I have just received a training script for a tutoring assignment, training new Activators, who will be working with 5-8 yr olds, completely new to the sport.
And it includes the following statement.
SKILL DEVELOPMENT: “The basic starting point for being player centred is understanding the skill and technical needs of that player…
Which seems some way removed from my own understanding of player-centred coaching, and distanced from the child-first approach advocated by Play Their Way.
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Create an environment where everyone you #coach falls in love with the experience of playing – and the rest is up to them.
Wayne Goldsmith, on X (formerly — and still — known as Twitter)
Just make the players love the game.
It’s a great quote, and a wonderful aspiration.
But try putting “I just want to make the players love the game” at the top of your CV and see how many interviews you get!
With the current understanding of coaching (within English cricket, certainly), “fun” & “love for the game” will get you a gig running National Programmes and “community” sessions.
Which is where I am!
But why?
(more…)I followed the proliferation of “online coaching” during the first COVID lockdown in the UK in 2020 — a lot of online demos, and quite a few “Me-Me” posts (“look at me — me!”).
For all the online “coaching”, it is, of course, impossible to tell if there was much actual learning. And no evidence, to date, of any development in online coaching beyond a straight replacement for face-to-face instruction & demonstration.
Surely, we can do better?
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The Teesra 