So I have already shared my thoughts about how coaches can best use their pregame speeches to prepare a team as well as sideline coaching during games and some suggestions to keep in mind. You can review these two prior posts via these links
power-of-the-pre-game-speech.html body-language-and-sideline-coaching.html So today, I thought I would tackle the issue of how a coach can use half time to get the required message across to his or her team. While some coaches downplay the importance of a halftime speech, many others feel that it is a crucial component of managing a team during games. I've always thought the pregame talk kind of builds up through the week,. Before the game starts, you can focus on your strategy and plans and address while focusing on what message you want to get through to the athletes. However, in many cases, the halftime speech in many instances is maybe a little bit more important, just because you don't know what's going to happen in the first half. You've got to be adjusting on the fly. Maybe it went really well or maybe it didn't go as planned and as a coach, you've got to be able to adjust the message all while being under a time constraint. The key to a halftime talk is reading the room and understanding exactly what the team needs in that moment. Talk to enough coaches you might now and you will get a varying degree of opinions both about the importance of a half time talk and the methodology of how to deliver one. I have coaching friends and peers who consider that anything you say at halftime when the athletes are focused on doing better in the second half, dealing with how poorly they performed in the fist half or stressing about the scoreline will have little or not impact. Many coaches will tell you that a half time talk is overrated, and that game day speeches whether at half time or pregame are stuff that only really work in Hollywood films ( I wrote a little something similar yesterday in relation to pregame speeches. Truth be told, I do believe that rarely does any speech given by a coach before or during a game singularly affects the outcome of a game. The speech should be about bringing together all the things that have been talked about in the preparation and practices leading up to game day. However, all that being said, half time speeches can influence how your team steps onto the field for the second half. How a coach communicates with the team who has just gone through the first part of a game and dealt with the emotional and physical toll of the game can affect the mindset of the team and how they will approach the next part of the game. You can't control how the athletes perform once they are on the field but you can perhaps give them the tools to be ready. As with pregame speeches, the choice of words and the tone of the message a coach shares with the team are crucial, probably even more so because the players have an idea of how the game is going and what they need to do in order to achieve a desired result, play from behind, hold a lead, extend a tie game looking for the winner etc. I think the most important thing at half-time is that when you stand up you inspire the people by being in charge, by knowing what you’re talking about. Whether the players are feeling stressed, overwhelmed or over-matched or holding a lead and feeling a little overconfident and the can accurately identify where things stand and shows that he or she has a clear plan how to deal with it, that can give a sense of confidence to the team as they head out for the second half and in some cases can really turn a game around. So however you choose to give your half time talks, if I may pull from my experiences both the good and the bad, I would say that there are a few things you must keep in mind when getting ready to address the team. During a halftime speech, a coach may address strategy changes to ensure a different, improved outcome in the second half while finding a way to emotionally charge their team. Keep in mind, just like with pregame speeches, it is important to remember that every player responds differently to different forms of encouragement and feedback. Furthermore, some coaches are better at delivering certain types of encouragement so it is important that coaches remain within their personalities and perhaps solicit assistant coaches as needed to convey certain messages. Halftime is a pivotal moment for players to rest physically, so make sure they do so. Get the players out of the heat ( or cold ) and into air conditioning ( or a warmer area) with plentiful fluids and comfortable seating. Instead, have the players rehydrate and allow them to recover physically and mentally. Truth is that at most youth levels, half time might take place on the side of the field so as a coach, be ready to adapt, seek out shade or shelter as much as possible. If players begin to focus on the negative, do not allow them to suffer any mental lapse. This will destroy momentum and cause any mistakes to balloon in the second half. Deliver a speech that allows players to re-focus on the task at hand and remain positive. When giving the speech, read the room to ensure the players understand what the goal is. While it can be tempting to use the score as a jumping off point, this simply isn’t necessary. If there’s one thing everyone in the room knows, it’s the score. If the team is winning, mentioning the score creates false security and can cause them to put forth less effort and risk losing the game. If the team is losing, it only reinforces defeat. Focus on gameplay, strategy, and emotional uplift instead of on the actual score. If the proper emotions and strategy are encouraged, the score will take care of itself. While the score shouldn’t be discussed, the first half performance should be. Talk to the players about any weaknesses or changes that need to be addressed from the first half. Without singling out certain players, point out key moments in the game that could have been handled better. Remind players that these moments will come up in the second half and a great team does not make the same mistakes twice. On the other hand, something in the first half went right. Even in lopsided defeats, find something positive the team can take away from the first half. This will help the players to build off of positive moments. If there are specific efforts that can be praised, do so. This will encourage other players to follow that example. Use the positive moments as momentum for discussing how the second half should play out. That being said, avoid the use of cliché statements with little or no concrete application, things like " keep up the same level of effort", " play the second half just like the first " etc. In order to be most effective, think that often less is better than more as long as the less is factual and tangible. Some feedback might be general but it can also be position specific or individual. Often times, I tried to be the one giving the general feedback while my assistants might give individual feedback. If you choose this route, it is important that 1. your assistants are not talking to the players at the same time you are addressing the group and 2) their message fits in within the overall feedback. It is your job to remain calm enough to focus on strategy even in the most emotional of situations. The players will take the lead of their coach and remain focused as well. This is important because it is impossible for anyone to think straight if they are completely consumed by emotion. Do not let any of the frustration show. Instead, explain the changes that must occur in a straightforward and positive manner that the players can understand. Rosters turn over from year to year. They may even change from game to game. Remember that every player will respond differently to different speeches. For example, some players get embarrassed whether they are called out for positive or negative reasons. At the same time, some players like to discuss the intricacies of strategy. Looking at the team as a whole, some respond well to calm speeches while others require more passion and vivacity. Others like a coach that encourages positive behavior. Coaches need to know their players in order to tailor the speech appropriately. Make sure to take note of what works and what doesn’t during practices. This will help you figure out how much emotion is appropriate. At the end of the speech, focus on a handful of key points that the athletes should take with them. Perhaps effort on rebounds has been an issue. Maybe the referees have been calling the game a little tighter. Maybe the players need to wrap up more on tackles or the batters might be swinging at too many breaking balls in the dirt. End the speech focusing on key points. Win or lose, those changes should be what every player walks out of the halftime locker focusing on in order to have an effective transition to the next game. Athletes enjoy a certain level of consistency, while the message and even sometimes the manner in which it is delivered my slightly differ from game to game, the overall structure in which you deliver half time speeches should not. If you always start with pointing out tactical changes, followed by some motivational words of encouragement, do so each time. If your half time speeches ( all speeches in fact( seem improvised and made up in the moment, you will lose credibility with the team. Just before walking back out on the field, find a "hook" to end the half time talk, something the players can focus on and use as a switch to get activated to heading back out for the game. For example, letting the team captains lead a cheer may encourage teamwork and get the players warmed back up to return to play. This helps to remind the team that the ultimate result is in their hands. Whether you believe in the power of the half time speech or not, like many aspects in coaching, it isn't about you but rather about the athletes. If they need it, think they need it or believe that it makes them better prepared to deal with the game, then you as coach need to find a way to deliver a message that will assist them.
