The Teesra

Author: Andrew Beaven

  • Is there a third way? Coach as “learning consultant”?

    Is there a third way? Coach as “learning consultant”?

    There is an ongoing, sometimes rancorous, debate in the coaching world as to the relative merits of “instruction” and “discovery” learning.

    From, on one side, those who want to line players up behind cones, and have them take turns to replicate skills demonstrated by their coach.

    Or those who set up games and leave the players to work it out for themselves.

    OK — two grossly inaccurate, “straw-man” descriptions of coaching practice. But not uncommon in the darker spaces on Twitter.

    Perhaps more accurately:

    • Direct Instruction, which, however it is conceptualised, seeks to inculcate the Instruction.
    • Ecological Dynamics and non-linear pedagogy, exemplified by the constraints-led approach, sees the coach creating a learning environment from which movement solutions “emerge”.

    But what if the role of the coach was thought of differently. Neither “instructor” nor “environmental designer”.

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  • How we learn to move — mini-review

    How we learn to move — mini-review

    Rob Gray’s How We Learn to Move is sure to become the go-to resource for any coach interested in the Ecological Dynamics approach to skill acquisition.

    The book is sub-titled “A revolution in the way we coach & practice sports skills”, and this is no exaggeration.

    A quite brilliant, inspirational read, for anyone who has ever wondered if “learning by rote” and “repetition, repetition, repetition” were the only way to develop sport skills, this book provides an answer.

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  • Myths of Sport Coaching — mini review

    Myths of Sport Coaching, edited by Amy Whitehead & Jenny Coe, presents a fascinating review of some of the most fervently believed myths sport coaching.

    The contributors, who use published research to explain why the various myths lack foundation, and, in many cases, go on to suggest alternative approaches, again backed by research.

    It is, perhaps, unfair to pick favourites, but for me the most interesting included:

    • The Science of Fun in Sport: Fact over Fiction — Amanda Visek & Anna Feiler
      • “Fun” is about so much more than having a lark!
    • Communities of Practice: Common Misconceptions — Diane M Culver, Tiago Duarte & Don Vinson
      • Especially resonant, perhaps, given the paucity of “community” amongst cricket coaches online.
    • The Evolving Role of the Sport Psychologist and the Myth That Their Role is to ‘Fix’ Athletes — Laura Swettenham, Kristin McGinty-Minister & Stewart Bicker
      • This highlights the importance of the psychological element in performance — it is way too central to leave it out until there is a problem!

    There are also thoughtful contributions on Deliberate Practice (the myth being that 10,000 hours of Deliberate Practice is required to acquire “expertise”), early specialisation (there is now substantial evidence demonstrating that the costs for the vast majority of young people of specialising in sport too early outweights the gains), and fundamental movement solutions (a critique of the information-processing model as the pedagogical foundation for movement skill acquisition).

    I was gratified to see that none of my current beliefs about what coaching is (should be) and how it works were de-bunked! But the authors’ approach would surely have gone a long way to convincing me of their case!

    Thoroughly recommended!