It is hard behavior to change as coach, but I am trying hard to listen more, ask good questions and avoid the endless and often useless feedback. The challenge is that a lot of our players are 'feedback junkies'. They think if the coach is not giving them feedback on every play, they aren't getting coached. Thankfully some of them are beginning to understand that the ball and the play give them feedback and only they know what their actual intention was when they played the ball.
I completely agree. To some extent, I blame us (coaches, parents, society) for teaching them that lesson. I came across a phrase recently to describe an alternative view of coaches and it is really growing on me: we can be “mediators of experience”. It will take time for players, coaches, and parents to get used to coaching in that way but, if we are diligent about explaining how we will coach, I think we can make it work.
It is hard behavior to change as coach, but I am trying hard to listen more, ask good questions and avoid the endless and often useless feedback. The challenge is that a lot of our players are 'feedback junkies'. They think if the coach is not giving them feedback on every play, they aren't getting coached. Thankfully some of them are beginning to understand that the ball and the play give them feedback and only they know what their actual intention was when they played the ball.
I completely agree. To some extent, I blame us (coaches, parents, society) for teaching them that lesson. I came across a phrase recently to describe an alternative view of coaches and it is really growing on me: we can be “mediators of experience”. It will take time for players, coaches, and parents to get used to coaching in that way but, if we are diligent about explaining how we will coach, I think we can make it work.
Thanks for reading and thanks for the comment!