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Si tu as déjà regardé divers films sur le sport tôt ou tard, vous rencontrerez une scène avec un discours d'avant-match puissant qui a tout le monde (y compris nous en spectateur) prêt à sauter la surface de jeu et tout faire pour gagner. Que votre scène préférée soit « Win one for the Gipper » de Knute Rockne ou Al Pacino dans « Any Given Sunday » (ou l'un des nombreux entre les deux, la vérité est que plus souvent que non, les discours d'avant-match ont rarement l'effet d'inspiration que ce genre de film rendent inoubliable n’arrive pas dans le jour le jour du sport.
Donc, pour vous, les entraîneurs qui pourraient être en train de me lire, je veux que vous pensiez à vos propres discours d'avant-match. Dans mon expérience, ils sont souvent répétitifs, les entraîneurs utilisant des propos clichés comme « nous devons faire ce que nous avons à faire », « tenir au plan », « traiter cela comme il est la vie ou la mort », etc. Il y a probablement une trentaine de phrases cliché standard que les entraîneurs utilisent souvent. Cependant, mon objectif seraient que vous pensiez à votre propre discours d'avant-match et comment vous pouvez le rendre plus efficace. Dans ma propre expérience, mes discours d'avant-match avait deux objectifs principaux, résumez points stratégiques importants et motiver / inspirer les athlètes à bien performer. Cependant, est-ce vraiment l'objectif? Non sérieusement, est-ce que c’est la raison pour laquelle vous donnez habituellement un discours? Savez-vous réellement pourquoi vous donner un discours d'avant-match? Certains entraîneurs le font simplement parce qu'ils sentent que c’est la chose à faire avant tout match. Imaginez la scène, il y a un tas de visages tous avec le regard fixé sur vous. Entraineurs et athlètes réunis sur un petit bout de gazon à côté du terrain, ou dans le vestiaire prêt à sauter sur le terrain, la glace, la cour ou quel que soit votre surface de jeu. Le match est sur le point de commencer et il est temps pour le discours d'avant-match. Que vous soyez entraîneur des jeunes au niveau récréatif ou même une équipe d'élite, le discours d'avant-match sont moyen très attendu pour essayer d’assurer que chaque match commence sur le bon pied. Le discours d'avant-match est votre dernière chance de rappeler aux athlètes des objectifs et les motivés pour donner leur meilleur lors du match. Faut savoir que beaucoup d'entraîneurs donnent un ces fameux discours de motivation d’avant match en grande partie parce qu’eux sont-même sont nerveux ou parce qu'ils sont fébriles avant le match et va devient façon de gérer leur stress. Cependant, certains de vos athlètes pourraient ne pas avoir besoin de se faire inspirer, motiver activer et préféreraient tout simplement se détendre ou passer du temps seul. En tant qu'entraîneur, une partie de votre responsabilité est de comprendre les besoins de vos athlètes. C’est primordiale d’essayer comprendre ce que leurs états physiques et mentaux d’avant match mais surtout leur besoins pour être prêts à compétitioner. Votre objectif devrait être de les aider à entrer sur le terrain dans en état idéale selon leur besoin et non le tien. Moi, personnellement, je ne me suis jamais considéré doué pour donner ce discours d'avant-match mémorable qu’on rêve toujours possible. J'ai toujours essayé simplement de me concentrer sur des points très spécifiques du plan match qui réunirait toute la préparation que nous aurions pu travailler en vue de le match devant nous et peut-être ajouter une petite histoire ou anecdote inspirante. Au cours de mes 27 ans comme entraineur, les discours ont beaucoup évolué et changé et une des choses les plus importantes que j'ai appris c’est que ce qui pourrait travailler avec un groupe, une saison, ne fonctionne pas toujours à nouveau l'année suivante, même si la majeure partie de l'équipe pourrait reste le même. L’important était toujours de trouver cette clé qui pourrait fonctionner avec ce groupe d’athlètes à ce moment précis ayant espoir que ça pourrait les aider être prêts à jouer et tout en comprenant qu'un discours d'avant-match de 10 minutes ne ferait pas que tout à coup les joueuses seraient beaucoup plus motivés ou mieux préparés à cause de quelques mots bien choisis. Ce travail-là ce fait lors des entrainements ou au moins le devrait être. Donc, quand vous pensez à votre prochain discours d'avant-match, que ce soit demain ou dans six mois, pensez à ce que vos athlètes ont réellement besoin d'entendre. Surtout, soyez bien conscient de jamais en partager plus d'informations de ce qu'ils peuvent en gérer à ce moment-là. Sachez ce que vous allez dire avant le jour du match. Si vous êtes un entraîneur bénévole pour l'équipe des jeunes de votre enfant, vous n’avez pas besoin de passer toute la semaine préparer le discours parfait, mais un peu de préparation peut en faire toute une différence. Passez un peu de temps après chaque pratique à écrire une ou deux choses sur lesquelles l'équipe peut se concentrer et résumez la liste avant le prochain match. Pour les entraîneurs dans le niveau élites ou genre universitaire, vous pouvez même aller aussi loin que d'avoir un adjoint vous donner du feedback avant de livrer le discours. Soyez toujours bref et simple. Si votre objectif est d'aider les athlètes a bien performer, donnez les quelques points à retenir et c'est tout. À ce moment-là, juste avant un match, beaucoup de vos athlètes veulent être faire leur propre chose et ne peut pas être même à votre écoute. Ne les enlevez pas ce temps si c’est quelque choses dont ils ont vraiment besoin. Également, il est très peu probable que vous allez être en mesure de motiver vos athlètes plus qu'ils ne le sont déjà. Ayez confiance que vos jours et semaines de pratique les ont préparés; ne pas essayer de le faire en 5 minutes avant le match. Donnez-leur une ou deux détails finales - information stratégique ou tactique. Donnez les un couple de points stratégiques qu'ils connaissent et sur lesquelles ils ont travaillé. Vous ne voulez pas les distraire avec des informations qui sont mieux intégrer lors des entrainements. Tous les rappels appartiennent au début du discours, un message émotionnel, et d'envisager l'enveloppant avec une routine unique à l'équipe pour marquer la fin du discours, comme une poignée de main de l'équipe. Donnez-leur une à deux pièces finales d'information - information stratégique, pédagogique. Donnez votre équipe un couple des points stratégiques qu'ils connaissent et ont travaillé. Vous ne voulez pas les distraire avec des informations qui doivent être enregistrées pour la pratique. Tous les rappels sur le plan de match au début du discours suivi d’un message motivationnelle, et envisager d'envelopper le tout dans une routine unique à l'équipe pour marquer la fin du discours, comme une poignée de main de l'équipe. Jamais mais jamais introduire de nouvelles directives ou plans. Ceci est un moment où vous voulez être en mesure de renforcer les messages antérieurs, ne pas introduire de nouvelles. Vous voulez que vos athlètes soient capables d’être concentrés sur ce qu'ils doivent faire et pouvoir le bien faire, de sorte que vous ne voulez pas ajouter plus d'informations à cela, ce qui pourrait causer une surcharge d'information ou qui sème le doute sur leur capacités ou niveau de préparation. Les athlètes devraient déjà être motivés dû au jours et semaines de pratiques et préparation. Le discours devrait être précisé avec objectif d'inspirer une concentration mentale positive. Laissez un peu de temps après votre discours. Certains joueurs ont besoin de se détendre et d'autres auront une routine plus énergique. Permettez à vos athlètes d’obtenir ce dont ils ont besoin avant les matchs. Cela permettra aux athlètes et toi-même d'entrer dans les matchs avec un bon état d'esprit. Vos athlètes pourraient utiliser ce temps pour écouter de la musique, se pomper, faire quelques étirements et de se déplacer ou de se reposer tranquillement et se détendre pour mieux se concentrer. Vous pouvez également utiliser ce temps pour te concentrer sur tes propres besoins, tes propres angoisses, et penser à la stratégie. Voici un moment où vous pouvez vous rassurer d’être mentalement prêt, en se concentrant sur tes besoins et ceux de vos entraîneurs adjoints. Vous vous concentrez sur ce que vous devez vous concentrer stratégie, anxiété, etc.) et laisser les athlètes à se concentrer sur ce qu'ils voient comme important. Certains entraîneurs ont la facilité pour livrer des discours enflammés et intenses, ne l’ont pas ou ne le font pas. Faut jamais essayer d'être un type d'entraîneur que tu n’es pas, vos athlètes verront à travers tes gestes et paroles et tu pourrais perdre la crédibilité. Garder le focus sur les athlètes et / ou l’adversaire, et assure toi que le discours n’est jamais question de toi ou pour ton bénéfice. Un discours d'avant-match efficace devrait servir à rassembler les athlètes