This is a plea to all Badminton Coaches
Please take a moment this week and engage with another Coach
Share a thought or ask a question
It seems simple and easy to do?
It’s not just saying ‘Hi’ to someone
Are badminton coaches communicating with other coaches with the aim of developing and exploring ideas.
It’s not just saying ‘Hi’ to someone in your network; it’s about 2 more people having an active exchange of ideas with the aim of self-development.
This is part of a mini-series looking at Collaboration, why it’s important, why you may not do it, and also how to be better at it.
Collaborating with others will improve your critical thinking.
There is evidence that people who collaborate retain information longer than those who work quietly, as individuals.
Discussing and working with others on court is a great way to explore ideas.
I’ve been told many times that the majority of your development will happen after your Coach education course has finished. However, I was never given the tools or even the ideas about how to go about doing that!
It sounds so easy, all you have to do is talk and work with other coaches, but very few people actually do it. Or, maybe you are different and you do have a network of people you can talk with, ask questions, plus accept their challenges. Is that you?
Do you find that having conversations add a new viewpoint to your thoughts?
Why I collaborate
Its more than just gaining knowldge
If you know me, you know I like to ask questions! I’ve realised that there is so much more to know and that there are people out there who can help me.
They may not realise it, but everyone I meet adds something more to my knowledge.
Do I agree with everything they say and do? No, but that only adds to my desire to find out the “why” behind what they do or believe.
I like to think that I have a close group of Coaching and Parent friends who know me and accept my questions and thirst for knowledge.
My friends help me to take the knowledge I’ve collected (often as random thoughts) and turn it into usable, practical elements.
I love learning from those who transition from player to coach and realised that they just couldn’t coach the way they were coached. They had to use their ‘player’ skills and apply them in a coaching environment.
However, I also learned just as much from those who have been coaching less than 3 years and are full of questions plus shortcuts they have discovered.
I love the fact that new coaches know exactly what the problems are and demand the answers and shortcuts. Their testing questions are often the best – open, honest and demanding, the type I love.
The difficulties I find
There are coaches who don’t want to engage
Maybe it’s because they are busy and don’t have time to chat with this ‘random’ person. I respect whatever they choose to do. Not everyone wants to talk about badminton.
I’m never sure if it’s my style of questions or the realism that at any moment, they may feel vulnerable.
When I first met Roger Mills (my mentor) I was shocked and surprised! The openness and directness of his questions made me feel uneasy. The practices I did and the things I said were questioned.
It took me a while to understand that it wasn’t a personal attack on me, but a desire from him to fully understand my viewpoint. He wanted to collaborate with me.
Feeling uncomfortable when someone asks you a question
was something that I needed to get used to
Why Collaborate?
The shared learning will give you an opportunity to engage in discussion, take responsibility for your own learning, and become a better Coach or Parent.
Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalise on one another’s resources and skills. It sounds exciting to me.
To be honest, I find it the most effcetive way.
A Coach recently asked ….
“How do you think coaches should go about learning from other coaches? “
- Ask another coach in your network if they have any ideas to solve one of your current coaching or playing “problems”
- Create a Network of people who are prepared to share a thought or two with you
- Message someone on Social Media or comment on their posts: start a dialogue: why not discuss and challenge some of the ideas presented here on Badmintonandy.com 🙂
- Be motivated to consider and request alternative viewpoints. Ask another coach to watch you work, ask them to talk with you about what they observed and the thoughts they had.
- Explore any contradictions
- Grow a ‘thick skin‘ : be prepared for opposing views or a ‘no response’
- Check your own mindset and decide if you are willing to expose yourself to the things you don’t know. How will you feel when someone offers a different viewpoint?
Look out for the next post
I will write another post soon about the reasons why some coaches don’t collaborate. I think there are many reasons and it’s not all about ego!
I’ll offer 8 suggestions for you to consider.
Click on the link to see if its alreday been published
Send me a question
I’m always grateful if you have read this far.
If there is anything that you have read that has helped or that you disagree with, then please send me an email.
I promise to read all your comments
It would be great to hear from you contact@badmintonandy.com
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