PRINCIPLES OF COACHING Chapter 10, 11, 12

Steps for learning tactical skills

Review 1. Season Strategy: Plan Action for Season 2. Game Plan: Plan of Action for a Game 3. Tactics: Decision and actions made to gain an advantage of a specific situation

What do rules define?

the boundaries within which athletes are permitted to play so that the contest is equitable --> they set limits on the tactics players can use

Method 5: Control Feedback

occasional feedback is better than frequent feedback because giving too much feedback causes athletes to overanalyze firing their performances and this can disrupt concentration and flow

Method 2: Have Athletes Observe Decision Making In Others

one wat to help athletes understand the whole sport and identify complex problems that they learn to sole is by oerserving contest with your athletes, directing their attention the the tactics being employed and decisions being made

Method 4: Variable Practice

decision making --> different options to teach an athlete how to react to an unknown situation

What is the concept of abstracting rules?

- scientists believe that athletes learn complex technical skills by taking abstract key pieces of information from each performance to create rules about how to perform in the future

What is the concept of mental blueprints?

--> a mental blueprint is developed through repeated practice of the task - mental blueprints are only useful under conditions identical to those under which it was developed CONCEPT HAS BEEN DEBUNKED

What is the Practice/Associative stage of learning?

--> emphasis is on the quality of practice to refine the technique ( more time spent in this phase than in the mental stage)

Some basic information for season?

1. # of Athletes 2. # of asst Coaches 3. # of practices 4. # of contests 5. Conditioning Dates

3 Stages of Learning

1. Cognitive Stage (mental) 2. Associate Stage (Practice) 3. Autonomous Stage (Automatic)

What are some basic elements of a practice plan?

1. Date, time of practice & length of practice 2. Objective of the practice 3. Equipment needed 4. Activity Times 5. Activities (Must include warm up and Cool Down) 6. Description of Activities 7. Key Teaching Points 8. Coaches Evaluation

Example Goal Topic Wrestling (Technical Skills)

1. Demonstrate that they have mastered the fundamental skills 2. In practice and team matches 3. At a beginning level

Example Goal Topic Wrestling (Rules)

1. Display accurate and complete knowledge of the basic rules of wrestling through their play 2. In practice and game situations 3. At a beginning level

What should you do with the basic information for the season?

1. Gather basic Info 2. Find out the special events/activites 3. Organize the subject matter and basic information (Month, Week, Day)

Step 1: Introduce the Technical Skill What does a good introduction involve?

1. Getting the team's attention--> develop a regular routine in practice for starting each teaching session, look directly at inattentive players (pg. 168) 2. Arranging the team so everyone can see and hear you --> be sure background is free of visual distractions and everyone can see and hear you 3. Naming the technique and explaining how it is used in the game

Seven Practice Principles

1. Have athletes practice the right technique (practice like you play, and your athletes are more likely to play like they practice) 2. Have athletes practice the technique in gamelike conditions as soon as they can 3. Keep practices short and frequent when teaching new techniques 4. Use practice time efficiently 5. Make optimal use of facilities and equipment 6. Make sure athletes experience a reasonable amount of success at each practice 7. Make Practice fun

Six steps for planning

1. Identify the skills your athletes need 2. Know your Athletes 3. Analyze your Situation 4. Establish Priorities 5. Select the method for teaching 6. Plan Practices

Benefits of Planning

1. Keep athletes actively involved, resulting in more learning and enjoyment during practices 2. Provide Challening and relevant learning situations 3. Teach skills, in the appropriate progression to maximize learning and safety 4. Make best use of available time, space, and equipment 5. Minimize discipline problems 6. Increase your confidence in your ability to manage various situations

Triangle Element 2: TACTICAL KNOWLEDGE Elements athletes need to be know in order to make better tactical decisions?