pour les aider travaillé en équipe. Rappeler aux athlètes l'importance du bon éthique sport - peu importe ce qui se passe sur le terrain. Les joueurs doivent toujours respecter les arbitres, leurs adversaires, et les entraîneurs. Essaie le et observe comment tes athlètes répondent à ce nouveau et j’espère style de discours amélioré. Qui sait, tu pourrais découvrir un nouveau visage de ton équipe. Donc, petits points à retenir….. Sois précis, rester positif, se concentrer dans le choix de tes mots et le ton de ton message. Ne pas surcharger les athlètes avec l'information et garder la confiance que tu les as bien préparés pendant l'entraînement pour être prêt à jouer. Plus important encore, rester fidèle à toi-même et ne pas essayer de vivre à l'image de ces grands discours d'avant-match que t’ailles pu avoir vu à la télévision ou lors d’un film. Et fais-moi pas commencer à parler sur les discours à la mi-temps.... ok peut-être que je vais en discuter un autre jour. Watch a bunch of sports related movies and sooner or later you will come across a scene with a powerful pregame speech that has everyone ( including you the viewer ) ready to ran out onto the playing surface ready to run over everyone and everything in order to win. Whether your preferred scene is Knute Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper " or Al Pacino's pregame speech from Any Given Sunday ( or any of the many in between and since. truth is that more often than not, pregame speeches do not have the inspirational effect the make movies memorable but expectation in real life sports hard to live up to.
So, for all you coaches out there, I want you to think about your own pregame speeches. In my experience, they are often repetitive, with coaches saying things like “we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do”, “stick to the plan”, “treat this like it’s life or death”, and so on. There are probably thirty standard cliché versions that coaches often use. However, my goal for you is to think about your own pregame speech and how you can make it most effective for its intended purpose. From my own experience, the purpose of a pregame speech has two primary purposes, summarize important strategic points and motivate/inspire the athletes to perform well. However, is this actually the goal? No, seriously, is this the reason why you usually give a speech? Do you even know why you give a pregame speech? Some coaches do it just because they feel that they “have” to, because it is what is done before a game. Just imagine the scene, there are a bunch of faces starting at you. You and your team are gathered on the grass next to the field, in the locker room ready to head out onto the field, ice, court or whatever is your playing surface. The game is about to start and it’s time for the pregame speech. Whether you coach Little Leaguers, high schoolers, or even an elite team, the pregame speech is a much anticipated way to get every game started on the right foot. The pregame speech is your last chance to remind players of the end goal and get them psyched to put their practice into play. Recognize that many coaches give a fired-up motivational speech before a game because they are nervous or because they are excited for the game. However, some of your players might not need to get fired up and would prefer to just relax or spend time alone. As a coach, part of your responsibility is understanding the needs of your players. Try to understand what their desired physical and mental states are prior to the game. Your goal should be to help them get into those states. I, myself, never considered myself specifically great at giving that memorable pregame speech. I tried to focus on very specific bullet type points that brought together all the preparation we might have put in for the upcoming game and added some form of inspirational anecdote or story. Over the course of 27 years, my pregame speeches evolved and changed and one of the most important things I learned was that what might work with one group, one season, didn't always work again the following year even if most of the team might remain the same. It was about finding that "it" that worked to get the players ready to play and understanding that a 10 minute pregame speech wasn't going to suddenly make the players that much better or more prepared. So, as you think about your own next pregame speech, whether it is tomorrow or in six months, think about what your players actually need to hear. Don’t throw just more information at them that they can’t handle at that time. Know what you’re going to say before game day. If you are a volunteer coach for your child’s youth team, you may not need to spend all week preparing the perfect speech, but a little preparation can go a long way. Spend some time after each practice writing down a couple things that the team can focus on and summarize your list before the next game. For elite level or university type coaches, you may even go as far as having an assistant give you feedback before delivering the speech at game time. Keep it short and simple. If your goal is to help your athletes perform well, give them a few points to remember and that’s it. At that point, right before a game, many of your athletes want to be doing their own thing and may not even be listening to you. Don’t take that time away from them. Also, it is very unlikely that you are going to be able to motivate your athletes any more than they already are. Trust that your days and weeks of practice have prepared them; don’t try to do it in 5 minutes before the game. Give them one to two final pieces of information – strategic, instructional information. Give your team a couple strategic points they know and have been working on. You don’t want to distract them with information that should be saved for practice. Any reminders belong at the beginning of the speech, then an emotional message, and consider wrapping it up with a routine unique to the team to mark the end of the speech, such as a team handshake. Don’t introduce any new information. This is a time when you want to be able to reinforce prior messages, not introduce new ones. You want your athletes to be getting more focused on what they need to do to perform their best, so you don’t want to add more information to that, potentially causing information overload or overthinking their performance. Players should already be motivated from days and weeks of practice. The speech should be about purpose. The goal is to inspire a positive mental focus. Leave some time after your speech. Some players need to relax and have quiet time before games, others have a more energetic routine. Allow your players to get what they need before games. This will allow the athletes and yourself to get into the proper mindset. Your athletes could use this time to listen to music, pump themselves up, do some stretching and moving about, or to sit quietly and relax to get themselves focused. You can also use this time to focus on your own needs, your own anxieties, and your own strategy. Here’s a time when you can get yourself mentally ready, by focusing on your needs and those of your assistant coaches. You focus on what you need to focus on (strategy, anxiety, etc.) and let the athletes focus on what they need to have focus on. Some coaches have fiery speeches in their blood, others don’t. Don’t try to be a type of coach that you are not, your players will see right through you. Make it about the athletes and/or or about your opponent. Don’t make it about yourself. The pregame speech should pull your players together to work as a team. Remind players the importance of being good sports – no matter what happens on the field. Players should always respect the umpires, their opponents, and coaches. See how your athletes respond to your new and improved speech- you may see a new side of your team in the game that follows. So some take-aways, be precise, be positive, be focused in the choice of your words and in the tone of your message. Don't overload the athletes with information and trust that you have prepared them during training to be ready to play. Most importantly, be yourself and don't try and live up to the image of those great inspirational pregame speeches you might have seen on TV. And don't even get me started on half time talks.... ok maybe I will cover that another day. One of the biggest changes in society over the last 10, 20 or even 30 years has been the rapid advance in technology, especially with respect to the internet and electronic communication. No longer do we have stress trying to find information in a hurry, as Google allows us to acquire what we need in just a matter of seconds. And as far as communication goes, long gone are the days of “snail mail,” or phone chains replaced by lightening quick email and text messaging. These advances have helped us as a society, and they have helped coaches and players in many ways, too.
