Ideas, Insights and Coaching Examples
No two coaches are the same, and the experiences we bring with us into each session shape the learning environment for the athletes.Â
Experiences of the past shape our expectations of the future.
In a recent podcast episode, I was asked about the culture of our program and how it was formed. I looked back at my experiences as an athlete and how it shaped my desire to create a different environment for athletes to train in. An environment where they could get more repetitions, more variety, more interesting, creative ways to explore a specific topic and understand it on a much deeper level.
No two coaches can run the same workout in the exact same way. We need to be authentic to who we are. How our experiences have shaped us. And what we find valuable and interesting in the process.
When my athletes or coaches I work with ask me to send them workouts, I always hesitate. Not because I don’t want to share the workout, but because I know they wont see or understand all the deep aspects I want to explore. My experiences have shaped the way I see certain exercises, my cues, my questions, and the way I progress, regress and digress in real time based on what I see in the moment. Each of these allow simple exercises to evolve into special learning opportunities.
Instead, I would rather have a conversation with the player or coach. I want to ask them, “What exercise would you like to explore today? What do you want to achieve in this exercise? How can you progress, regress or modify this exercise based on what you see? What problems will you introduce to challenge the players? And how will you respond to the solutions that they come up with?
Creating workout themes allows you to focus your cues towards a centralized message. Even as the exercises change throughout the workout, the theme remains. The cuing stays consistent and the athlete begins to view the exercise, not as something to be performed or replicated, but as an opportunity to adapt and use the exercise to achieve a greater athletic goal.
What I need players to understand it that its not the exercises that are important in this workout. It’s the way we fill the space between the player and coach. The way we communicate with each other. They way we build interest, understanding and learn from each other. Every coach will take the same exercise and see it through a different lense. What they see is based on their own experiences, and how they have learned to view the world. Where they might see a simple drill, I see an amazing opportunity to explore an underdeveloped athletic element.
I try to hold off forming an opinion when I see a coach run a specific drill because I don’t know the reasons behind that coaches actions. When I see something that differs from the way I would run it, I want to know why. I want to know what experiences shaped their opinions and coaching strategies. Usually, once I discover the reasons, I walk away with a much broader understanding. This helps me to see the activity from different perspectives. And I would hope coaches would look at my programs with the same interest and desire to understand the reasons behind my approach.
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