What a great write up and something I've been reflecting on in my coaching career.
I coach club volleyball in Canada and I never played the sport growing up. I got into coaching because the club my daughter was in needed help so I stuck around the gym and became a helping hand. When my daughter attended camps, I would listen to the head coach and try out the techniques he or she was teaching to get a better understanding in how the core skills work of passing, setting, hitting, serving. I was the dad with the tripod recording all of my daughter's games in club and high school and then I'd watch them and I'd query my daughter on what was happening during such and such play and what would be a better way. Then I started watch matches on youtube, NCAA, FIVB, high school matches to get a better understanding of how the game flows. Then it branched to reading books, watching videos, reading the actual rules of the game and then I volunteered to become an assistant coach.
After 4 years of assistant coaching and my daughter aging out of the club scene, I became a head coach and started first creating practice plans from the coaches who have mentored me, to discovering other ways of organizing, devising and implementing practices and teaching the game. What is interesting was while I was on my coaching journey, I would hear about Galloway's book talked about. And when I finally picked up my copy and read through it, I have to admit, it was a bit esoteric for me. I was stumbling along the how-to parts of it and I think things clicked into Trial and Error then Discovery when a Drill I was watching a video on which I put into my practice plan, was not working as intended in practice...
I said out loud "Wow, the movie that's playing in my brain is not playing out to what I directed on the court" and my assistant was laughing at me. She told me, I should just call out "end scene" and reset myself and get the drill to work in a way that will work for the athletes.
I believe that's when it clicked for me and what makes coaching so rewarding. It's the discovery of learning and teaching, even when I'm at times full of a lot of self-doubt.
The good thing for me is, the athletes continue to come back and enjoy the practices. I've had many athletes tell me they enjoy the practices and learning and refining their skills and learning to work with their friends.
Ruben, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m glad that it’s helping you put a name on your experiences. I see how you said that you reset *yourself* and then worked to align the drill with the players. I hope you find the coming parts of the series to be helpful as well!
What a great write up and something I've been reflecting on in my coaching career.
I coach club volleyball in Canada and I never played the sport growing up. I got into coaching because the club my daughter was in needed help so I stuck around the gym and became a helping hand. When my daughter attended camps, I would listen to the head coach and try out the techniques he or she was teaching to get a better understanding in how the core skills work of passing, setting, hitting, serving. I was the dad with the tripod recording all of my daughter's games in club and high school and then I'd watch them and I'd query my daughter on what was happening during such and such play and what would be a better way. Then I started watch matches on youtube, NCAA, FIVB, high school matches to get a better understanding of how the game flows. Then it branched to reading books, watching videos, reading the actual rules of the game and then I volunteered to become an assistant coach.
After 4 years of assistant coaching and my daughter aging out of the club scene, I became a head coach and started first creating practice plans from the coaches who have mentored me, to discovering other ways of organizing, devising and implementing practices and teaching the game. What is interesting was while I was on my coaching journey, I would hear about Galloway's book talked about. And when I finally picked up my copy and read through it, I have to admit, it was a bit esoteric for me. I was stumbling along the how-to parts of it and I think things clicked into Trial and Error then Discovery when a Drill I was watching a video on which I put into my practice plan, was not working as intended in practice...
I said out loud "Wow, the movie that's playing in my brain is not playing out to what I directed on the court" and my assistant was laughing at me. She told me, I should just call out "end scene" and reset myself and get the drill to work in a way that will work for the athletes.
I believe that's when it clicked for me and what makes coaching so rewarding. It's the discovery of learning and teaching, even when I'm at times full of a lot of self-doubt.
The good thing for me is, the athletes continue to come back and enjoy the practices. I've had many athletes tell me they enjoy the practices and learning and refining their skills and learning to work with their friends.
Ruben, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m glad that it’s helping you put a name on your experiences. I see how you said that you reset *yourself* and then worked to align the drill with the players. I hope you find the coming parts of the series to be helpful as well!