When coaching a technique to players – regardless of which skill it is, or the level that you are coaching at, there are 4 essential steps.
- Introduce the skill
- Demonstrate and explain the skill
- Practice the skill
- Provide feedback/correct errors
Introduce the Skill
When introducing a skill to a player or group of players, it is important that you explain the importance of the skill, its uses during the game and how the skill relates to other skills that are used in the game, in words that the players can understand – the younger the player, the simpler the language used. If you are coaching a group of players it is crucial that you have their full attention and that they can all see and hear you - gaining control of the group is very important. This can be done by cutting down distractions (sliotars or footballs for example), facing the players away from the sun, arrange in a semi-circle, separate disruptive players etc.
Demonstrate and explain the skill
A good demonstration and clear explanation of how to perform a skill is central to the ability of a player to learn a technique. To be a successful coach it is not always necessary that you be able to demonstrate all the skills that you teach. You can have another person, or a player who is proficient at the skill perform the technique. Prior to the demonstration, the coach should point out key coaching points that players should look out for to help them perform the technique. The demonstration should be performed a number of times - it might be also necessary to demonstrate the technique for players who are left sided or who are left footed. Before letting players practice the skill, it is important that you check that they understand what they are being asked to do by inviting or asking questions.
Practice the Skill
Players should begin to practice the skill, using a basic drill, as soon as possible after the demonstration. For some more complex skills, or if players are having difficulty performing a skill, it may be beneficial for you to break the skill down into a number of different parts and having the players practice each part in turn before they attempt to practice the whole skill again.
Once players have mastered a skill using a basic drill, the skill can be progressed into more game like situations using intermediate and advanced drills, as well as conditioned games.
Provide feedback/Correct Errors
Practice alone will not lead to players learning the correct techniques. For practice to be productive, players require feedback about how their performance compares with the desired performance and information on how to correct the errors that they make.
To achieve this, the coach must be able to observe and evaluate the performance to determine the cause of their errors. This is perhaps the biggest challenge in coaching – identifying the cause of poor performance. It is important that you do not rush into providing feedback – if you are uncertain about either the cause of the problem or how to correct it, continue to observe or ask another coach for their feedback. Any player can perform a technique incorrectly when they know that they are being watched by the coach; instead wait until you have observed the error a number of times before trying to correct it.
When providing feedback it is key to use a positive approach, especially when dealing with younger players. If one player is having difficulty with a skill, you can provide correction on a one-to-one basis as the player will be more receptive if they are not being corrected in front of a crowd. If you notice the same error in a number of players, it may be wise to re-demonstrate the skill, as they may not have picked up on the key points that you outlined.
Learning new skills
There are three phases to learning a new skill and these are:
- Cognitive phase – Breaking the skill into its component parts and developing each part
- Associative phase – Combining each of the component parts into a smooth action
- Autonomous phase - Developing the learned skill so that it becomes automatic
The Cognitive Phase is vital to the development of good technique. The task for the player is to understand what is required to perform the technique. The player can accomplish this by watching the technique being demonstrated, and having a number of attempts at performing the skill. It is vital that the learner pays attention to each part of the skill. The rate of development during this phase is directly related to the quality with which the skill is taught. The coach can use as many methods of teaching the skill as necessary (Verbal, Demonstration, Video, Diagrams etc), ensuring that the visual demonstration is of a very high standard is of utmost importance. Once the component parts of the skill have been clearly identified further practice helps assemble them, bit by bit, into the overall skill.
Players in the Associative Phase of skill acquisition use feedback, from themselves (i.e. how the skill feels and if the outcome is successful) and from the coach (identifying where the player is making an error and providing positive corrective feedback) to shape and polish them into a smooth action. Rehearsal of the skill must be done regularly and correctly (Practice makes permanent, perfect practice makes perfect!).
With further practice the skill may become automatic, i.e. the player can perform the skill without consciously focusing on the whole skill or how it is made up of its component parts. This is the Autonomous Phase and is identified by automatic and consistently correct performance of the skill.
