teams in activities that develop technical proficiency , mentality , decision-making and fitness . From a coaching education perspective , there is a significant opportunity to inform and add to the coach ’ s base of knowledge by providing numerous field examples that are reference points for technical and tactical substance , player management , and perspective regarding how coaches must adapt and adjust during training . In “ modeling ” a greater number of field sessions , we connect the reality that the coach , at every level , lives out each and every day in their environment .
This is grounded in the cornerstones of education : What do coaches need to learn ? » Applied Knowledge
This includes the details of effective applied technique and the acquisition of skill . That players learn from the activity , from the game environment , is true but also that coaches can be the conduit in discovering application in instances where players do not make that connection . This type of apprenticeship through observation aligns with theory and principles learned in coach education . This lends itself to understanding how coaches interact with players and when or why they adjust the organization in the training environment . Practical experience and application , based in reality , are what form the substance for reflection and discourse .
How might it be learned ? » What Strategies to Utilize
There ’ s value in understanding the people we are coaching , how they think , reason and assimilate information as well as what they pay attention to . How does this align with your approach to teaching and learning ?
» For example , do you rely on a specific learning theory : a behaviorist ’ s approach or constructivism ?
» Can you distinguish , based on observation , if the approach is working or connecting with players ?
The value for coaches is that observation goes beyond what you gather from your own experience . How do we grow to “ read ” players and what they are grasping or grappling with ? Just as a player , the coach , through observation , can learn something about what it takes to learn in practice and from practice .
Assessment , Feedback and Learning
Today coaches are required to produce much more through the tools and gifts of technology . The outcome seems to be extensive presentations in PowerPoint , session templates , animated diagrams and some form of video . These are utilized to express ideas or concepts by which the coach is assessed . It would be interesting to assess outcomes :
Assessment is distinctive from evaluation . Assessment can involve a variety of methods to give feedback that can be utilized by coaches in modifying and adjusting , and while engaged , in the training environment . Evaluation is arriving at a final determination of success or failure and closes the loop .
The trend has become to perform assessments , either virtual or in person , with players and teams in the coach ’ s local setting which has a value . Multiple assessments provide opportunities to ground the dialogue in reality and practice . Coach educators involved in assessing consider the quality of what ’ s being produced , the improvement and progress an individual coach is making . This works toward building competency , awareness of areas of technical information or player management , and overall session organization . Rather than referring to players , coaching , organization or the quality of activities solely through purely idealistic educational or analytical rehash largely comprised of buzzwords , the intent is to attach feedback and dialogue with what transpires .
Feedback , delivered at least in part in person , produces an interpersonal interaction that is one of the benefits of coach education and is integral in coach development . This interaction allows examination of the planned session :
» Why did the organization and forethought on paper not translate into the training environment that was desired with the players ?
» What could the coach have adjusted ?
» Does the assessor and coach share in this process , which ultimately is intended to improve the delivery of the session , intended to result in learning ?
For example , school administrators construct professional development for educators directly related to observation by utilizing Job Embedded Teams ( JET ). Teachers , across disciplines , are organized in groups which visit numerous classrooms or teacher-led activities to observe interaction between students and teachers . JET teams can also take in classroom design , organization and learning strategies that teachers set up as part of the environment . This practice for additional professional development is tied to reality and provides the basis for discourse and peer learning .
Focusing on events , actions , moments , artifacts , players , content and coaches , in a setting together , they emerge as common referents . They are the elements that coaches work to understand or have influence with . In doing so they practice and apply their craft . n
1 . In implementing this plan or concept , was the desired outcome achieved ?
2 . What was learned even if the implementation and outcome was only partially successful ?
64 | Soccer Journal