This interview is a great model for the Student Interview assignment. It was introduced as part of the 1st week of winter tryouts during 2018-2019 school year.
One of the benefits of teaching is that you are able to work with amazing students! Very often when a student leaves your classroom, that is the end. However in some cases, you are able to interact later in life.
When the Sports in Society class was created several years ago it was a semester senior elective course. in 2015 – 2016, the class became a full year course. So far it has been great. For the remainder of the school year, we will be publishing student experiences, interviewing alumni and others, and creating “This Day in Boston Sports” list.
It was exciting for me to receive an email from a former student for class he is taking on teaching. He was required to interview a teacher or coach for a course on education. His interview will serve as a model for future interviews by the current high school students.
Below is the email.
“The goal of the assignment is for me to become aware of other professions that work with children. (coach) and how they work with them. Do your best to answer my questions ASAP, since I need to finish it up tonight, As it is extremely late notice, dont worry if your unable to.. thanks again – tyler”
He shared the questions in a google doc (that our students frequently use) and here is the final product. Like any good teacher, I have included some typos to make sure the students (and you) are working in proofreading skill.s
1. What do you do in order to understand how an athlete learns, and then use what you have learned to optimize his potential?
First you use your playing experience. You think about your coaches and teammates. You figure out what worked for you as a player. You also use other experiences working with children. As a high school student I worked for the Quincy Recreation department. I learned a lot dealing with children that I still use today in my coaching and teaching.
2. Coaching is teaching and the best coaches are professional teachers. Many top colleges require their coaches to have teaching degrees, even a Master’s degree.
A classroom has students of different learning abilities. It’s the same with a team of athletes. A good coach must communicate and teach his philosophy to his team as a teacher would with his classroom.
How do you go about teaching a group as a whole, keeping in mind the differences each individual athlete brings to the table?
Tremendous question! You should get bonus points! First you need to understand the level, is it recreation, travel, AAU, freshman, JV, varsity or college. As a youth coach, I have coached from grades 1 – 4. Right now I am coaching 4th recreation and travel basketball. This year there are 11 players on an A team. 12 players tried out in the entire town. (#12 is a story for another day). Of the 11 kids, 4 are A caliber, 2-3 are C level, and the rest are in between. So I am losing some sleep over this question.
Fundamentals first! This applies at all levels. It is like steps in a staircase. I do not think the 4th graders are capable of many skills. So we are starting with the skills each player can execute. Players can get in a defensive stance, players dribble the ball with the strong hand and can make a lay-up fairly consistently. Shooting is hard. The players are young and developing. Of the 11, 9 cannot shoot with correct form, so when we work on shooting, the better kids are at one basket, while the “developing” players work at another basket. The coaches will work with the ones who need the most help AND are willing to listen. Players at all levels have different levels of coachability. (On a scale of 1 – 10, how coachable are you>? Give 1 sentence) Coaches work with all players, but players who tune out will receive less attention, less playing time, and ultimately less development.
There are roles within team. For example I believe I have a few students who are “Hype Men” on the football team. This involves acknowledging and accepting the fact they are not every down players. They saw a role and filled it. This is great in this day in age that high school athletes embrace a role. It shows signs of maturity and self-awareness.
There also are players who are in a category by themselves. Speaking with them individually about how they can elevate the game to the next level – sharing a leadership book, talking about leadership skills, encouraging them to work with their teammates. Each team is different and each player is different. The challenge is trying to get the team and individual to come as close as possible to achieving their potential.
You want everyone “at the table.” Define a role for each player and help that player fill it to the best of his / her ability.
3. What are some tell tale signs when it comes time to intervene on something a player does? Is there any point when it’s ok to not coach them up? If so, at which point do you find it ok to not coach them up and let it roll.
I touched on this earlier. The goals of the team are discussed from day #1. If a player is not working toward the goal, it is important to address this. At the youth level a coach should always try to reach a player and teach him the importance of being part of a team. At higher levels there are off-season meetings to discuss a player’s role and the expectations of that role. Not sure about when to “let it roll.”
4. How do you and all of the other coaches on a staff work in order to optimize a team’s potential? How does it differ as the season goes on?
It is important to have clear goals as a coaching staff. Is the goal to win at all costs, to develop all players, or somewhere in between. A staff needs to pool their knowledge and experience and organize these resources in the most effective way to help the players and team progress. Breaking the players into smaller groups to focus on skills is one way, for example in basketball guards and forwards. Not all players respond to the same coaching style so having different coaching styles may help bring out the best in each player. Coaching always requires reflection and adjustments (Patriots’ injuries). So as the season goes on the focus of practices and games will change.
5. Does a player’s background go into how they are coached compared to someone with a different background? (Students answer)
It is important to understand the whole athlete. A coach may work with a player 2 hours a week at the youth level or 12 – 20 hours a week at a high school level. Knowing as much information as possible helps so much. For example in 8-year baseball league there was a player who was one of the best in the league. He was always checking to see his divorced father was there. Whenever the father left in the middle of the game, the player had a different attitude and focus. There is not much a youth coach can do in the situation other than be aware of the circumstance and adjust the coaching accordingly. If the player whose father left commits a mental or physical mistake, a coach may let it roll.
At the high school level the same is true. I many cases where family background had a huge impact on player performance. This situations are covered in coaching classes or clinics. Examples are:
Senior crying in the locker room during practice because his father is not spending Christmas with them because of a divorce. He is crying because it it breaking his middle school brother’s heart. It obviously has a big impact on this player too.
A very talented player turns the ball over in the last seconds of a close game. The play\ was called for him and would be called for him in the future. A young coach consoles the player saying “it will be better next time. Don’t worry we have faith in you.” The player, with tears in his eyes responds “My Dad has Alzheimer’s!” Wow. This certainly changes the thinking moving forward.
Since I am in my 1st season coaching 4th grade travel basketball, I found the questions awesome. It required me to think about my evolving coaching philosophy. For the students, I think Tyler’s questions show a great deal of thought.
For the current students, I think the format is one I would like to see in future interviews.
1. A statement of information followed by an open-ended question.
2. Coaching is teaching and the best coaches are professional teachers. Many top colleges require their coaches to have teaching degrees, even a Master’s degree.
A classroom has students of different learning abilities. It’s the same with a team of athletes. A good coach must communicate and teach his philosophy to his team as a teacher would with his classroom.
How do you go about teaching a group as a whole, keeping in mind the differences each individual athlete brings to the table?
Class assignment:
1. List 3 – 5 people who you could interview about sports. Think of individuals with careers in sports or have a passion for sports.
2. Comment on the questions and responses. Explain the ideas that are consistent with your thoughts on sports. Are there any ideas you disagree with? Comment.
3. How can interviews with people in sports benefit this class.
Answer in aspen / google drive.
