Week 5: Sharing & Presenting

Hi there SCP13, another week, another class, another blog post. I do think I'm getting a handle on this (much better than my basketball dribbling...)

This week was quite interesting as the theories pertaining to the lecture were quite practical in their application to the tutorial. Considering the audience and adapting accordingly is pretty much what Keith has been doing week in week out in my opinion. Not an easy task but it is his job and he is doing it well.

I consider my first foray into coaching, a university aged girls touch football team. Having played at a high level since I was 12 and having observed many different coaches and styles approached this with a 'how hard can this be' attitude. What I was greeted with was a harsh reality that it was incredibly difficult, times had changed since I was involved in this club last and the level of talent had dropped dramatically, my game plan was out the window and I went to basics, they got bored, I tried involving less skill and more practical aspects, they got bored. I punished them with fitness, they got even more disinterested. I rewarded them with chocolate, only worked two times before I didn't think it appropriate for a team to need chocolate to perform a task. This lasted for 10 weeks and away to the tournament we went. Upon getting there I found that they recalled nothing from training, deeming the whole thing a waste of theirs and my time. What I discovered was another way I could have approached the endeavour, some girls adapted really quickly to different situations and showed strengths right away. If I had have used a game situation first up to identify strengths and weaknesses rather than try to show them how to play they would have performed a lot better. Lesson learned.

Keith also suggested looking at who sculpted your teaching theory, and for me it was monkey see monkey do, I copied all of the coaches I had before, not looking to broaden my approach by looking at influences outside those I had experienced.
Since then I look at coaches I have seen in person and on tv, with styles and qualities I admire. I also delve into the past and look at those that have done it best and the qualities they possessed that led to their success. In doing this I hope to attain a more rounded approach that suits my strengths and helps the athletes in my care.

Lastly Keith mentioned the case of Role Models, breaking it up it 'What Role' and 'What Model'... I look at the most recent cases in the NRL of people frowning upon the actions of Ben Barba, Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson. People place them on such a pedastal that the only way to go is down. No one applauds any good deeds they do, that is all in private, but when they don't follow the guidelines they are ripped apart. What 20-something year old guy hasn't had a few too many drinks and not gone to work on Monday? Are they in the paper? No. Case of extreme double standards and not entirely fair.
I have met Blake Ferguson, it was whilst he was drinking, and he was nothing but courteous to me as a bartender. He even sought me out when he was leaving to thank me for my help and service. You won't see that on the news... What role does the media want these players to fill? Who in their right mind would want their child to model themselves on an athlete? The only thing people should look at is the work ethic, what it took to get them there. Not much else is necessary.

But again you have to look at each situation in its own right, whether it be presenting a course, coaching a team, or assessing standards of behaviour among elite athletes. You can't expect something to be the same as before just because they share similar styles and themes.

Will pop back over the weekend with Keiths Friday teachings.

Cheers.

Kieran