1. Know rules 2. Know strategic plans for season and games 3. Know physical playing conditions 4. Know opponents strengths and weaknesses 5. Know self analysis (athlete) own strengths and weaknesses 6. Know tactical Options for various situations

Methods of teaching Decision Making

1. Method 1: Teach the tactics in Whole, then in Parts 2. Method 2: Have athletes observe others perform (make decisions) 3. Method 3: Have athletes observe themselves 4. Method 4: Types of Practice (Variable Practice) 5. Method 5: Control Coaching Feedback 6. Method 6: Ask questions to help them learn

3 cognitive skills required for recognizing the problems?

1. Perception: Recognize and interpret what's happening in the situation 2. Attention: Focus on relevant info (Stealing Home) 3. Concentration: Identify specific cues to avoid distractions (relevant cues)

What are the parts of Instructional Goals?

1. Performance - State the performance in observable, measurable terms 2. Conditions - State the Conditions under which the performance is to occur 3. Standards - Indicate the standard upon which goal attainment is to be evaluated

Typical Mechanical Anaylysis Format

1. Preparation Phase (Ready Position 2. Action Phase (Force Phase) 3. Completion Phase (Follow Through)

Parts of the Tactical Triangle

1. Reading the Play or Situation 2. Tactical Knowledge (acquiring the knowledge needed to make an appropriate tactical decision 3. Decision Making Skills (applying one's decision-making skills to the problem)

What are some of the minimum common goal topics?

1. Technical Skills 2. Tactical Skills 3. Sportsmanship 4. Rules

4 Types of info abstracted when practicing technical skills

1. The condition of the environment (playing field, position) and the position of opposing and the position of the athlete at the time the technique is initiated 2. The demands of the movement being performed (speed, direction and force) 3. The consequences as perceived by the senses during and after the movement 4. A comparison of the actual outcome with the intended outcome based on available feedback (information that tells them how well they are performing the task)

How to provide FB?

1. Verbally 2. Demonstrate (Accurately) 3. With video

Characteristics of the Mental/Cognitive stage

1. assuming you've never juggled before. The 1st thing you need is an overall picture of the task, which is best provided through demonstration and explanation 2. your goal when practicing during this mental stage is to develop a good plan for what you need to do

What are guidelines to follow when giving explanations?

1. before the demonstration, point out one or two important things to which the athletes should attend 2. keep explanations simple and brief 3. ensure that the explanation matches what is being demonstrated 4. time your explanation either to prepare the athletes for what they will see or to reinforce what they just saw

What are the 3 steps to an effective demonstration and explanation?

1. demonstrating and explaining 2. relating the technique to previously learned techniques 3. checking for understanding

Characteristics of the Practice/Associative stage

1. during this stage the mental energy required will be less, and your mental activity will shift from an emphasis on learning the sequence of movements to refining the timing and coordination of each phase of the juggling sequence 2. as you learn the basic fundamentals, or mechanics your errors decrease and your performance becomes more consistent --> a good sign that learning is happening 3. As you begin to practice juggling, you will benefit from sensory feedback --> information from your visual and kinesthetic senses that tells you how well you are performing the task 4. in the early stages of learning, however, sensory feedback often is not enough information to optimize learning. This, as your coach I can provide you with the useful feedback to help you learn faster. 5. I need not give you feedback when your sense already tell you you're making errors 6. On the other hand, offering positive reinforcement when your senses tell you you're performing correctly can be helpful 7. as you continue practicing and learning you need far less help from me.

What does a coach need to make good judgements about in the practice stage?

1. how often you should practice 2. how long each practice should be 3. whether the juggling routine should be practiced in parts or as a whole 4. when you should move on to more advanced juggling techniques

For productive practice what are two types of information you must provide your athletes with to correct errors?

1. how the completed performance compared with the desired performance 2. how to change an incorrect performance to more closely approximate the desired performance (both called feedback)

4 steps of teaching technical skills

1. introduce the technical skill 2. demonstrate and explain the technical skill 3. have the athletes practice the technical skill 4. correct errors

What are some examples of tactical principles?

1. move to an open space 2. deny the opponent the open space 3. hit behind the runner 4. reduce the angle of the attack 5. spread the defense 6. get them moving in one direction; then go the other way

Characteristics of the Automatic/Autonomous stage of learning?

