Others who actually coach and teach and that includes the parents, may find this article especially informative as the information was obtained by talking to the athlete!
At clinics we talk about audio visual learners, visual learners and kinesthetic learners and how every kid present learns differently. During the clinics we try to only have 5 kids per station and that each kid hitting can teach the 4 by them paying attention to what the instructor is teaching the one actually hitting off the tee as to good or bad techniques. This reduces the amount of time it takes to teach and the collective learning process and peers can make it happen faster as to learning a new drill or performing it good, better and best.
Where we can the nets are marked so there is a visual target area on the nets so the hitter understands where the ball went in reference to how they just felt when performing the drill. They also hear a difference in the sound the bat makes when the ball is hit squarely.
One parent made the comment. "This is not a hitting clinic, it is a teaching clinic!" We want them to have a plan when they practice to see it, feel it and fix it!
Another saying we have is, "Do not go up to the plate thinking IF I am going to hit the ball however think were is the defense going to give me the greatest opportunity to put the ball in the dirt, the grass or the parking lot so I can get on base or advance the runner!"
It’s Not What They Do, It’s How They Do It:
Athlete Experiences of Great Coaching
Andrea J. Becker
Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton,
P.O. Box 6870, Fullerton, CA 92834-6870, USA
E-mail: anbecker@fullerton.edu
Teach
One of the most basic actions that these great coaches engaged in was teaching. Athletes discussed how their coaches taught sport skills that were cognitive (strategies, tactics, and
systems of play), physical (fitness, performance techniques, and fundamental game skills), and mental (focus, imagery, anticipation, and mindset). However, these athletes also
expressed how “great coaches actually teach you about life” (p16) [44]. The category of life skills included values, attitudes, and beliefs. Some of the skills that these athletes learned
were how to deal with pressure, handle adversity, and work with others. They also learned respect, patience, and self-reliance. Their coaches didn’t just teach these skills, they modeled them: “We learned to have a good attitude because coach had a good attitude” (p2).
In addition to modeling behaviors, these great coaches adopted a multi-dimensional approach to teaching their athletes. Athletes discussed how their coaches used a combination of verbal, visual, and physical methods: “Some people get it from reading it, some people get it from the visual, and some people get it from actually doing it, but those are the three ways [that these coaches] presented it” (p1). Verbal methods included basic instruction, feed back, and questioning. The coach encouraged athletes to be active rather than passive learners. “He would question you and make you think about what you were doing and why it was wrong and what you needed to do next time” (p11); “Then he would tell you what he saw” (p1).
Some of the visual methods that these coaches implemented to teach skills were physical demonstrations, chalk talks, scouting reports, and video clips: “I’m a visual learner so she
didn’t just talk to me. She kind of got in there and showed me, held my hand, and we video- International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching Volume 4 • Number 1 • 2009 107 taped” (p13); “A lot of coaches teach you how to study film, how to study a different player, how to study your opponent” (p16). As a result, these athletes also developed the ability to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. Some athletes got to the point where they could coach themselves.
Physical teaching methods included manual manipulation and repetition. Manual manipulation represented instances in which the “coach physically moved [players] to
certain places” (p17). However, most of these athletes focused on how their coaches emphasized repetition: “It was just making you do it over and over and over again until you
got it right” (p5). Repetition did not mean going through the motions. It meant performing with precision: “I think we ran 80 something perfect plays one day after practice. If you do
it perfect in practice, it carries over to the game” (p1). It appears that great coaching involves utilizing a combination of teaching methods, which maximize athlete learning.
The athletes also spoke about the quality of their coaches’ teaching methods.
Specifically, they emphasized how their coaches paid “great attention to the little details” (p13). These coaches had the ability to “pull out the finer things when teaching a player” (p14), and instructions were specific. They did not tell their players to “just get it done” (p1). Instead, they explained exactly how to get it done [2, 3, 8]. The athletes also mentioned how their
coaches simplified the process. One athlete explained how his coach “always found a way to break things down to the most simplistic sense” (p15). Another athlete said that his coach
sometimes had players practice their skills in slow motion. In general, training sessions were designed so that there was a progression from simple to complex: “You would start out small and go big and he would build on his teachings. When we moved from simple to complex, the purpose of the drill was not lost. The same theme ran through each progression” (p12).These athletes’ comments suggest that great coaches pace their instruction according to each athlete’s learning curve.
Note: This is just a part of the study and not the complete article!
