During Drills, Step Outside and Observe
April 23, 2010 by jameslucas.
By James P Frey
Too often at practice, a coach falls into a trap of actively participating in drills and scrimmages. When you are coaching a team, whatever the sport is, there is often an almost uncontrollable urge to step onto the playing field or court and actively participate in the drills and scrimmages. As a former player, the coach wants to demonstrate his or her skills or perhaps show the “young guns” just how to play the game properly. This can be fun and entertaining once in awhile and the players will get a kick out of seeing their coach in action. In terms of being able to assess the success of the drill or evaluate how the players are executing their offensive and defensive strategies, being in the middle of the action may prevent you, the coach, from observing the players. Engaging in the drill or scrimmage makes you focus on what you should be doing, and you are probably trying to concentrate on your own execution, not that of your players. You are in the middle of the action, and it’s almost impossible to play and watch everyone on the team simultaneously.
The purpose of running the drill or scrimmage is to allow the players to experience and learn. This work is to prepare them for competition. It is also a method for you to coach. By being outside the scrimmage, you can observe the entire team. You can watch for the critical movements or player positioning. You can really focus in and concentrate on observing what is happening, instead of worrying about how you look on the court. Observing, allows you to hone in on one specific player or step back to watch the entire team move as a unit. You can walk around the field or court and get several different perspectives of what the team is doing. A secondary benefit, especially for those of us that are “youthfully challenged”, is that getting out of bed the next morning is so much easier!
If you are short handed and need someone to fill in, then have an assistant coach or a parent participate. Try not to be the one that fills in. Your job is preparing the players to execute to the best of their abilities, and observing how they play helps you accomplish that.
Jim has been actively coaching youth sports, both boys and girls, for over 15 years. He has coached baseball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball. His current passion is volleyball. He coaches a middle school team as well as a club team. Jim has a wonderful wife, Debbie, and four teenage children.
Article Source: James P. Frey
During Drills, Step Outside and Observe
