Ever came across “positive” coaches who praise athletes for almost anything they do? I vividly remembered a rollerblading coach who was constantly praising kids even when they performed the drills incorrectly. There was this one kid who told her that he needed to leave early and her reply was “Good Job! Go ahead”.
How is leaving early deserving of praise I wondered…
“Why Good Job is not Good enough…”
Decided to write this post to share how I would help a player develop a pre-shot routine, as I was reflecting on the time spent over the past couple of weeks reviewing the pre-throw routines of my Goalball players, and helping the boys at Raffles Rugby with their pre-kick and throw routines.
“A pre-routine should be customized to suit the athlete’s sport, personal preference and dominant learning style.”
Most coaches recognize the importance of pre-shot routines (especially for self-paced sports), but not many know how best to help their athletes develop one, especially one that integrates mental strategies. Before we go into the step-by steps, do follow this link to learn about what pre-shot routines are, and why they are important…
I make use of a somewhat contrived sounding acronym – PRE-FA (Prepare -> Rehearse -> Focus -> Allow) to facilitate the teaching of pre-shot routine.
Continue reading ““Just take the shot!” Sounds simple, except when it isn’t.”
My colleague at CoachSG was asking me for movie recommendations that will inspire sport coaches and Moneyball by Michael Lewis came to mind. The movie is based on a real story and stars Brad Pitt as Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane (follow this link for a quick summary of the movie).
Well, the movie did not exactly inspire. Instead, it provoked me into reflecting on how I may have unknowingly limited the potential of the students and athletes that I’ve worked with, especially during my early years as a PE teacher/coach.
Coach Hansen 