1. now your juggling performance is very reliable, and when you do make an error you frequently know what to do to correct it 2. in fact, in the automatic stage, over analyzing your juggling is likely to hurt your performance. The skill is now so automatic that when you begin analyzing it during execution, you disrupt your performance 3. it's a wonderful feeling to develop a technical sport skill to the automatic stage, but the technique must be practiced continually to keep it automatic

3 benefits of implementing a positive approach to correcting errors?

1. players are more receptive to feedback because they are not being corrected in front of the audience 2. the other team members remain active, so they don't pay attention to the discussion between you and the erring player. Plus they are continuing to practice, so they are continuing to develop their technical skills 3. because the rest of the team continues to play, you must make corrective comments simple and concise. This saves both yo and the athlete from long, drawn-out explanations that lack value because of their complexity

What are alternatives to demonstrating a particular technique?

1. practice the technique until you are able to demonstrate it correctly 2. ask someone who is skilled to demonstrate, perhaps a team member, an assistant coach, or a friend 3. show a video to demonstrate the technique. You can find videos of many sport techniques on YouTube

What are guidelines to follow when giving demonstrations?

1. tell your athletes how the demonstration will be given and what to look for 2. make sure you have their attention during the demonstration 3. demonstrate the whole technique just as it would be performed in a competitive situation 4. demonstrate several times, showing how to perform the technique from different angles 5. if the technique is performed from a dominant side, demonstrate it for both lefties and righties 6. if the technique is complex, demonstrate the major parts separately 7. if the technique is performed rapidly, demonstrate it at a slower speed so athletes can see the sequence of movements clearly

What are some suggestions for making sure your players know the current rules of your sport?

1. the best way to learn the rules is in practice games in which you explain the rules as they pertain to the technical and tactical skills you are teaching 2. be sure to review the rules that are infrequently applied in your sport and that your athletes may misunderstand 3. always have your athletes play by the rules in practice unless you've modified them for a practice game 4. as a backup to teaching the rules in practice games, if your sport has complex rules, consider buying each of your athletes a copy of the appropriate rule book 5. in sports in which officials' judgements determine the score and athlete receives, ensure athletes understand the criteria officials use to elevate them 6. rules change periodically. be sure you know any changes and that you teach your athlete these rule changes

What are some factors to consider when providing information to players about playing conditions?

1. the condition of the playing surface 2. weather conditions, including the temperature, humidity, and wind 3. altitude 4. the type of ball and other equipment used to play the game

What factors affect athletes' learning of motor programs?

1. their characteristics such as talent, maturation level, and experience 2. their motor and cognitive intelligence 3. their capacity to pay attention and concentrate 4. their motivation

What are two important purposes of questions?

1. they are probes for you to learn what your athletes need help with 2. they help athletes think about their experiences to once the problems they face

Strategies for improving attention and concentration

1.Minimize distractions at first, then introduce gamelike distractions 2. Avoid Distracting with your comments when athletes are playing 3. Help your athletes identify what to attend to and what to filter out 4. Develop and Practice pre-event routines that prepare athletes to concentrate 5. Instruct athletes to analyze their play only during breaks 6. When they analyze play, encourage them to keep their foucs 7. Athletes who lack confidence, help through positive coaching 8. Help athletes develop physical and mental skills to meet demands of the sport

What are the other common goal topics?

5. Conditioning 6. Nutrition 7. Drugs 8. Weight Control 9. Life skills

Advantages and Disadvantages of Variable Practice?

A: Game Situation D: Cant learn mechanics well

Advantages and Disadvantages of Constant Practice?

A: Learn Mechanics D: Not game Like

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Random Practice?

A: More game like D: Each individual Skill isnt learned very well

What are the advantages & disadvantages of Blocked Practice?

A: They learn the Skill D: Can be boring

What are the different types of practice?

