Effective Coaching Strategies Notes PDF

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Effective Coaching Strategies Learning objectives 

Examine and begin to develop strategies for effective athlete learning and management.

Text: Siedentop, D., Mand, C., & Taggart, A. (1986) Physical education: Teaching and curriculum strategies for grades 5- 12, (p 373-396). Palo Alto, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Company. Topic 1: The Eight Effective Teaching/Coaching Strategies Coach/Teacher effectiveness is characterized by a predictable set of strategies, effective coaches/teachers use them, and ineffective coaches/teachers do not! Siedentop, Mand and Taggart's (1986) 'eight effective teaching strategies' characterize effective teaching and positive learning environments. As has been previously argued, if we use the term coaching and teaching synonymously then intuitively effective coaching sessions will reflect as many of these strategies as possible. These strategies relate to all levels of coaching and age and ability of athletes. Siedentop, Mand and Taggart's (1986) effective teaching strategies, adapted for coaching are: Spend a large % of training time devoted to specific content of the sport. Devote a high % of training time to meaningful practice. Maximize opportunities that learners have to practice through routines and minimizing wait time, transitions and management. Keep learners on task. Assign tasks that are meaningful and matched to learner’s abilities. Provide a supportive learning environment and high but realistic expectations. Provide session smoothness and momentum. Hold the learners accountable for their learning Adapted from: Siedentop, D., Mand, C., & Taggart, A. (1986). Physical education: Teaching and curriculum strategies for grades 5-12. (pp. 373-396), Palo Alto, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Company. Effective Coaching: Coach effectiveness is characterized by a predictable set of strategies, effective coaches use them, and ineffective coaches do not! Effective Planning Lesson or session effectiveness is determined before it begins! Good planning and preparation tends to reflect a smooth and efficient flow of content and ultimately provides for better quality and more effective learning time.

Simple skill development template

Eight Effective Coaching Strategies (Criteria) 1. Large % of Content Time: Research has consistently indicated that quality learning time is the essential ingredient in effective learning. How much time do you allocate for athlete learning in your sessions? How much of that time are the learners actually engaged? This engaged time indicates not how well you've planned your session but how well you've applied your plan. Research indicates that ALT may be in the region of 3-5 minutes in a 30min session! The trick is to translate class time into individual time.

2. High Content Time devoted to Practice: Making full use of the planned content time means giving instructions and demos quickly and efficiently using small groups and more of them (drills and games) and that requires planning! Like any coaching method it can be ineffective, and poorly planned which can lead to disruptive behavior.

3. Minimise Management/wait time: Management is non-contact time; Time is lost in: a) Transition time: Changing teams, moving from one drill to another, moving inside/outside, Shifting equipment, Coach getting organised! b) Waiting time: wait for session to begin, wait for equipment to be ready, wait for roll to be called, wait for low athletes to get changed, wait for game to begin, wait for turn, wait for coach

A way to cut down on waiting time is to establish routines, time savers. If these time saving routines are instituted at the beginning of the season then the end result should be save time, create order, minimise disruption.

4. Keep Athletes on Task It is a fact that actively involved athletes will be less disruptive. That in itself should be reason enough to plan adequately! The expectation and support of the coach of on-task behavior should be made obvious early. Athletes will not only learn routines to minimise time wasting, they will also learn very quickly what will be tolerated and what will not, what the coach expects, and what the coach approves of. These strategies will help keep athletes on task!  Actively supervise  Quick response to off-task athletes  Support on-task athletes  High expectations for on-task behavior

5. Assign Meaningful Tasks: For most of the athletes we coach, being able to pass and catch a ball without dropping it, or catching a ball and shooting it without first bouncing it, is no big deal! We can see the use of the skill, but can they? To make tasks meaningful to them, and therefore worthwhile attempting, it is often necessary to devise games, objectives, outcomes, that are measurable , to not only indicate success but to give what is basically a drill, meaning. (E.g. corner ball for ball/netball) 5b: Match Tasks to Abilities We play adult games. Many of the athletes we coach are not capable of playing adult versions of games. Subscribing to "nothing succeeds like success". We can modify games to match the abilities of the athletes e.g. throw lighter implements, hit the ball off a tee, shoot a smaller ball and perhaps at a lower target etc. These changes will make learning time more productive, and all the associated benefits like self-esteem, enthusiasm, fewer hassles for you!

6. Supportive Environment: Positively oriented climates are associated with achievement, negatively oriented climates are associated with lower achievement. There is no support in theory or research for the bullying coach, the tough guy. Discipline is essential obviously, as is a supportive environment. The two go hand in hand but there is a big difference between a strong disciplined environment and one characterised by: negative feedback, criticism, sarcasm, and punishment. Building a supportive environment is a result of: positive feedback, praise for staying on task, trying hard, improvement, positive prompts (hustles).

7. Smoothness and Momentum: What is momentum? Mass x velocity! Momentum of a game intimates continued activity, no breaks or interruptions. Just keep the interruption to a minimum

8. Hold Athletes Accountable for Learning: It’s easy to hold athletes accountable for uniform, behavior, and attendance. It is often considered it is unfair to hold athletes accountable for performance BUT research has shown that effective coaches do just that! Accountability systems can be informal/formal.  Formal: the coach tests, grades, and uses task oriented systems with contingency management (self-paced with rewards)  Informal: the coach provides feedback and encouragement for performance and lets the athletes know that improvement is both expected and rewarded. It is the accountability system that will ultimately determine what athletes do. If the system does not require that the athlete improve, and perform, then the coach will get little of either! 9. Technology (9th strategy) Use of technology is essential in the modern coaching environment. It helps in better understanding by athletes, as visual/audio imagery is a vital learning tool....