Technology has made major changes in virtually every part of our lives. In the world of sports, technology has affected just about every aspect of viewing, playing, coaching, refereeing, and working within sports.For coaches, their jobs have been greatly impacted from virtually every angle as a result. Fortunately, the impact has been positive, creating a more comprehensive view for training a better understanding of safety, complete communication, broad video coverage, and inclusive data analytics. Social media often takes a bad rap when anyone abuses Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. Still, most people use these tools responsibly, and also benefit by using many of the other advances in technology to build better relationships, communicate more effectively, and learn new information from just a few quick keystrokes. If I relate it directly to my start in coaching back in the early 90s, the whole notion of team news or notifications relied on phone calls via landlines, while now apps such as teamsnap allow for real time connectivity between coach and athletes (or between athletes themselves) to get out all kinds of information. I also had to rely on a stack of manuals or VHS tapes to find information about how best to plan out training sessions on specific themes....and forget about any type of easy video analysis. These are just small examples on how the advances in technology affected me personally but the truth of the matter is that technology like with pretty much all facets of society has impact how coaches run training sessions, coach games and interact with athletes. Coaches can now quickly communicate with their players through email, text messaging, and other electronic ways. Long gone are the chaotic days of trying to inform all your players that practice has been cancelled, or game times have changed, as one quick electronic message can do the trick. Coaches are better able to communicate with everyone in their team at a moment’s notice which can aid in a variety of different ways from training to practices to meetings to games. With better communication comes more accurate expectations, faster results, safer decision making, and winning outcomes. With added technology comes added communication. This includes social media communication with teams or players with their friends and family. Coaches and athletes can really benefit from all the fantastic sport skills information that is widely available on the internet – including You Tube clips. While it may not be feasible for a kid to attend a sports camp across the country, there’s a good chance that coach already has some great (free) information on the internet. Additional technology advances have helped coaches with teaching tools such as advanced telestrators with the sue of tools like Ipads for example and better computer graphics for illustrating that perfect play! Every practice, training, and game now has the ability to be recorded. Recordings can be used for something as simple as the live streaming of games or webcasts to ensuring safety, while some are for coaches and players to dissect their performance and their opponent’s performances. Coaches can watch each player’s form, decision making, mistakes, and big wins to see what needs work and what works well. Technology has offered a mirrored look back that makes coaches able to show players a reference for what they need from them that has revolutionized training. Coaching players is more than just teaching technique and making strategic decisions – it’s making all of the best decisions for the team as a whole and video technology has made a real change in how coaches are able to accomplish that. Many sports and leagues have video sharing rules which allow all the teams within a given league to have almost instantaneous to even team's game, allowing for a significant level of pre-scouting as teams prepare for a game. In my last few years coaching at the university level, the video sharing platform came with a significant level of game breakdown, so not only could we watch our upcoming opponents' games but also watch clips broken down into different modes, attacking, defending, set pieces. goals, etc. Technology in sports has made data collection and statistics into an extremely important and inclusive aspect that is important to fans, players, and coaches alike and this can be either via advances statistic softwares, which often can be shared quite easily through different platforms to wearable technology allowed for tracking of bio-med data in real time during practices and games. Sports statistics may seem overwhelming and dense to many, but with technology it’s extremely cohesive. With data analytics coaches know all about each of their players as well as their opponents. Coaches know how each player will most likely play, their average weaknesses with each team, and how they are most likely to perform in certain weather. This enables conversations about sustaining performance, how to get better, and why there may be data similarities in certain situations. In terms of sports science data, items such as smart helmets for NFL and NHL players are examples of wearable technology that is utilized on the field – or the ice. These helmets are vital to safety due to the problems with concussions and brain injury plaguing these sports. Not only does the helmet itself provide protection, but they also have sensors and magnets to detect and disperse force. There are also a multitudes of monitors that can be worn in competition providing coaching staffs with data such as heart rates, average speeds, accelerations, distances covered during games and so much more. Athletes and coaches are able to see how hard the athlete is working, where they are in terms of their physical goals, and which workouts are most beneficial for them. By tracking and measuring performance, coaches have better insight into their players. Football players, soccer players, swimmers, and any other type of athlete benefits from this type of technology to measure their athletic progress. Like a machine, athletes are now able to look at a dashboard that shows how their engine is running, and coaches are like their mechanics. Technology is taking a lot of guesswork out of training for both coaches and athletes. All the advances in technology and social media not only assist coaches with managing their teams and the actual coaching of the sport, but can also be a very useful team for the promotion and awareness of teams and sport. Message boards, team websites and page and chat forums are a great place to quickly learn about new leagues forming, tournaments, camps, and clinics. Coaches and players can quickly access various websites to learn about all the important places to be in order to continue to improve their athletic skills. Leagues can share real time information about scores and highlights that serve to increase visibility of their competitions. Athletes looking to get recruited for travel teams or university now have a much easier time getting seen. Kids today do not have to wait to be noticed by college coaches are there are countless ways to “get your name out there” through You Tube and other recruiting websites. Of course, you still have to be a talented player in order to earn a college athletic scholarship, but these new tools make it a lot easier for college coaches to quickly see how much potential a player has to take his or her game to the next level. As with anything in life, technology can be used for good things, but can also be dangerous if used irresponsibly. For example, when kids (or coaches) post lewd or questionable information to their Facebook or Twitter account, it can lead to catastrophic consequences. On the other hand, when technology is used appropriately it can lead to faster information acquisition, better skill building, and new relationships that might not have ever happened without electronic communication. Do your part as a coach by using technology responsibly, and help teach your players the many ways in which they use these new advances to improve their game and have more fun playing as a result! Coaching is stressful no matter which level you’re coaching, which sport you’re coaching, or how long you’ve been coaching. In order to combat the difficulties of coaching, technology is there to make the job easier, safer, and broader. Coaches can train players better, keep players safer, communicate more effectively, trust video technology, and utilize data analytics to understand their team fully. Technology has affected coaching in many different small ways and all of those small changes have come together to create a completely different coaching culture benefiting coaches and their players. All that being said thought, in the end, coaching comes done to the coaching and how he or she is able to interact with the athletes and coach during training sessions and games. All the technology in the world will never compensate for coaches who aren't passionate about their roles and don't know how to teach their sport. Regardless of all the advancements, it still comes down to the human being who is doing the coaching. Now, if technology could do something to help with the aching feet, stiff knees and sore back that can come with hours of being out on the field... that I would look forward to ..... Over the last few years, we have seen a number of examples of female athletes, US hockey, US soccer, Danish soccer , the Matilda, Australia's women soccer team, campaigning, advocating, boycotting tours or games in order to be recognized as professional athlete's and receive compensation that is equitable with that of male counterparts. As an observer, I don't think that these athletes are asking to be paid the same as men but to be paid on equitable terms and in a manner that in consistent with the revenue their events or sports generate.
