There have been several interesting conversations recently on the coach’s use of silence – keeping quiet, and allowing the “game to teach the game”, and refraining from constant interruption and instruction.
In particular, I enjoyed a post from ImSporticus – The Way of the Silent Coach.
An ideal, perhaps, and certainly applicable to matchplay. I think I would struggle to maintain the silence through a practice session, however.
I might adopt two minimalist, almost value-neutral interventions, ascribed to Ric Charlesworth, on watching a “trial-and-error” session:
- “fair enough” (“you tried, it didn’t work out this time”)
- “good” (as in “you have demonstrated the desired outcome”)
That’s all. Leave the player to get on with the game.
The Teesra 