Drills in Depth - a primer

Here’s a page with all my Drills in Depth posts.

Coaching is often described as both an art and a science. Drills in Depth are designed to get at both realms of a coach’s expertise. (For the sake of simplicity, I use the term “drill” as a synonym for drills, games, activities, tutor sessions, etc. I’m asking you to accept my use of this term, even if you don’t like it or never use “drills” in your practices.)

One example of the science of coaching is practice planning/drill design. Coaches often put great care into their practice plans and are almost always on the lookout for new activities to try. Drills can be exchanged like book recommendations and recipes. Drills in Depth represents one more source at your disposal to find new drills to try. So why provide another internet resource for drills? That’s where the art comes in…

I believe that I coach who I am, that my best coaching work is done when I am most authentically myself. This, I believe, is central to the art of coaching. It’s more challenging to share that part of coaching but that’s the second goal for Drills in Depth. In this series, I collaborate with other coaches to share not only what and how of their drills, but also illuminate the why and the who.

Further, I believe that context is key in coaching. Where these drills happen matters. Through my conversations with coaches, their unique contexts come out and help us not only see how they make these drills come to life but also see how important our own contexts are in our work.

Drills in Depth are designed to give you not just the drill but also insight into how, when, and why coaches use them. Drills in Depth are opportunities for you to reflect on the coaching you do by looking at the coaching of others.