There remain two very start realities in women's sports, they are under represented at all levels, participants, coaches and administrators and of course very under paid. Take a tour of many of the so-called professional athletes in many sports and I am pretty sure that you will discover that for many, in various countries, do not meet the respective countries minimum wage standards and many of these same athletes are unable to find alternative employment due to playing and training schedules. During the negotiations between the US women's national soccer team and the US Federation, there were two numbers that constantly circulated and made the news, one to show the huge inequity between the women's and men's team, and the second as an overall picture of the two realities between the World Cups were; The US women’s national team won $US2 million for winning the Women’s World Cup. The US men were knocked out in the first round yet took home $US8 million and the total prize pool for the Women’s World Cup: $US15 million; the Men’s: $US576 million. The problem lies in the market size for each competition. The total revenue for the Women’s World Cup was just $US17 million compared to $US529 million for the men’s competition. The difference is due to interest of fans and sponsors in women’s versus men’s soccer. Why is the women’s tournament far less supported? It would be rash to suggest that men’s soccer is more interesting or better quality, this is simply not true. *** small note, these are figures I was able to find thanks to the power of google search Society accepts that men’s sports are dominant and therefore more interesting which mean men’s sports receive more funding, better sponsorship deals, more coverage and greater ticket sale revenue. Few sports, if any, have equal pay or even prize money for men and women competitors. Most women's sports lack major television contracts and for the most part are event driven, a world championship, a major tennis tournament, or as part of the Olympics. Here in North America, women's hockey is followed quite substantially anytime US and Canada play, but how can we call that quality sport when every competition ends up with the same two teams playing each other in the end and yet others where there is parity and competitive balance throughout are written off as boring or not " as good ". In a majority of countries, if you were able to pull out statistics, I would be comfortable if throwing a guess that I think might be pretty close to factual, that women might feature in less than 10% to 15% of sports programming and it might be declining, Girls and young women, leave sports earlier than boys and men. I think if we are honest, we can state that the gender gap is not only present, it is increasing. This problem not only impacts the women in sport, but fails to represent competitive women who win and who lead in the media and to the general population. As boys grow up, they watch their idols and role models in sport competing and winning and many go on to play sport and are encouraged to. Girls do not. They are rarely given female role models who are not afraid to be competitive, confident and strong leaders. There is a vicious circle between the demand for women’s sports, revenue and salaries. Lack of demand and low television coverage means lower revenues from marketing and sponsorship and lower salaries. As a result, the ability of the teams both financially and skill/training wise is lower and so the women's' teams cannot compete in tours so receive less coverage. In addition, the media coverage differs greatly between the genders. Male athletes are idolized for their skill and strength whereas female athletes are more likely to be judged on their appearance or personal life. This double standard devalues the achievements of women and reinforces gender stereotypes and discrimination of women. The sporting world bears many parallels to that of businesses and industry. Whilst there are initiatives to increase the number of women on executive boards and in positions of leadership and responsibility, few exist in sport and those that do are not that successful. Having more women on sporting boards, as with any executive boards, is likely to lead to less cheating and corruption. This is not because women are more ethical. It is because women tend to bring diversity to a board and the greater the diversity (in terms of not just gender but culture and backgrounds also), the greater the mix of ideas and opinions. A panel that is diverse will not settle for the status quo and will not be afraid to ask questions and question practices. Sport and sporting coverage teaches women and girls who grow up with sporting role models valuable lessons that can be transferred to life, especially in the work place. The first lesson is that it is ok to fail. Society teaches women that in a competitive work place you cannot fail and therefore you should not try. However sport, even the primary school message of ‘it’s the taking part that counts’, teaches women that you should enjoy healthy competition and learn from losses and gain from wins. Sport can influence body confidence. Not just in health terms, and the benefits gained from participating in sport, but an ability to understand the parts of the body that make you strong and give you an advantage in a particular sport. In order to achieve your goals you need to work hard for it. Through tough training of elite athletes to a bi-weekly trip to the gym, hard work is required to gain success. This is mirrored in the work place, and women who engage in sport realise and believe that success in their goals is ultimately in their control. Finally, sport teaches teamwork, not the teamwork where everyone gets along all the time, no work gets done and no-one is afraid to speak up. The teamwork that comes from questioning people’s opinions, an awareness of your own weaknesses and appreciating others’ strengths and the ability to not only compromise but have tough conversations. Many women are afraid of being the ‘bitch’ however in most, if not all, team working situations, someone has to put themselves out there to get work done. In sport, it is impossible to avoid this in order to succeed. We need to work to get more women involved in sport and the media coverage to not only increase but focus on the sporting achievements rather than objectify women and judge them on their appearance. We need role models for young girls and women alike, like we need role models in many industries, to encourage participation as the benefits from sport, go so much further than the simple but important health benefits. Additionally, this doesn't just benefit younger girls but also boys who will see women in leadership roles and as role models and see that women have their place leading. They will grow up seeing women on an equal footing as males ( ok maybe this is wishful thinking but can it hurt or be worse that things are now). Most importantly, for corporate sponsors, investing in women's sports and targeting women in sport with their promotion is actually smart business as well as be right. I previously posted about smart reason to invest in women's sport ( see this link) investing-in-womens-sports-a-smart-move.html Sport is a powerful influence on society, so it should reflect a reality of equity and equality... in my humble and probably biased opinion. Tout d’abord, je veux commencer par un petit préambule question de mettre un peu de contexte au sujet d'aujourd'hui et le titre que je l'ai choisi. Je ai eu et continuent d'avoir une bonne et vraiment une très bonne vie. J'ai de peu à quoi me plaindre. Je suis en très bonne santé (si nous écartons les maux et les douleurs liées à mon âge), j'ai une superbe conjointe, un travail que j'aime, je suis financièrement très à l’aise et avec la retraite prévu pour dans 5 ans max, tout indique que je serai capable de me faire plaisir une fois que je cesse de travailler. Comme tout le monde, j'ai eu des moments plus difficiles dans mon mariage, j'ai eu des hauts et des bas dans ma vie, des moments de stress, la déception, l'insécurité et les doutes / questionnement sur mes décisions. Il y a eu des moments de questionnement existentiel et de m’imaginer ce qui aurait pu être. Je n'ai connu que la perte de 4 membres de la famille proche, une tante et une grand-mère que j’étais assez jeune, une grand-mère qui habitée avec nous une grande partie de ma jeunesse décédé en 2012 et ma belle-mère en 2016. Faut préciser que je n’ai jamais connu mes 2 grands-pères.
