With the fall sports season in full swing, parents have an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of their children’s coaches. Specifically, do the coaches give succinct directions?
The following examples differentiate between instructions that are not specific and those that are.
Example 1: Volleyball passes that are too low and off target.
The non-specific coach: “Come on girls, get those passes higher and to the setter!”
Result: The players shanked the next six passes before going back to their old pattern of off-target passes.
The specific coach: “Girls let’s hit 20-10 sets to the middle? Do you understand what I mean when I say 20-10?”
Result: The back row players answered, “No.” The coach said, “Make your passes 20 feet high or about 2-3 times the height of the net. They should land on the 10 foot line in the middle of the court so the setter can get to them easily. The specific instructions helped the players improve the direction, depth, and height of their passes.”
Example 2: Erratic passes (volleyball) caused by players being too upright
The non-specific coach: “Come on girls, get lower to return those serves!”
Result: Minimal long-term change in the quality of service returns.
The specific coach: “By being balanced and getting lower you will be in position to make better passes. There are two visuals that may help illustrate how low a player may need to be when returning serve. First, bend your knees much like you do when you are sitting on the edge of a bench. Another way to think of getting low is to bend your knees so that you see all of your opponent’s court while looking under the net.”
Result: These guidelines provide checkpoints for the players that will ensure more consistent passing.
Example 3: Hit tennis lobs that keep the opponents off balance
The non-specific coach: “Okay guys, mix up your lobs.”
Result: Players have mixed results as they experiment with “mixing up their lobs”.
The specific coach: “There are several ways to make it more difficult for opponents to hit effective overheads. One way is to hit lobs so the opponent has to move in two directions to hit the ball. More specifically, make them move both backwards and at least two steps to either their forehand or backhand sides. An even simpler way to look at it is to lob over your opponents’ backhand side.
Result: By having a purpose for each lob, the backcourt player hits a higher percentage of effective lobs.”
Example 4: Serve to one of three locations to develop a more effective tennis serve
The non-specific coach: “Okay guys, keep your opponents off balance with your serve.”
Result: Players may try a number of ways to keep their opponents off balance such as changing technique or altering pace and spin.
The specific coach: “Hit your serve to one of three zones: the outside corner, at the server’s body, or to the inside corner to keep your opponent off balance. For example, taller players may be able to reach balls hit to the outside corners, while they may have difficulty returning balls hit at their body. You may need to practice to do this effectively in both the deuce and ad court.”
Results: In this case, specific instructions provide the server with target areas for service practice. As well, the directions provide tactical guidelines for match play.
Do your kids’ receive specific directions from their coaches?
If you aren’t sure, ask your kids the following questions:
• Does your coach communicate in a way that helps you understand exactly what to do in drills, practices sessions, or game situations?
• Does your coach provide you with specific instructions for improving?
• If not, do you ask questions about what the coach means specific to your abilities? For example, specifically what does the coach mean when he/she says, “mix up your serve?”
• Does the coach use keys, single words, or short phrases to concisely convey a key message? Keys for the above examples might include:
o 10-20 pass
o Get low and look under the net
o Lob over the backhand
o Inside corner, body, or outside corner
If you don’t have keys, ask your coach to help you develop keys.
• Do you let your coaches know when their concise instructions help you understand a concept, technique, tactic, or how to correct a mistake? For example, the player might say, “By following your advice, I won three points in the first set by lobbing over the backhand side”.
• Do you ask your coach for clarification when specific directions are not given?
Quality coaching requires a coach who provides specific directions and players who communicate about the effectiveness of those directions. Top notch players and coaches are first-rate communicators.