BAD BEHAVIOUR : A COACH ’ S RESPONSE
Dave Turner , UK Coaching Children and Schools Lead – and GB and Loughborough University javelin coach – responds to some tricky , real-life , coaching situations .
1 . A regular participant to your under-20s club has been turning up to sessions late , disorganised and apparently hung-over , with his performance declining as a result .
“ Firstly I am sending him home for his own safety . I would then say : ‘ This is not the first time now and you could be putting yourself and other people in danger . We want you to be involved , but I want to know if there is a reason you have been drinking more .’ Could there be a problem at home , could it be a move to university , could it be a new social group ? I ’ d not just want to say ‘ don ’ t come back hungover ’ – I would want to explain why this was a bad idea and if there was a reason for the behaviour that meant that young person needed support .”
2 . As a way of rewarding good form in your diving lessons , divers must end each session with a perfect entry from a dive of their choice . They must stay and continue to make the dive until they complete it to your satisfaction , at which point they may go home .
DT : “ The pursuit of perfection is an admirable trait , but realistically it can often be subjective and of course very difficult to attain . For that reason this ‘ reward ’ may , upon reflection , sound more like a punishment . My advice would be to focus on just one element they wish to perfect before they go home . This would increase both their chances of success and making it home in time for News at Ten !”
3 . Increasingly annoyed at how boisterous your after-school angling group get , you find yourself spending large chunks of each session shouting and sending children to stand away from the river until they calm down . You ’ re feeling more like a school teacher and less like a coach .
DT : “ At this point I would ask a group to come together for a discussion about how they feel recent behaviour has been affecting both practise and performance . Hopefully they will reflect that the effect has been a negative one . At that stage I would suggest that the group decides their own rules for the session and what they feel the ramifications for not following those would be . That way the kids own things and have buy-in . Remember though , that kids have vivid imaginations , so you may need to guide them towards a fair set of rules . This is also an opportunity for you to reflect on the session ’ s structure . Is there something you ’ re doing , or not doing , which could motivate better behaviour from those children ?”
4 . At the end of each indoor cricket session , the person who was clean bowled the most times has to collect all the loose balls and tidy away the nets , wickets and mat , while everyone else has a drink and a snack . It ’ s a talking point among the players and seems to fire them up when they bat – it gives them a goal each time they go in .
DT : “ The challenge with this type of behaviour is to ensure it is not the same person who ends up with this duty every time and if it is I would stop the practice immediately . If there is a genuine variety to who ends up with the duties and no one feels singled out then it sounds like a harmless bit of fun . But beware , one day someone who is not used to having a bad day may end up with the duties and be warned that this may come as a shock to them . Avoid giving this person any additional ribbing because it is their first ever time and it may badly affect confidence in a person not used to it . My personal preferred method is that we all train as hard as we can together and we all work hard together to tidy up after a session . That , for me , is better teamwork .”
This article originally appeared in Coaching Edge , UK Coaching ’ s membership magazine .
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