J'ai développé une capacité et personnalité pour faire face à l'adversité avec une certaine facilité, de gérer les situations de stress et d'éviter d'être pris dans le drame qui pourrait se produire avec la famille, les amis ou au travail. Certains pourraient dire que j'ai mis en place un mécanisme d'adaptation ou une bulle de protection pour me protéger d’avoir à faire face aux situations défavorables, mais la réalité est que la façon dont je traite le changement ou l'adversité est ce qui fonctionne pour moi. Je l'ai souvent écrit sur ce blog et partagé avec ceux autour de moi que j’ai changé et grandi au fil du temps tout au long de mon vie d’adulte pour arriver à la personne que je suis aujourd'hui. A différents moments de ma vie, j’ai fait des choix réfléchis pour changer ma façon d’agir ou réagir. . Parfois, ça n’a pas réussi comme j’espérais mais dans l'ensemble, je peux dire que j'ai plus de positifs que de négatifs. On dit souvent que seul le changement est constant, alors pourquoi est-ce autant de gens ont du trouble avec? Je ne peux pas parler pour les autres, mais je sais que pour moi, je n'ai jamais craint le changement, au contraire, je l'ai souvent accueilli à bras ouverts et j’ai vu le changement comme une opportunité de croissance, la découverte et la chance d’éviter tomber dans la routine. Dans ma vie professionnelle, je suis un partisan du changement, de pouvoir penser hors des modes habituelles et être prêt à adopter de nouvelles façons de travailler. J'ai rarement été assis en arrière en attendant de voir les résultats du changement, mais plutôt me tenait au-devant suggérant que l'on peut toujours trouver de meilleures solutions quand nous sommes ouverts au changement. En tant qu'êtres humains, nous sommes naturellement attirés vers l'uniformité. Nous nous sentons plus en sécurité avec ce qui est bien connu. Du point de vue de l'évolution, si les choses auraient restées les mêmes que cela signifiait que nous savions où nous obtenions notre prochain repas de et que les endroits que nous connaissions bien étaient relativement sûrs. Un changement signifie que le risque de se trouver à avoir faim devient réelle ou qu’il potentiel que nous entrons dans l'inconnu. Pour moi, tout au long de mon âge adulte, disons à partir de 1990, il n'y a eu que deux constantes dans ma vie, ma conjointe et mon implication dans le coaching. Depuis la fin de mes études universitaires, j'ai occupé 8 emplois (donc si nous faisons le calcul, soit une moyenne de 3,5 ans par emploi, bien que je suis dans mon emploi actuel depuis près de 9 ans et me sent finalement la où je devrais être), vécue dans deux résidences, j’ai 5 véhicules différents. J’ai perdu des amitiés, fais des nouvelles et même pu renouer avec les anciens camarades du secondaire et ainsi de suite. Donc, pour l'essentiel du sujet d'aujourd'hui, « ..... Et parfois j’ai de la misère avec ». Alors c’est quoi cette chose avec laquelle j’ai la misère ? La phrase complète que je aurais pu mettre dans le titre de cet article et qui aurait capté le sentiment que j’ai voulu partagé et comment je me sens parfois devrait probablement avoir été une phrase dans le genre «Le coaching ne me manque pas mais de ne plus être coach oui .... Et parfois j’ai la misère avec ». J'ai partagé divers articles sur ce blog concernant ma retraite du coaching, la transition vers l’après coaching et bien sûr tout ce que le coaching a signifié pour moi et m'a donné. Pour la plupart, mes articles viennent tous d'un point de vue positif ou optimiste. Et pour la plupart, j’ai été honnête à partager ce que je ressens et j’ai ressenti .... cependant, pour la première fois, je peux dire 7 mois après la fin de ma carrière d'entraîneur, j’avoue parfois avoir du mal avec la réalisation que je vais jamais plus être entraîneur. Il y a une tendance pour les gens de se concentrer sur la minimisation du risque ou le changement qui mène à l'inconnu, même au prix de gagner quelque chose à l'avenir. Beaucoup de gens restent dans des emplois ou des relations qu'ils détestent ou n'aiment pas car il y a un risque que la nouvelle situation pourrait être pire. Le changement peut être considéré comme un signe imminent d'une menace si, dans le passé, il a été associé à de mauvaises choses qui se passent, il devient une attente que lorsque quelque chose d'inattendu se produit, il apporte de mauvaises choses avec elle. Cependant, le changement peut aussi apporter des avantages, la liberté et le bonheur, mais il est souvent difficile de voir, surtout si les avantages sont incertains et peu claires. Il est beaucoup plus tentant de coller avec le « concret », avec ce qu'on appelle une situation actuelle, même si elle n’est pas grande, plutôt que de risquer d'être dans une situation nouvelle qui pourrait se révéler moins bons. Cette préoccupation est fondée sur l'hypothèse que nous sommes une chose immuable solide plutôt que quelque chose de fluide. La vie est une rivière qui continu de couler et non un objet qui reste ferme sur place. . Ces éléments « concrets » ne sont pas réellement si solides. Les relations, les emplois et les amitiés ne sont pas des choses isolées qui ne sont pas affectés par la vie. Ils ont besoin d'entretien, ils se déplacent, se développer, le changement et le développement. Alors, une fois de plus, je veux mettre du contexte dans les mots « j’ai de la misère avec » et ce dont avec lequel je lutte, et c’est justement le fait d’avoir à accepter que le coaching est bel et bien terminé, tout en gardant un réalisme que ce n’est pas quand même une situation traumatisante dans ma vie. Je ne veux surtout pas me comparer à ceux qui ont des vraies préoccupations sérieuses ou des problèmes comme les soucis médicaux, etc. Le simple fait est que pour la majorité de ma vie d’adulte, le coaching a été très présent et un constant au fil du temps. Il est devenu une partie intégrale de qui je suis mais aussi dans la façon dont j'ai été perçu par beaucoup. J’ai été souvent présenté par des gens comme "Jorge, gestionnaire ou responsable de tel ou tel chose mais saviez-vous qu'il coach également le soccer compétitif à Concordia (ou avec l'équipe provinciale, etc.)? Il est intéressant de voir comment l'allure de la conversation change avec le simple changement de syntaxe de "Je suis entraîneur depuis ...." à "J'ai été entraîneur…..". Je n’ai aucun doute dans mon esprit que mon implication dans le sport en tant qu'entraîneur a défini le type de gestionnaire et même la personne que je suis devenu. Le coaching a joué un grand rôle dans le système de valeurs et les croyances auxquelles j’aspire. Il a influencé la façon dont je vois les interactions interpersonnelles et comment je vois un grand nombre de problèmes de la société actuelle. Le coaching m'a permis de rencontrer des gens incroyables, vivre des expériences étonnantes et voir des parties du monde ou je ne serais jamais allé sans le coaching. Alors maintenant, que pour moi le coaching est fini, ce quoi qui le remplace, et maintenant quoi? Je dois préciser que le train-train quotidien du coaching, les taches disons plates d’être coach ne me manquent pas et c’est très évidant que le temps de passer à autre chose était arrivé parce que beaucoup de des responsabilités et taches requises pour connaitre du succès comme entraîneur sont devenus plus comme des obligations que des activités agréables. Des choses qui ne me manquent pas; ce sentiment de vide à la fin d'une saison et la réalisation que je devais tout recommencer dans quelques mois, la déception suite aux défaites difficiles et les nuits blanches qui les ont suivaient