Ivan Pavlov and Frederic Skinner are the leading forefathers to classical and operant conditioning respectively. Although both classical and operant conditioning result in learning, the processes are quite different.
So, in what ways do these theories related to conditioning help us to coach better?
Continue reading “What these two men can teach us about Coaching”Imagine that you are trying to complete an assignment, learn a skill or to achieve a certain milestone.
The undertaking seems more difficult and requires more effort than you initially assumed.
As a result, you are somewhat frustrated and might be asking yourself one of these questions…
| A | B |
| “Why can’t I get this right?” “Why do I have to do this?” “What have I done wrong?” | “What can I do differently?” “How can I break this down into simpler steps?” “What can I learn from this?” |
What’s the difference between these two groups of questions?
Would you feel and respond differently to questions from group A compared to group B?
What if you are a coach, what sort of questions would you ask your athlete?
Will they resemble questions from Group A – “Why can’t you get this right?” or Group B – “What can you do differently?”
Like most people, you would likely be more cognitive and solution-focused when you ask yourself questions from Group B.
Meanwhile, questions from Group A are likely to compound your frustration. You may even respond defensively when these questions are directed at you.
So what’s responsible for this difference in the way we feel and respond to these questions?
An understanding about how different regions of our brains respond to these questions will give us a better idea!
It was probably in 2012 or 13, and it was the finals of a ‘B’ Division game between two of the best schools in Singapore. The stands were filled up with students, old boys and parents from both sides. While the behaviour of the students was exemplary throughout the game, the same could not be said for the adults.
Yup! Am talking about badly behaved sport parents and adults. This was one of the worse incidents that I have come across. I could hear adults shouting and yelling all sorts of instructions and expletives from the stands, jumping up to express their frustration and shouting to contest the referee’s decisions.
One parent absolutely took the cake! He actually tried to get closer to the field of play by pretending to be a photographer and started yelling at the player from the opposing team.
Why so much drama???? It’s literally only a game played by younglings!
While the last post’s discussion centred on adopting more of an autonomy-supportive style of coaching rather than a controlling one, this post’s focuses on the behaviour of parents and coaches. Here are some pointers to consider:
Continue reading “Sport Parenting Tips from a Non-Parent (3 of 3)”
Coach Hansen 