Football Coaching A Player Centered Approach

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1 Jason Tillery Coaching Portfolio Reflection #3 Football Coaching A Player Centered Approach When coaches are done with their game planning, a week of practice is complete and the whistle blows for the opening kick-off; the results of tireless work will fall on the performance, perseverance and composure of the players. In between every snap and whistle there is a complex battle of intensity, focus, attention to detail, and will power as 22 players work to do their part in executing a play as designed. When the final whistle is blown coaches must face the results and reflect on players performance and determine if they were prepared to be successful, or if there needs to be a different approach as the team begins to prepare for the next week. Beyond the focus of the competition itself as a coach I am a primary influence on adolescent player s confidence and overall mental health; addressing my role as a role model can help to improve players motivation and performance. I am also responsible for setting the framework for players to improve their skills and abilities. Attending to player motivation, coaching competence and player morale are all tasks that will promote a positive team environment. Unlike achievement in the classroom, success in team athletics is dependent on satisfactory performance by the group as a whole. Individuals may possess the talent to overcome some deficits at other positions, but overall winning requires each player to do their job and contribute to executing by scoring or playing sound defense. I must create an environment in practice that keeps players motivated to exert high effort and improve. Students that make the decision to participate in team sports are initially motivated by unique social influences. Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, and Tuson (1995) identify seven different levels of

2 motivation for athletes. Many athletes begin participation in team sports: to obtain praise and approval or avoid criticism from their peers of family, termed external regulation; to be in good shape for aesthetic reasons, introjection; or to contribute to their growth and development, identification.( Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, and Tuson, 1995) From these initial motivating factors I have to help players transition to higher levels of self-determination and become more intrinsically motivated, while ultimately guiding them towards the team goal of victory. When working with youth players in camps the observed demeanor of players over the span of a week can change greatly. I can see the kids that are new to the sport and are unsure if they are ready for challenge of learning a new sport; the players that are good, know they are good and take pride in their abilities; and players that try hard and follow every instruction with a positive attitude. The technical periods where I typically teach players how to get in and out of there stance and learn small details of techniques are slow and make the gap in player talent apparent. But as players get more repetitions, receive complements from coaches, and have some success in competitions periods I have seen players attitudes improve. Although these camps are a microcosm of what could be years of participation, there is a noticeable shift to more intrinsic motivations. Players begin to play for: fun and excitement, experience stimulation; the satisfaction of mastery, motivation towards accomplishments; and for the joy of discovery, motivation to know. (Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, and Tuson, 1995) Seeing this shift in motivation as well as the physical maturation of adolescent athletes over a period of years is part of what make coaching youth and school athletics rewarding for coaches. I have learned in teacher education that I must be genuine and that the classroom will adapt to my personality and how I govern the classroom. The same concept exists for me as a coach on the field. My personality and my ability to build strong relationships with my players

3 affect the players morale and attitude in practice and games. Sometimes there are players that I can relate to more easily than others due to a similar background, personality, or common experience. Having a high compatibility with players often leads to more confidence in performance from the increased trust in the relationship that I am committed to helping them improve and that I believe in their ability to perform well. Kenow and Williams (1999) expand on research that addresses the compatibility of coaches and athletes as a factor of players perception of coaching behaviors. In this study athletes completed questionnaires designed to determine the correlation between the compatibility players felt with their coaches, anxiety measures, and coaching behaviors. Although a causal relationship was not identified, player selfconfidence and player-coach compatibility are positively correlated. I coached a group of offensive and defensive lineman at a high school that presented a challenge for me because I had a limited time to get to know them as I assumed the role as their coach. I decided to focus my attention on technique and ensuring that they believed that I was a competent coach. I wanted to prove to them that despite being younger than most of their coaches I could teach them skills and help make them better players. Early on it was evident that the players respected me as a coach but I was not getting the effort from them that I would have liked, and I perceived this to be because I did not yet have a relationship with any of them on a personal level. When I was teaching techniques I was often questioned why I suggested a specific technique because it was different than what they had been taught before by other coaches. I coached the lineman along with coaches that had been working with some of the players for years to that point so I needed to try and build some of the rapport that they already had. I used any short inactive periods to get to know each of them and also used my youth and

4 some similar interests in education and music as starting points to improving my relationship with each of them. In a conversation I had with a few of them they told me that they were unsure when I was happy and approved of their performance. I try no to be overly expressive when players are doing well or poorly, but their comments let me know that they were looking for more verbal reinforcement from me so that those players that were motivated by mastery received feedback on their performance more often. (VonMeter, 2004) By the end of the season I had built a comfortable relationship with most of them and their effort and performance improved along with our familiarity. I found myself being consulted more for advanced solutions to problems that players were having, which proved to me that my relationship with the players had grown from respect to a relationship of trust. Unfortunately it did not work with all players and one out of that group eventually decided to quit playing despite attempts by me and other coaches to connect with him; and impress the values of working hard in the classroom and on the field. He was, as Pelletier, Fortier, Vallerand, and Tuson (1995) would describe, amotivated, and no longer extrinsically or intrinsically motivated to be a part of the team. When I have had the opportunity I have used a Likert scale questionnaire similar to this one that I used in my student teaching experience to have a more formal evaluation of my relationship with my players. I instruct my students to submit this anonymously but allowed players to include their name with the intention of examining each relationship with players separately. In football each coach is primarily focused on his position group and preparing them for their part in each play. However, coaches often have the opportunity to assist with other players and help to provide guidance to players on and off the field. The relationship between players and coaches individually has an impact on player s performance that few people outside of the

