Redefining my Coaching Practices
Blog
Below is blog focusing on my journey incorporating some of the themes taught in Education for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship into my coaching practices.
Day 1 - Introductions/ Initial Responses
Once tryouts were complete and the team was finalized, we began our first practice with a meeting. At this meeting, I explained to the students that the badminton team will be much different this year than in previous years. Of the 24 students on the team, I coached 10 last year so they were aware of my previous coaching style.
I began by handing out this “practice template” form with the students.
As we went through the template, the students seemed a tad confused and asked questions such as “Do this mean we have homework?”, “Does this mean we can do whatever we want here?” and “What if I can’t find resources? Will you still help me?”. These were all great questions and to be honest I am glad they were asked. Once I put their minds at ease and let them know I was still there to guide them along, and that they still were expected to come to practice ready to work, their response was quite optimistic. They seemed to like the idea of having a little more control over their own learning and were eager to tell me about drills that they have seen online or from their Varsity counterparts.
That being said, I did learn quickly that his was going to be a slow transition therefore I still somewhat controlled the first practice in more of a traditional sense. When I asked the students whether or not they had drills in mind, they replied that they did not and asked me to still help them get started. I started by providing them with 2 options for the warm-up; one that was rather basic and one that was more advanced. Overall, I’d say the students chose accordingly with a few that went to the advanced methods a bit too early. When it was time for drills, I did show the students one basic footwork drill and a hitting technique drill that would apply to everyone. For those that were less advanced, it could be a challenge, and for those that are more advanced it could simply act as a refresher.
As I progressed through the practice, I still did want to give the students opportunity to work independently on skills of their choosing, so I showed them one more drill then asked them to choose 1 or 2 of the three that they felt the need to work on and gave them time to do so. This was a nice way to begin with the self assessment piece. As students worked on skills of their choosing, I circulated and asked them why they were working on the drill they chose. I found some chose the skill that they were best at simply to feel comfortable and others chose to focus on their weaknesses and to improve on that area.
Following the drills, students were allowed to play games and try different team formations (mixed doubles, boys/girls doubles, or singles). At the end of the practice we reconvened and the students were asked to look up drills for next practice they felt would benefit them the most.
Day 2
Our second practice began much like the first. We all met as team and had a brief meeting. I imagine that it will take some time and repetition for the students to fully understand that practices will be running a bit differently. I take this time to remind them that I will not be spending the majority of the practice telling the students what to do, but rather circulating, offering assistance, and inquiring as to what they are working on. I remind them that they would know more than me about their individual wants and needs as an athlete and as a badminton player and my rationale for doing practices this way. I felt that after the first practice this was an important piece and the students kept looking to me to tell them what to do and when to do it.
I realized through conversation that they were not quite ready yet to go off an work on their own to I made a quick decision today to show them 2 more drills that they can add to their repertoire following the warm-up. I showed them a serving and serve return drills and reviewed skill taught at the previous practice. Once that was demonstrated, I asked the students to choose between the any of the drills that I have shown them thus far, or one that they researched, and to work on those for the next 20 minutes or so as I circulated.
Much to my surprise, they went right to work! Some had new drills, asked me whether or not they were ‘allowed’ to do them, then got to work. It was nice to see that they were seizing the opportunity to dive right in. However, others will still a bit hesitant and looking for guidance. The way I approached this was by asking the students to rate the skills that we have already reviewed on a scale of 1-4. After doing that, I simply asked them to work on the one that ranked the lowest. It was at that moment, that I could see they were beginning to understand that it was up to them what they wanted to work on, and they were beginning to understand the concept of self-assessment.
Today, we worked on skills for a bit longer than initially planned and them moved into games. The reason we have not yet gotten into team play and tactics is because students have not yet been placed into teams. The first few weeks of practice will revolve around individual skills.
Day 3
By day three, the athletes are beginning to get the hang of things. Rather than having a meeting at the beginning of this practice, I simply asked the students to begin their warm up and put 10 minutes on the clock. Once that time was up, I gave the students brief instructions to begin working on their own individual skills. I wrote a list of the skills that have been taught on the board, provided them with one more drill, one on footwork, and asked the students to begin. Again, a few more students had some new drills that they were excited to try.
What I am beginning to see is the student actively learn from one another. Two of the athletes arrived with new drills that they were hoping to try. They took turns showing me the drills and teaching one another how they are done. Throughout their individual time I also did notice that they were offering each other advise and modifying the drill as they went on. I could see how excited these two were that they were in charge, that they were having the chance to be creative and let their own passions and ideas guide them. This even lead to more students in the gym attempting the same drill. I am beginning to see more collaboration and accountability come from the students!
Today, we did drills for even a bit longer than the previous practice since the students appeared to be having a fun time working on drills of their choosing. We ended the practice with some games and a cool down.
Day 4
Today we began the same as yesterday, by getting right into warm ups, and with the demonstration of one additional skill/drill. Today was the backhand. I demonstrated to the students three different steps to the backhand. Each step was a progression to the next. Some students were already at the final step in the progression and some were at the very first. When I provided the students with the steps, I was hoping that they would take the step that applied to their ability level, but I instantly saw them trying to work on the final progression rather than building up their skill level slowly. This resulted in some frustration from students and reminded me about the importance of my role as the coach.
I was still needed to act as a reminder for the athletes of where they are and getting them to refocus on their own needs. They all want to be at the same level but the truth is that they are not. For those students that were jumping ahead, I simply asked them to show me the first step of the drill and then to discuss with me whether they thought they have mastered that step and were ready to move on. In all instances they said no, and quickly realized that they needed to scale down.
This was a great opportunity for the students and myself to learn how important the progressions are and how important self-assessment is when deciding what to work on.
Day 5
Today I have decided to not demonstrate any more drills to the students. There is a list of 7 drills that I write on the board every practice that the students can choose from when we do individual skill work. We still warmed-up like normal, and then the students were instructed to dive right in to any drills that they felt they needed to work on. I did take a minute to explain to them the concept of assessing their own skills, and to identify shortfalls through self-assessment using a 1-4 scale. I mentioned that if they feel their skill level in any different area was a 3-4, and others were at a 1-2 on a ability levels then they should focus on the 1-2 level skills.
Day 6 - 9
We are now at the point that students are becoming much more familiar with the practice layout. I continuously have drills/skills listed on the whiteboard in the gym and the students take 30-40 minutes every practice to work on drills of their choosing. Some work on drills that I have taught, and some on ones' they have found online. Ultimately, I have never seen a group so eager to improve their skills and work collaboratively as a team.
Students are now spending time working on team work, tactics and shot selection which is nice to see. It was the natural progression but it did surprise me how fast they took on that task. I was still intending on a waiting a few more practices before introducing those concepts, but the students have researched and implemented some of those drills during their practice 'free time'. I am noticing that I am much less of a traditional coach and more like a partner in their learning. If they need assistance they ask, but typically they are coming to practice excited to implement something that they learned the night before. I am very confident that the students are learning much more from this approach than my typical direct-instruction approach.