souvent durant lesquels je rejoué le match dans ma tête, la critique, les insultes et même des attaques pas mal personnels venant de la part des joueuses actuelles ou anciennes qu’on essaie bien sûr ignorer mais qui finalement sont tous entendues, le sentiment que j’ai laissé tomber mes athlètes ou que du à moi elles ont vécue de quoi moins que plaisant, sont tous parmi les choses qui ne me manque pas vraiment. Cependant, ce qui me manque c’est justement d’être « un entraîneur ». Ca me manque les papillons que viennent les jours du match, les interactions avec les athlètes, de les voir grandir en tant qu'athlètes, mais en tant qu'individus aussi. Ça me manque d'avoir un siège au premier rang lors d'un match dans ce sport que j’adore. Quand j'étais entraîneur, ces 90 minutes lors d'un match où tout le reste arrête et ce qui comptait était de gérer équipe dans ce match me manque. Ça me manque de voyager avec « mon équipe » lors des matchs sur la route ou des voyages de présaison, le partage d'histoires et des moments. Je manque certainement les amitiés que j'ai pu faire avec des collègues et des pairs dans le coaching. Et bien sûr, il me manque ces sentiments d'unicité que me faisait sortir des masses ou la chance de faire de quoi spéciale pour d’autres que le coaching m'a donné. J'ai toujours coaché au profit des athlètes et non pour la reconnaissance ou gain personnel, mais à vrai dire être entraineur apporter une certaine valorisation personnelle. Je pense que la difficulté que je puisse sentir en essayer accepter que la fin de ma carrière en tant qu’entraineur soit arrivée soit en lien direct avec le fait que je vieillis et en tant que tel, c’est un chapitre de ma vie qui prend fin. Je ressens un peu un sentiment comme si une petite partie de ma personnalité est maintenant disparu et je ne vais pas trouver quelque chose pour combler ce vide. Une partie de mes soucis vient du fait que je me pose la questions si une fois que le bénéfice à court terme associée avec la fin de mon coaching comme par exemple le temps libre supplémentaire se dissipe ou que la réalisation que le coaching est fini va vraiment me frapper en plein face ( comme si je vie un certain lune de miel) , est ce que j’aurais les ressources nécessaires pour faire face à cette réalité changeante pour trouver de quoi qui comblera le vide que je ressens de temps en temps. Cependant, je suis assez vieux et auto-suffisant que je peux regarder en arrière sur ma vie et voir de nombreuses occasions où un changement inattendu est survenu, et je suis sorti une personne meilleure ou plus forte. Je suppose qu'il est tout simplement une question de pouvoir me faire confiance et savoir que comme à souvent été le case j’ai la résilience pour passer à travers, et le voir comme moins d'un problème. Je suppose qu'un test pourrait être de me demander si je pensais honnêtement que le coaching ne finirait jamais, ou même si je voulais que tout soit exactement le même dans 10 ans. Si je regarder simplement sur la partie « taches du coaching je pourrais me sentir coincé dans une routine et espérais que les choses s’améliore ou changent d'une certaine façon. Cependant, si je ne pouvais pas savoir ce que quelque chose de mieux ressemblerait, je pourrais tout simplement rester dans le coaching pas parce que ça reste ma passion mais simplement parce que je ne pourrais pas m’imaginer pas être coach (qui ne serait pas selon moi une raison valide pour y rester). Donc, si je reviens à une déclaration faite près du sommet de ce poste, « seulement le changement constant », un avantage d'accepter le changement sera la découverte d’une nouvelle grande passion pour trouver des nouvelles sensations de valorisation, de passion et d’accomplissement. D’arrêter de penser au passé, d’apprécier ce que j'ai en ce moment et de regarder vers le futur plein d’optimisme Être pleinement conscient tout en gardant tous les positifs que le coaching a pu m’offrir tout en réalisant que tôt ou tard la journée arriverait que ça finit m’aidera accepter ce changement dans ma vie et regarder vers l’avenir sans souci. Je suppose que d'une certaine façon, j’ai eu des moments où j’ai pu m’imaginer un scenario ou je pourrais faire un retour dans le soccer comme entraineur, mais étant donné toute la réflexion que je l'ai fait au sujet de ma carrière d'entraîneur, si je m’y mettais à nouveau, ça pourrait être comme un athlète vieillissant, à la retraite qui retourne au jeu après un certain temps dans l'espoir de revivre sa gloire mais trouver que ça ternit son héritage et réputation. Aujourd'hui, la plupart d'entre nous résistent au changement. En général, je n'ai pas encore trouvé une seule personne qui est tout à fait bien avec des changements dans la vie, qu'elles soient grandes ou petites. Nous sommes résistants au changement, car il nous rend mal à l'aise; et personne ne veut se sentir dans l'inconfort. Cependant, les aspects de nos vies vont changer que cela nous plaise ou non. Avec l'âge, perdre des êtres chers, changer d'emploi, d'être licenciée, etc. Rien dans notre monde ne sera compatible pour toujours. Changement, en général, est généralement une lutte contre toutes les fibres de notre être. Nous préférons vivre confortables, une vie utile sans perturber notre routine quotidienne. Ce qui a un grand impact sur la gestion du changement, cependant, est notre capacité à apprendre et à se développer (ou même se réinventer) à la suite d’un imprévu. En fait, le changement est vraiment la seule chose que nous arrive d’une façon constante. Ainsi, alors aussi difficile que dealer avec les changements peuvent sembler, nous devons l’accepter et apprendre d'eux. Les changements sont compatibles avec la vie quotidienne de chacun dans le monde. Personne ne va vivre et mourir sans éprouver ou même sans en éprouver beaucoup et même certains drastiques dans leur vie. , La seule façon pour moi de face à ma « lutte » est de l'accepter, garder de très bons souvenirs mais de regarder l'avenir avec optimisme et enthousiasme. Ma grand-mère (celle qui a vécu avec moi pour la plupart de mon enfance) me disiez souvent que rien ne compte vraiment, sauf ce que vous ressentez à un moment présent. Même ayant attient les 90s ans, elle avait une force de caractère qui a montré bien comment elle avait traité beaucoup avec les choses dans sa vie. Je vais donc prendre une page de son livre et passer par la vie debout, tout droit et de prendre des choses telles qu'elles se produisent ...... So I want to start with a preamble to give a little context to the topic for today's blog post and the title I have chosen. I have had and continue to have a good and really a very good life. I have little to complain about. I am in great health ( if we discount the aches and pains related to my age), I have a great wife, a job I enjoy, I am financially secure and with retirement planned for within the next 5 years, all indicates I will be able to enjoy myself once I stop working. Like anyone, I have had some tougher moments in my marriage, I have had ups and downs in my life, moments of stress, disappointment, insecurity and doubts / questioning about decisions I have made. There have been moments of existential questioning and the wonderment of the path not taken. I have only experienced the loss of 4 close family members, an aunt and grandmother when I was in my early teens, a grandmother that lived with us during a majority of my childhood and teens who passed away in 2012 and my mother in law who passed away in 2018. I should be noted that I never met my grandfathers so never had to deal with their passing.
