More Than a Game

I have to admit I was at a loss as to what to blog about this week. However, after reading Shannon's blog about her sons game I thought about my job coaching. Oftentimes when I tell people that I am a coach they only think I attend practice and that's it. However, I do a lot more than that and at times I really don't know how I handle all of it. Wearing so many hats of marketing, alumni relations, fundraising, and sometimes psychologist. After our first scrimmage this weekend and the first practices of the year I have really taken to heart the art of teaching. Yes, it is an art. We have had many discussion with our cohort of best practices and what a great teacher is. Teaching is a hard profession where each child potentially has a different style of learning and different process of comprehension. We have tried different way to engage and teach our athletes. For example before teaching them a new play we will bring them to a white board and show them the play. Then we will have a team demonstrate the play. Then we will break down the play in sections and have the players go thru the play a few times. We have also added do the play with no defense and having each player run the play from every position. In addition to this we video tape scrimmages to have the players watch themselves and see how they can improve and things that they have done correctly. There is also the technique of having the players draw the play out for themselves, but we will also provide them with plays drawn out from the coaches. Or there are times when we do peer teaching and have players find a teammate and take turns explaining the plays. Yes we also do pop quizzes to where we will have a player selected to explain the play in front of the team. Now after all that you would think the player would never forget the play, but many a times you see lapses. This can be frustrating at times, but you also have to take in all the other factors that come into play. The game itself requires you to make instant decisions and adjustments based on defense and what your teammates are doing, etc.

I felt for a couple of my players who are extremely hard workers but when tested or put into play they freeze or forget the play. This comes with the knowledge that I know that they do know the plays. It is interesting to note that these players also try very hard in their academics and when it comes to the test they have the same type of test anxiety. All these factors make me think about teachers and how they are being tested and how kids are being tested. These tests are supposed to to determine how smart these children are and how good these teachers are. I wonder if there ever will be an assessment test that can accurately do this. All of this just keeps me motivated to understand each of the players I deal with and their learning styles. It takes a lot of work and a lot of creativity. Which we were also talking about with the class and how creativity has been lost in the classroom. Our coaching staff is always thinking of new ways to teach and we are constantly evolving in how we teach the game of basketball. Now it does still bring a smile to my face and reaffirms what I am doing when a player tells me that a correction I told them makes sense and they get a steal and it clicks for them. Seeing the light bulb go off that they learned something is amazing. However, being able to work with the same kids for 4 years you are bound to see growth. I wonder how this would do in k-12 world. What if teachers had a group of kids for a lengthy amount of time how would that change the learning process and teaching process.

I really enjoy teaching and realize I have to be aware of how my students learn and change with them and for them. For this team to be successful all of us have to be on the same page and understand the material presented. They also have to learn and comprehend so that they can make adjustment on their own and go beyond the lesson. This is all necessary for them to be champions on and off the court.

Here is a little look into coaching;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JytwuqS-05E&feature=related

and here is our family

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDyhiUvfsGU&feature=related