This idea of coaching athletes who are so to speak, at the top of their
respective sports really got me thinking. The talent and ability that some high-level athletes possess
may often go above and beyond what a coach can actually 'teach' as such - so
how does the coach's role change?
I read a review of this idea by James Marshall in his "Secrets of success with
high-level athletes" article. Marshall gathered his
thoughts from several presentations at a North American Society for the
Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) conference and also
references some great articles. Marshall suggests successful coaching of
high-level athletes involves a more supportive and cooperative approach. These
athletes need to have a larger part in the goal setting and structure of their
training, as opposed to the do-as-I-say approach with beginners.
Similar to the strategies used for skill development throughout
the cognitive, association and autonomous stages of learning, Marshall likens
these to the Hersey-Blanchard
Situational Leadership Theory on adaptive management styles
used in business. The theory suggests that based on a combination of competency
and willingness
of people, the leader (or coach in our case) would be required to do one of the
following:
Directing: Appropriate for people who have limited
skills and need to be told specifically what to do.
Constant feedback is required to allow such people to gauge their
progress.
Coaching: Needed when a person has certain skills, is
keen to train and can progress on certain tasks without supervision. Once they
have reached a certain level, they need new challenges.
Support: For people who have some idea of what they
want to do but may need help with the process. They are not as competent as
they may think just yet, so they will need guidance.
Delegation: is for people who have reached a level of
competence in their skills and have a clear idea of what they want to achieve.
They want to retain contact for occasional feedback, but see themselves as
partners rather than subordinates.
Situational leadership allows for the development
of individuals along a path from high dependence, through interdependence to
independence. The model is task-specific and therefore
high-level athletes may still require direction/coaching for instance
when teaching new tactics or formations. While these players maybe be beyond
competent in skill, they may not have experienced particular tasks/methods
which a new coach may bring.
The ability of a coach to adapt their
coaching role to athletes is increasingly important in team sports where
individuals within the team will have different levels of competency across
various tasks and therefore require differing levels of coach
involvement.
Marshall leaves us with four recommendations for
coaches:
1. Plan the entire
competition cycle, including individual training sessions
2. Communicate the plan
clearly and regularly, and listen to what players have to say
3. Involve the players.
High-level athletes require more involvement in their own development than beginners
and should be allowed time for self-regulated practice. Experienced players,
such as the team captain, may be involved in team selection issues
4. Adapt to the
realities of the sporting situation. If things work well, do more of them, but
if something isn't working, change it. Having a plan does not preclude the need
for flexibility, and injuries, funding problems and venue changes, as well
as the highs and lows of sport performance, all call for an adaptable, flexible
approach.
That's all from me for this post, make sure you have a read of the
articles I linked to and I encourage you to share your thoughts.