Block Practice: One Skills is learned before moving to another and Random Practice: Several skills are learned simultaneously Variable Practice: Learn serveral Variations of a skill Constant Practice: Learn same version of a skill

Goal of Mental/Cognitive Stage

Develop Motor Program

Goal of Practice/Associative Stage

Develop proprioception

Part-Whole-Method

Each Part is learned separately then combined 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,- (1,2,3,4,5,6)

Progressive Part Method

Each part is added to previous part learned 1 1,2 1,2,3 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4,5 1,2,3,4,5,6

Step 4 of Teaching Technical Skills

Evaluate and Observe Practice 1. Compare performance with desired performance 2. Changing incorrect performance b. Provide Feedback

TRIANGLE Element 1: Reading the Situation

FIRST STEP: RECOGNIZE PROBLEMS to solve problems in a contest, athletes first have to recognize what the problems are as a coach it is important to help athletes acquire the cognitive skills to recognize the problems they face in the contest

Abstracting Rules

Gathering info to guide future behavior

Mental/Cognitive Stage

Idea of what a movement looks like during this stage your brain seeks connections with previous activities you've learned, looks for familiar movement patterns and begins to build new neural connections

What is tactical knowledge?

Information about specific situation in sport

Setting a goal is not the main thing

It is deciding, how you will go about achieving it

Coaches role in the Autonomous/Automatic Stage?

Little if any FB

Goal of the Autonomous/Automatic Stage?

Motor program is run with little or no conscious thought

Whole-Part-Whole Method (attention focus)

Only trouble area practiced seperately (1,2,3,4,5,6) - 3- (1,2,3,4,5,6)

Basketball example for Mechanical Breakdown

Prep: 1. Dribble Action: 2. Picks up dribble 3. 2 Steps 4. 1 Ft Take off 5. Place ball on glass Completion- 6. Landing

Coaches Role in Mental/Cognitive Stage

Provide FB (error detection, and correction information)

Coaches roles in the Practice/Associative Stage

Reduce amount of FB, Quality of Practice

TRIANGLE Element 3: Decision-Making Skills

Situations where athletes are going to be expected to make it their own decisions with the situation in the contest understood, and the appropriate knowledge acquired your athletes are ready to make tactical decisions that give them an advantage

Whole Method

Skill cannot be performed in parts 1,2,3,4,5,6

Teaching Tactical Skills 5 Steps

Step 1: Identify the important tactical situations your athletes need to know as they play the sport Step 2: Rules, Strategic or Game Plan, Playing Conditions, Opponent Strengths & Weaknesses, Self-evaluation of own strengths and weaknesese Step 3: Identify relevant cues that athletes should focus on in this situation Step 4: Identify the tactical options available in this situation Step 5:Identify a "game" or "drill" that provides the ahtlets with the opportunites to read the situations and employ an appropriate tactical option

Mechanical Analysis

The biomechanical analysis translated into the athletes frame of reference

Motor programs

a complex set of rules that, when called into action, permits athletes to produce a movement --> once the movement is initiated, the basic pattern of action is carried out, even though the wrong movement may have been selected

What is learning?

a relatively permanent improvement in performance as a result of practice

Method 6: Ask Questions

as a coach it is important to ask more questions to help athletes identify and solve problems that their sport presents

Coaching in the technical stage

pg 167

Whole vs. Part practice

pg. 170

Method 1: Teach the tactics in whole, then in parts

players develop better decision-making skills when they first are asked to learn complex tactics using the whole method rather than beginning with simple tactics pg 191

What is perception?

refers to a person's ability to recognize and interpret sensory stimuli

Cognitive Skills

skillful athletes are those who learn how to read the situation, which involves the cognitive skills of perception, attention and concentration by reading the situation--> athletes gather information from their senses that tell us about the location and movement of our bodies and than assemble info to make it meaningful

What is concentration?

the ability to sustain attention on relevant cues and not be distracted by other stimuli or by one's own thoughts

What is one of the most common coaching mistakes?

to provide inaccurate feedback and advice on how to correct errors

Method 3: Have Athletes Observe Themselves

videofeedback they can identify the tactics being use by the opponent and opportunities they misses because they didn't recognize cues