The Coaching “How”

Gary Kirsten Cricket

GKC recently hosted another CoachEd Workshop in Cape Town in August 2018. In this productive workshop coaches got the opportunity to upskill themselves in theory and practical sessions which facilitated growth and learning for each coach. It was during a specialist session with performance psychologist Tom Dawson Squibb that coaches were exposed to the “how of coaching”. For all the attendees, this set the course for coaches to reflect on their own coaching philosophy and styles as it pertains to not only what information they share with their players but more importantly the best authentic method of how they facilitate learning and growth.

In a previous article, we discussed “starting from where the players is” Tom not only eluded to this as being vital in the coaching process but expanded as to why this is the case, ”For players to grow they need to be at their learning edge, the key element is to stretch and challenge players in the correct way and to do this one needs to understand the players’ framework. ”It is through the correct approach in the questioning process that one can ascertain the players current understanding and their unique situation to “tailor-make” the learning process. When co-facilitated correctly the power in this intervention can be deep and affect real change.

During this session coaches were asked some simple yet difficult questions which pertains to our development as coaches.

  • What do my player(s) need to know?
  • What do my player(s) need me to know?
  • What do I need to know about my player(s)?

In the different aspects of the game, I encourage coaches to ask these questions of themselves for the various levels that they are coaching at. Take coaching short leg catching for example, what is important for the player to know and do you know the key coaching points and drills to coach this position effectively given the players context.

Upon introspection from the coaches, they all concluded the workshop with many answers but also many questions and isn’t this what Coach Education is all about.

For more information on GKC Coach Ed see www.garykirsten.com/coacheducation