Published August 13, 2014
Johnny is 13 years old and wants to join your swim team. He has been a recreational swimmer for a couple of years but never really competed. Johnny also has an above knee amputation and cannot wear his prosthetic leg in the water. Kicking is a vital skill in swimming but he does not kick like your other swimmers. You are excited about having him on your team but you are not quite sure how to include him so that the other swimmers, Johnny, and you can all benefit from his participation.
More and more people with disabilities are joining sports programs but coaches are struggling with how to successfully include athletes with disabilities. You want to do the right thing. You also know that according to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Johnny and other people with disabilities have the right to participate on the team. Here are some simple ways to include people with disabilities on your team.
Coaches are required to provide reasonable accommodations for athletes with disabilities but many coaches struggle with ways to successfully include these athletes. For the most part, having the right attitude and a willingness to try is the key ingredient. If you are willing to try these other steps, than you will develop an environment where people recognize everyone’s abilities versus disabilities!
Source:
Adapted Swim Committee (2001). Including swimmers with a disability: A guide for coaches. Retrieved on November 1, 2007, from http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/_Rainbow/Documents/db2d2891-6891-4e56-b1c4-47d209afe9f8/adapted_coaches_brochure.pdf.
Other resources:
National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (www.ncpad.org)
Aaron Moffett, PhD
California State University, San Bernardino
amoffett@csusb.edu
Published in: Coaches
Published August 13, 2014
I am surprised at the number of coaches, particularly assistant coaches, who are significantly impaired in their job responsibilities by their fear of public speaking. While most are able to “pull it off” without embarrassment, the pre-performance experience can be distracting and uncomfortable. Thus, some tips are offered below to help keep your nerves in check.
Nicki Moore, PhD
University of Oklahoma
nmoore@ou.edu
(405) 325-3138
Published in: Coaches, Performance Psychology
Published August 13, 2014
We live in a culture of now. More and more things are available at our fingertips instantly. We often expect amazing results after just a few weeks of effort. This quest for quick upgrades is on par with the rest of our speeding culture. Even coaches can fall into the trap of getting frustrated when performance change doesn’t happen quick enough. However, in the world of sport it is important to remember that great performances, or becoming an expert player, require a combination of effort, time and patience. And great coaches and coaching expertise, require the same things.
So what is expertise and how does one get it? Expertise describes a proficiency created through a combination of learned knowledge and practical experience. In coaching, like in any area of knowledge, developing expertise requires time, experience, diligence, and a desire to continue to grow and learn. Ideally, true expertise should be viewed as the lifelong journey of the intentional learner. It should not be viewed an end point or something to be achieved and rested upon. Certifications and degrees are only steps along the way.
The 4 stages in developing expertise, beginning, competent, proficient and expert, were described by researchers Dreyfus and Dreyfus. Everyone starts at the first stage, as a ‘beginner’ in the field. During this stage it is important to identify key areas of emphasis and to determine ways to learn more. Although progress through the stages is very based on the individual, Dr. Herbert Simon, a researcher who spent much of his career exploring expertise, has stated that it takes 10 years of purposeful practice and experiences beyond basic knowledge (the beginning stage) to develop expertise.
How do you know when you have become an expert? In the Practices of Expert Teachers Paul Schempp, Steven Tan, and Bryan McCullick (2002) explain that unique characteristics of expert teachers. In coaching terms these characteristics include a great depth of knowledge in the sciences of coaching and approaching new situations with an understanding and respect for the uniqueness of each athlete instead of a one size fits all response. Additionally, when compared with novices, experts have been found to have better short term memories, be more skilled at self monitoring, and are continual learners.
