![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nickhillcoaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/1-Start-with-WHY.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A key starting point I think is to make coaches more aware as to WHY they should use a Player-centred Coaching approach rather than a Coach-centred one\u2026<\/p>\n
If coaches understand the WHY then they will be more informed and more inclined to make a Paradigm Shift in their coaching approach if they are Coach-centred\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cAs coaches learn, they tend to change their attitudes and values in accordance with athletes\u2019 needs. Because these changes will affect a coaching philosophy, reviewing the philosophy regularly and altering it to fit with each coach\u2019s experience are important features of the process of developing a philosophy\u201d p.30 Athlete-centred Coaching: Developing Decision Makers, Lynn Kidman, 2nd edition, 2010<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cA philosophy is based on ideas formed from experiences. These experiences stem from influential teachers, coaches or mentors who have had a positive or negative effect on aspects of your life.\u201d p.31 Athlete-centred Coaching: Developing Decision Makers, Lynn Kidman, 2nd edition, 2010<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If coaches can see the positive outcomes of using a Player-centred approach and the negative outcomes of using a Coach-centred approach, these observations\/findings will help to empower them to make their own decisions as to what type of coach they would like to be to provide the best possible culture and environment for the players they coach.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026most participants come to the sport of their own choosing\u2026generally they want to be there. By the same token, participants usually leave an experience of their own free will\u2026if the experience is not to their satisfaction, athletes will leave and find something else that is\u2026athletes are leaving sport experiences in masses because of their unpleasant experiences, or an experience that does not meet their needs (Roberts and Treasure, 1995).\u201d p.11 Athlete-centred Coaching: Developing Decision Makers, Lynn Kidman, 2nd edition, 2010<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here is what some of the research says with regards to a Player-centred approach\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
- Develops positive personal and social development;<\/li>\n
- Less experienced\/skilled players can make very valuable contributions;<\/li>\n
- Players take more responsibility for their learning;<\/li>\n
- The environment is more engaging;<\/li>\n
- It promotes creativity, provides problem solving, and challenges players;<\/li>\n
- Encourages a holistic approach;<\/li>\n
- Develops critical thinking;<\/li>\n
- Promotes high levels of participation and enjoyment for participation;<\/li>\n
- Caters for varying abilities;<\/li>\n
- Increases motivation and enjoyment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here is what some of the key books say\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
- You need to provide child players with a positive sporting experience so that they continue to participate in sport;<\/li>\n
- The secret of their success is in the ability to pull a group of individuals together to create an environment where athletes share in the direction and responsibility of the team;<\/li>\n
- \u2026athletes take ownership of their learning, thus increasing their opportunities and strengthening their abilities to retain important skills and ideas;<\/li>\n
- Children have become so accustomed to being directed, supervised and told how, where and what to play that player decision making in sport has disappeared from the landscape;<\/li>\n
- \u2026athletes gain and take ownership of knowledge, development and decision making that will help them to maximise their performance and their enjoyment;<\/li>\n
- \u2026athletes develop understanding and learn more effectively when they are involved in solving problems and have ownership and responsibility for their learning;<\/li>\n
- \u2026practice can be made more meaningful, purposeful, just and enjoyable\u2026;<\/li>\n
- \u2026creates conditions for implicit learning and, in doing so, generates deeper learning and more transportable learning outcomes (Brooker and About 2001; Hadfield 2005; Light et al. 2014c);<\/li>\n
- \u2026the coach steps off centre stage as the distributor of knowledge to become a facilitator of learning\u2026;<\/li>\n
- \u2026provides positive learning experiences that foster a love of learning, imagination and problem-solving skills, and that develop active, inquisitive learners instead of passive receivers of knowledge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cIf leaders merely present knowledge (sometimes quite forcefully) to those who are \u2018non-expert\u2019 and make decisions for them, the athletes become disempowered. In other words, if athletes\u2019 needs do not influence their learning experiences, learning is minimal. The knowledge, understanding, skill and decision-making ability that athletes learn and apply can make the difference between performance success and failure as well as developing a long-term or lifelong attachment to movement.\u201d p.12 Athlete-centred Coaching: Developing Decision Makers, Lynn Kidman, 2nd edition, 2010<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here are some of my observations of the two different approaches\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n
Through the numerous cultures and environments around the world that I have been fortunate to work in\u2026 coach in\u2026 observe in\u2026 and play in\u2026 I\u2019ll share with you some of the numerous and varied observations that I have seen and felt with regards to each approach over the years\u2026<\/p>\n