5 team will ever observe or experience. Having a unified coaching staff helps improve players attitudes, confidence and morale. Good relatedness is described in VonMeter (2004) to encourage the desire to commit to others and function as a member of the team. This idea can apply to professional and semi-professional organizations as well as adolescents. There was a unique situation where my responsibilities within the team extended beyond being a coach and I was also a de-facto representative for the American players to the team board members and coaches. This German team that had import players from the United States, Canada, U.K., Slovenia and Sweden; but the rest of the team and team organization were local residents in Germany. I was required to be involved in decisions to help determine how to advise the players, ensure that the team was doing enough to facilitate their adjustment to the region, and also determining if the players were fulfilling their responsibilities. We had meetings with members of the board including some sponsors, the team president and coaches to attempt to maximize the teams financial and human resources to improve all facets of the team. There was poor morale on the American players part due to poor practice attendance from the German players along with the feeling that their living situation was sub-par. The board and the coaching staff felt that thee players weren t being positive enough overall and that discouraged them from being more helpful. In my role I expressed the need for there to be a more unified environment from all parties to resolve some of the issues and improve the attitudes of the players and staff. There were some improvements made and the result was a turn around in the season from a 1-5 record to start the season to a 7-7 record by the end of the season. (Bring the relatedness and references to the literature to tie it back in here) Having mentors and peers that can evaluate each other objectively is a valuable asset in coach development. Robertson and Hubball (2005) discuss different phases of coaches

6 mentoring coaches. Although I have not formally been a trainee in that model, I operate constantly within the participatory and developmental phases as I move on to coach new teams. Every team and coaching position provides an opportunity to learn from other coaches that I may consider mentors or peers. When I first coached running backs I needed a lot of help from other coaches since the position was not my specialty. I took advice from other coaches that had the position and incorporated feedback from my players to help determine what drills and input were most effective. Formal evaluations have included comparisons and analyses of data as well as overall perception of athletes and coaches demeanor. One of the common points of emphasis is practice tempo and the amount of repetitions for players during practice. There have been times where the number of repetitions was far below what our goals were and this meant each coach needed to identify our role in the inefficiency of practice. I had the responsibility of making sure the scout defense was prepared and ready for each play despite limited rest time and opportunity to coach them in between plays. I needed to become better organized and more direct with my instructions. By taking a bit more time at the start of scrimmage periods to identify players positions it reduced the confusion and helped us to get closer to our expectations of practice execution. A football season is relatively short when comparing the number of games to other sports and football practices outnumber games at a ratio of about 5:1. Every practice is an opportunity for coaches to make adjustments and make informed decisions on changes to help improve the team. Throughout the season we evaluate players performances, and our coaching performances formally and informally to help us maximize the opportunities to improve the team during the season. Team morale can fluctuate with wins and losses but a stable relationship

7 between the coaches and players can guarantee a rewarding season that helps everyone grow personally and closer together.

8 STANDARDS DOMAIN & STANDARDS Domain 5 Teaching and Communication RELATION TO PRACTICE ARTIFACTS & EXHIBITS Standard 24: Teach and incorporate mental skills to enhance performance and reduce sport anxiety. Utilize sound mental skills to build athlete self-confidence. Demonstrate appropriate use of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards to enhance motivation and learning Domain 8 - Evaluation This benchmark is important because it implies that self-confidence is a major determining factor in athletes performance. Through consistent practice competition and preparing everyday for game situations players become more confident in those game situations and decrease the frequency of self doubt. A team of intrinsically motivated individuals will be better because they understand their responsibility to them and their teammates. Extrinsic motivation is used to help mold other players towards responsibility to their team that may not be naturally present - Directed attention to athletes repetitions in a positive manor to help build their enjoyment for football - Anecdotal reference to attempts at motivating individuals successfully, and unsuccessfully Standard 40: Utilize an objective and effective process for evaluation of self and staff Conduct periodic self-reflections on coaching effectiveness This benchmark can be expanded to describe the rule that as a coach or player you are either getting better or getting worse. I must reflect on my coaching decisions on a daily basis to determine if I am continuing to make informed decisions to help my players - Formal and informal reflections in meetings with coaches and casually to examine how to be more effective with drills, and points of emphasis - Players (Students) evaluations of me Use formal written evaluations to assist in selecting and retaining program personnel Seek feedback from experienced coaches to evaluate practice sessions, discuss observations, and implement needed change at regular intervals This benchmark for me is specific to players as personnel because I have yet to be placed in a position to mage organizational decisions Having experienced professionals around to help improve my skills has been and will continue to be vital in my development. At every stop I have made I have learned from coaches and impacted decisions they have made as well so that we can combine our experience to make the best decisions. - Experience as a player manager in Germany - Written evaluations on my position group used to make decisions on future personnel needs - Informal and formal deliberations on adjustments need to help redirect the team in the right direction - Reorganization of practice to account for personnel issues and improved execution

9 References Kenow, L., Williams, J.M. (1999). Coach-Athlete Compatibility and Athlete s Perception of Coaching Behaviors. Journal of Sport Behavior, 22(2). Pelletier, L.G., Fortier, M.S., Vallerand, R.J., Tuson, K.M. (1995). Toward a New Measure of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, and Amotivation in Sports: The Sport Motivation Scale (SMS). Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 17. Robertson, S., Hubball, H. (2005) Coach-to-Coach Mentoring: Raising the Bar. Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, 18(5). Vonmeter, Kerby. (2004). Coaching Adolescents. Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, 17(6).