Nick Levett and Roger Davies (The FA)

Today we had two guest speakers from the FA, Nick Levett and Roger Davies. Both work in the FA trying to develop youth in the game of football and came in to speak to us about how they go about and how they see the game of football at grass roots level.

Both of them were very keen on telling us about TGfU (Teaching Games for Understanding) because they believed that using the game as a teacher is the best way for a child to learn the rules and skills properly. Using TGfU allows a coach to still teach a game and the principles of it but at the same time allowing the players to work things out for themselves so there is an element of independent learning in there as well as the coaching points needed.

The following quotes were taken off the presentation done;

" In TGfU the pupil learns from the problems posted by the teacher" (Rod Thorpe, 2012)

" The beauty of games is the unscripted drama" (Alan Owen, 2012)

" There are no right ways to coach -  just ensure you do the right thing at the right time with the individual" (David Bunker, 2012)

" Whilst innovation is key you also need to make sure you get the basics right" (Sir David Brailsford)

" It is what the learner says and thinks and does that creates learning and not what the teacher says and thinks and does" (Alastair Smith)

All these quotes have given me an insight into how people see coaching and TGfU and I plan to use these quotes to help me ensure that I am maximising the individuals ability to learn and develop in every session.

When coaching it is important to check for understanding after explaining something and at the end of a session to ensure the participants took from the session what they were supposed to. This can be done at it's simplest with the use of questions and different types of questions can be structured to target a different aspect of the game.

For example;

• WHAT DO YOU think can be done to help the attackers? What do you focuses on the tactical aspects of the game.
• HOW DO YOU shoot a football? How do you focuses on the skill aspects of the game
• WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO release the ball during a bowling action? When is the best time to focuses on the timing of a specific skill in a game.
• WHERE IS/CAN you stand to help you defend the corner? Where is/can focuses on the space that could be used in a sport.
• WHICH CHOICE would you make when you see a full toss, try and smack it or make sure you score? Which choice focuses on the risk/rewards of a sport.

Also during the talk I learned a number of other definitions which I can use during the rest of my time at University but more importantly during any coaching I do:

1. Diversification - many sports young can reap rewards when specialising later in life.
2. Deliberate Practice -  Specific goals and immediate feedback
3. Deliberate Play - uninstructed play = multitude of solutions
4. 1-dimensional games - minimal direction increases vision and possibility of solutions
5. Deliberate Coaching - Don't narrow the focus of the players.

All in all, I found this session exrtremeley beneficial and have taken a lot out of it with regards to ways of coaching and how important it is to maximise the development of young participants at grass roots level.

ECB Level 2 cricket coaching course.

From the 26th January until the 23rd February I have been doing my ECB Level 2 coaching course for cricket. 

Doing this course is not just for my benefit as it is another qualification to add to my coaching CV but it is so I can actually go out and a coach a sport I enjoy and help young children learn a sport. As the captain of the 2nd team is my responsibility to bring new, young players through so that the 1st team always have good players to replace there older one's with. With me being the captain of the 2nd team and the Juniors coach this is a lot more in my control and with I thought this qualification would only help me produce better sessions for the kids to learn from.

The ECB course consisted of 8 modules and a Child Safeguarding and First Aid module which were done first. Every Saturday for 5 weeks I did 9am - 3.30pm at Wilmslow High School to learn everything I would need to know for my final assessment in April where I will do a 30 minute session for 10-15 kids based around one batting shot, one bowling action and one aspect of fielding.

I have found doing the course a great experience not only for extra insight on ways to coach and how to plan a session, but I have actually felt my own ability as a player has improved as for the first time I am seeing techniques broken down and am being shown how each shot should be played opposed to self-teaching myself and guessing like I have had to do since I started playing 7-8 years ago.

In terms of my coaching, this course has been a massive aid. I now know how to structure a cricket session a little bit more and that I need to always remember to show demonstrations and talk through the coaching points of the action I am teaching. This way the children will not only see how the technique is done but they will understand how it is done with the use of of the coaching points.

For example, the coaching points for the long barrier in cricket are;

1. Get your head in line with the ball.
2. Go down on your knee with a 90 degree angle, keeping your knee and heel together. (Use the knee opposite to the arm you throw with i.e. right handers go down on left knee)
3. Hands pointing down in front of knee/heel and collect the ball.
4. Pull throwing arm back and release ball towards wicket keeper.

Using these coaching points, the children will understand the stages to the skill and will hopefully be able to pick it up easier.

The other useful tool I picked up from the coaching course was something the ECB use called Coaching Bugs.

 

Generate and Provide Feedback bug

Shows the four key points on how to generate and provide feedback during a session. I.e. limit information to 1-2 key points and keep it simple and specific.

Organise it bug 

Again, four key points on how to organise the session you are running. I.e. keep safety in mind when managing people, space and equipment and how to group the participants in a fair manner.

There are 9 coaching bugs in all and I plan on using all of them every single time I plan a junior coaching session this summer in order to maximise the effectiveness of the session for me and for he junior players I am coaching.

Semester 2 - My aims.

My aims for the second semester are not that different to the aims I set myself in semester one. I am on this course because I want to learn and develop the skills and knowledge I need to be a good coach and that is was I plan on doing in this semester and into next year.

My aims with regards to my assignments this semester are that I will be putting in 100% effort at all times ensuring all the content is specific, valid and relevant to the title question and I want to continue to build on my good grades so far in second year.

