Topics for team rules
Dress when practicing, competing and traveling
Protecting valuablesDrug and alcohol useCurfewsCriteria for awardsTrouble with the law
Managing relationships
Assistant coachesUse their strengthsMake their responsibilities clearHelp your assistants prepare for their dutyLet your assistants be involved in the
decision makingProvide formal and informal evaluations
Managing relationships
Administrators Understand what is expected of youStay organized (don’t lose receipts or
important documents)Keep your administrator informed of your
progress, and invite them to your gamesGive the administrator credit for their
contribution(s) to the team
Managing relationships
OfficialsAt home, greet the officials and show
them where they can get dressed and ready
Treat them like you want to be treatedAvoid constantly harassing officialsIf you have a question about a rule
interpretation, address it at the appropriate time, and in a nice way
Managing relationships
OfficialsAvoid intimidation tacticsHelp the officials in enforcing the rules
that keep the players safeThank the officials after the contestIf you feel they did a very poor job, do not
use them again, or write a letter to their boss
Managing relationships
ParentsThey are ultimately responsible for their
children, so if they insist their child does or does not do something (not a request like, put him at quarterback [even though he does not have thumbs]) you should grant their wish
Keep them informed of practices and games
Managing relationships
ParentsRemind them of their responsibilities
regarding equipment, travel, pickup, fees, and behavior
Inform parents immediately if a serious problem arises
Risk Management
Negligence: failing to fulfill your legal duties
Contributory negligence: Athlete and the coach/supervisor are both partially responsible
Comparative negligence: A new way to assess fault, with each party given a % of how much they were at fault
To avoid legal troubles, follow these steps
1. Properly plan the activity (developmentally appropriate, what does that mean?)
2. Provide proper instruction (spear tackling)3. Provide a safe physical environment
(examples)4. Provide adequate and proper equipment
(examples)5. Match your athletes (examples)