Expertise is often confused with personal achievement. Often people falsely assume that elite achievement as an athlete automatically translates into expert knowledge. It is important to keep in mind that expertise is the combination of knowledge and knowing what to do with that knowledge. Recently, Alan Castel and his colleagues (2006) explored the ‘dark side’ of expertise. They found that ‘doing’ knowledge often did not translate into the ability to teach or pass on information effectively to other people. Individuals who were successful on a high level typically had automated their skills to such a level that they lost touch with how they learned those skills or the process of building those skills. Their work highlights the importance of understanding not only what needs to be done but also the why’s and how’s for the achievement of true expertise. For coaches, this highlights the importance of learned knowledge and the value of coaching science understanding in addition to valuable practical riding experiences.
Here are a few key ideas to help coaches develop their expertise in their sport. The intentional guided development of personal expertise in coaching not only enhances the work that you do; it also enhances the profession of coaching and raises the bar for others to follow.
References:
Castel, A.D., McCabe, D.P., Roediger, H.L. & Heitman, J. L. (in press). The dark side of expertise: Domain-specific memory errors. Psychological Science.
Dreyfus, H.L. & Dreyfus, S.E. (1987). The mistaken psychological assumptions underlying belief in expert systems. In A. Costall & A. Still (Eds.), Cognitive psychology in question (pp. 17-31). New York, NY: US: St Martin's Press,
Schempp, P. G., Tan, S. K. S., & McCullick, B. A. (2002). The practices of expert teachers. Teaching and Learning, 23, 99-106.
Published in: Coaches
Published August 13, 2014
Sport is full of conflict! Whether it is on or off the playing field, effectively dealing with conflict goes a long way in determining success. Internal team conflict can have a major impact on team dynamics and cohesion. As a coach, learning how to deal with these conflicts can become a major part of your everyday job. Unfortunately, we often deal with conflict in unproductive ways such as avoiding (“It’s not a big problem, why worry?”), forcing (“I will win this argument no matter what”), or accommodating (“I’ll give up whatever it takes to end the conflict”).
One of the ways you can help alleviate team conflict is to learn and use effective mediation strategies. As a coach, you are in a powerful position to display positive conflict management in the way you communicate with athletes, parents, referees, and the media. There are four principles to keep in mind when trying to resolve conflict:
Along with the above communication strategies, there are several do’s and don’ts involved in managing conflict:
Do…
Don’t…
Whether it is conflict over playing time, personality clashes, or negative emotions from defeat, conflict can greatly damage team chemistry. As a coach, you have responsibility to identify, manage, and defuse conflict. By understanding effective communication strategies you can better manage conflict within your team.
This article is adapted from Hedstrom, R.A., & Lauer, L. (2006). Resolving Conflict: Effective mediation tools for coaches. Adult learning module for the MHSAA coaching advancement program. East Lansing, MI: MHSAA.
References and Suggested Resources:
Gross, B., & Zimmerman, G. (1997). Mediating interpersonal conflict. North Manchester, IN: Education for Conflict Resolution.
Fisher, R., & Ury, W. (1991). Getting to yes. New York: Penguin Books.
Toropov, B. (1997). The art and skill of dealing with people. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Published in: Coaches
Published August 13, 2014
Whether it is on the field or in the locker room, effective coaches need to understand the strategies to turn a group of individuals into a cohesive and successful team. Not all groups of individuals are teams. Successful teams have distinct characteristics such as shared leadership, fluid responsibility, accountability to the group, and shared goals (Lussier& Kimball, 2009). To understand this sense of shared vision and teamwork, one only needs to look to the sky. As geese fly south for the winter, they fly in a distinctive “V” formation. This yearly task is the epitome of teamwork:
So what makes an effective team? There are several characteristics that determine team success, outlined by Yukl (2006).
Effective coaches know that turning a group of individuals into an effective team takes a keen understanding of team characteristics. By incorporating the above team characteristics into coaching strategies, coaches will help guide individual players into adopting a team vision and commitment. Just like the geese that work together every year to accomplish a monumental task, effective teams develop a shared sense of responsibility and accountability that maximizes success.
References:
Lussier, R.N.,& Kimball, D.C. (2009). Applied sport management skills. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations (6th ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson Education.
Published in: Coaches