We were both looking at the same practice
However, we had different thoughts and viewpoints
What do you like to see in a practice
If you work closely with other coaches
do you discuss what you each believe should be
We were looking at the practice with completely different viewpoints
I find it interesting that coaches very rarely talk about what they are expecting from a badminton practice, especially with other coaches.
Yes, they talk about what technique is favoured or what practice they may set.
However, their expectations from the practice and how they will act to achieve that aren’t often discussed. Do you agree?
I was working with another coach, and trying to help a player by trying to work jointly.
However, we found that we were looking at the practice with completely different viewpoints.
Our expectations about errors, struggle, information, and our intentions certainly varied.
This is a summary of our conversations over a few sessions
To create some thoughts for you to consider, I have polarised our viewpoints.
We probably weren’t that far apart in our thinking, but we did realise that we viewed practice differently sometimes.
Which viewpoints do you most often align with?
Viewpoint 1
- One of us was looking to gain maximum development (improvement) within that session.
- If the player was struggling in the practice it would be changed (lower the challenge point) to increase the chance of immediate success.
- ‘Critical’ advice (technical mainly) would be offered readily and often. Instructing the player what to do and try in order to succeed.
- The desire for success within the practice is seen as essential for a great session. Both coach and player should be expecting improvement, in every session.
Viewpoint 2
- The coach is less concerned with practice performance and more in search of glimpses of improvements within tougher/challenging practices.
- Mistakes seem to be ignored. Coaches praise the player when an attempt goes 'wrong'. Crucially the challenge point of the practice remained the same.
- They seemed to say less, only using encouragement and did not constantly change the practice, allowing players to struggle.
- The desire seemed to be that a little struggle mixed with encouragement is enough for a session.
I started to wonder ....
- Is it me (and maybe not the player) that feels the desire to constantly push for immediate improvements?
- Are the improvements we see really examples of deeper learning, as they sometimes seem to disappear between sessions?
- Maybe badminton practice (even errorful practice) should not be changed too quickly.
- What is my definition of success in practice? What challenge point is most effective?
- If I see a chance to offer advice (especially technical) what could I consider before giving it?
If you work closely with other coaches
how often do you have these conversations?
Do you want a conversation?
I’d like to hear from you if you have a viewpoint on anything that you’ve read
We don’t need to agree, but explore viewpoints.
It would be great to hear from you, send me an email : contact@badmintonandy.com
This is part of a series of conversation starters.
Although not in detail, the posts are written to get you thinking and talking with others.
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