Module specific aims (The Reflective Coach) are to continue to keep on top of this blog as I have learnt that it is a lot harder to do when you leave it a few weeks at a time between posts. Also with a very good grade in assignment 1 (72%) I want to make sure I don't bow a good opportunity to get a very good overall module grade so I need to remain focused and go and get the grade I want.

To summarise my aims are;

1. Continue to learn and develop the skills and knowledge needed to become a good coach.
2. Continue to put in 100% effort into all assignments and keeping them relevant and valid to the assignment question.
3. To obtain a good grade in this modules 2nd assignment to back up my first assignment and obtain a very good module grade.

Assignment 1 - Critical Discussion

For the first assignment of this module we had to be in groups of three and structure a coaching session for the rest of our practical group to do. The session designed by me and my group was done on the 22nd November during a practical session. The session Adam, Ben and myself came up with was loosely based on the well known game of "keep ball" but instead of that being the sole objective we expanded it to make it a target based game. The session started off at 2 vs 1 with the attackers having to keep the ball away from the defender and make it to the other end of the coned off area. We progressed this to 4 vs 2 and made each area bigger and a further progression was to make it 8 vs 4 and use the entire coned area. During the 8 vs 4 we took a player off each side and used them as outlets for the attacking team as our final progression.

Although we were not marked on the session it self, it was important that we understood what went well and what could be improved. Directly after the session we had ten-fifteen minutes together as a group and discussed what each of us felt and made some notes on what sort of things we could improve on so we could find the correct academic literature to back up why it was important we made the correct changes for the next time we did the same session or one under similar circumstances.

The assignment itself however was a 20 minute critical discussion (which took place on the 6th December) reflecting on the session and with the use of academic underpinning explaining and understanding what we did well and what we could improve for next time.

Cameron (2009) says that a discussion is used to put across your views to others whilst understanding that it is equally as important to listen to those around you as you can learn just as much from someone else as they can learn from you.

The discussion itself was a new experience for me as I had never done one in those conditions or for the purpose of a grade so it was different and at first I was unsure of how I would do on a personal level. However once Adam and Ben got the ball rolling for the group I found it very easy to say my bit and back up my points with some academic underpinning. For example, we made a point that the gender differences in the small groups of our session gave the lads a small advantage in passing the ball because they were a lot bigger and quicker. I backed this up with Gutierrez and Garcia-Lopez (2012) who said that in invasion type games male participants always want the ball and tend to get quite involved in the game where as female participants tend to act as spectators and only really get the ball when it is thrown to them opposed to them going to get it.

Below is my grade and how I was marked on my contributions to the discussion.

TL2133 The Reflective Coach - Assessment 1 Critical discussion (40% of module mark)		Mark Awarded			72
Student Name	Steve Mitchell
Demonstrates achievement of relevant learning outcomes		1st	2.1	2.2		3rd	F
1.       Demonstrate coaching knowledge and evaluative skills to assess your own and other’s coaching practice.		X
(Participation in Discussion)		1st	2.1	2.2		3	F
Did you approach the discussion in a logical and coherent manner i.e. turn taking?		X
Did you exhibit listening skills and an ability to take on board other participants’ views?			X
Did you support other participants by probing and asking questions?			X
Did you actively manage the discussion to enable achievement of learning outcomes for all participants?		X
Were themes discussed in a confident and professional style?		X
COMMENTS: You did have a tendency to butt in at times early on. You then became quite quiet and took a bit of a back seat until around 15mins. It might be useful to think about how you could integrate into the discussion more effectively.
(Content)		1st	2.1	2.2		3rd	F
Did the session plan submitted prior to your practical session provide a structured overview of the session?			X
Did you provide evidence of careful planning with reasons for intended activities demonstrating understanding of content?			X
Did you analyse and discuss the material/evidence supplied in your annotated bibliography?			X
Did you demonstrate critical use of theoretical models/concepts and draw insightful conclusions from them?			X
COMMENTS: You did not make reference to literature quite as effectively as the other two.
(Reflection)		1st	2.1	2.2		3rd	F
Did you reflect on how your session went identifying and discussing positives and areas for improvement?		X
Did you identify things you may have done differently and explore any improvement that could have been made?		X
Were the processes you used to reflect both in and on the session clear, and links with theory/literature made?			X
COMMENTS: Good outline of how you felt you reflected both during and after the session.
GENERIC GROUP FEEDBACK: Well-constructed discussion that reflected a depth of knowledge a d understanding. All participants were able to contribute and made effective points.

I can use this feedback to help me improve for next time for example, my discussion technique could do with some work as I was seen to be either too quiet or too eager to talk so I need to find the balance between these two and hopefully I will be able to contribute more and have more of a part in the discussion.

Overall I am very satisfied with the grade I achieved in this assignment. It was a different type of assignment to that I was used to so was a challenge to ensure it was done to the best I could. Creating the drill was very insightful as I got to work with Ben and Adam who both have great ideas and showed me a lot that I could use in my own sessions with my Under 14's cricket back home. The discussion itself has taught me a lot about how to use academic underpinning properly with regards to finding the correct sources that are relevant and valid to the point I am making and using them to improve my sessions by eliminating as many of the little problems as I can.

Cameron, S.(1999). The Business Student's Handbook. Pearson Education Limited, Essex.

Gutierrez, D & Garcia-Lopez, L.M (2012). Gender Differences in game behaviour in invasion games. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy. 17 (3), 289.