I have developed an ability and personality to deal with adversity, to manage stressful situations and to avoid getting caught up in drama that might occur with family, friends or in the workplace. Some might say I have developed a coping mechanism or a protective bubble to shield myself from dealing with adverse situations but the reality is that how I deal with change or adversity is what works for me. I have often written on this blog and shared with those around me how I have changed and grown over time throughout my adulthood to arrive at the person I am today. I different moments of my life, I have made conscientious choices to change. sometimes it might not have worked as hoped but overall, I can say I have more positives than negatives. It is often said that the only constant is change but why do so many people struggle with it so much? I can't speak for others, but I know for me, I have never feared change, on the contrary, I have often embraced change as an opportunity for growth, discovery and the chance to avoid falling into routines. In my work life, I have been a proponent of change, of thinking outside the box, embracing new ways of working. I have rarely sat back waiting to see the outcomes of change but rather stood directly in front suggesting that we can always find better solutions when we are open to change. As humans, we’re naturally drawn towards consistency. We feel safer with patterns. From an evolutionary perspective, if things stayed the same it meant we knew where we were getting our next meal from and that the locations we knew well were relatively safe. A change means the risk of going hungry or potential danger as we move into the unknown. For myself, throughout my adulthood, let's say from 1990 onward, there have been only two constants in my life, my spouse and my involvement in coaching. Since finishing university, I have have held 8 jobs ( so if we do the math, an average of 3.5 years per job although I have been in my current job for for almost 9 years and feel I am finally where I should be), lived in two residences, had 5 different vehicles, lost and made friendships, reconnected with former high school classmates and so on. So to the crux of today's post, " ..... and sometimes I struggle". What Do I struggle with ? The full sentence that I could have put in the title of this post and that would have captured the sentiment I am trying to convey and how I feel sometimes should probably have read something like " I don't miss the grind of coaching but I do miss being a coach.... and sometimes I struggle". I have shared my posts about my transition away from coaching, how I have dealt with retiring from coaching, and of course everything that coaching has meant to me and given me. For the most part, I have posted everything from a positive or optimistic point of view. And for the most part, I have been honest in sharing how I feel.... however, for the first time, I can say 7 months on from the end of my coaching career, I so sometimes struggle with the realization that I will never coach again. There is a tendency for people to focus on avoiding perceived losses or change that leads to the unknown, even at the cost of gaining something in the future. Many people stay in jobs or relationships they hate or dislike as there is a risk that the new situation could be worse. Change may be seen as a sign of impending threat if in the past it was associated with bad things happening, There becomes an expectation that when something unexpected happens it brings bad things along with it. However change can also bring benefits, freedom and happiness, but it’s often hard to see this, especially if the benefits are uncertain and unclear. It’s far more tempting to stick with the ‘concrete’, with what’s known about a current situation, even if it isn't great, rather than risk being in a new situation that could turn out worse. This concern is based on the assumption that we are a solid unchanging thing rather than something fluid. Life is a river not a rock. Those ‘concrete’ items are not actually so solid. Relationships, jobs and friendships are not isolated things that are unaffected by life. They need maintenance, they move, grow, change and develop. So again, I want to put in context that the "struggle" I occasional feel with accepting that coaching is over, is not some traumatic life altering situation. I don't want to compare myself to anyone with serious issues, concerns or problems. The simple fact is that for basically the entirety of my adulthood, coaching was very present and over time, it became a significant part of who I am and also in how I was perceived by many. I would often be introduced by people as "Jorge . manager of or responsible for but did you know he also coaches competitive soccer at Concordia ( or with the provincial team, etc) ?" It is interesting how the allure of conversation changes with the simple change of syntax from " I have been coaching ...." to " I coached" or " I used to coach ,,,," . I truly feel that my involvement in sport as a coach has defined the type of manager and even person I became. Coaching has played a big role in the value system and beliefs I aspire to. I have influenced how I see interpersonal interaction and view many of current society's issues. Coaching allowed me to meet some incredible people, live amazing experiences and see parts of the world I would never seen if not for coaching. So now, coaching is gone, what replaces it, and now what? I really don't miss the so called grind of coaching, The time to move on had arrived because many of the day to day responsibilities and tasks required to successfully be a coach became more like obligations than enjoyable activities. The don't miss that feeling of emptiness at the end of a season and the realization I had to start all over again in a few months. The disappointments of tough losses and the sleepless nights that often followed them as I replayed the game in my mind, the criticism and even character attacks from current and / or former players that you try and ignore but ultimately known are going on, the dread of feeling that I let my athletes down, these are among the things that I really do not miss about coaching. However, I do miss being " A Coach". I miss the excitement of game day, interacting with the athletes, watching them grow as athletes but as individuals. I miss having a front row seat during a game in the sport that I love. When I was coaching, those 90 minutes during a game where everything else stopped and it was all about that moment, managing the team in that game was all the mattered, that is something I miss. I miss traveling with " my team" so road games or preseason trips, the sharing of stories and living of moments. I certainly miss the friendships I made with colleagues and peers in coaching. And of course, I miss that sense of uniqueness or of being special that coaching afforded me. I always coached for the benefit of the athletes and not for personal recognition or gain but truth be told, coaching gave me a certain level of exposure and a public platform that I enjoyed. I think my struggle with accepting the end of coaching is also tied into the acceptance that I am getting older and as such, it is a chapter of my life that is closing. It is as if a small part of my personality is now gone and I won't find something to fill that void. Part of worrying about this change is being concerned that once the short term benefit of all the extra time wears off, I won't have the resources to cope with knowing I would have anything that will give me the experiences I got from coaching, or that the realization that coaching is done will really hit me and it will be bigger than I can handle. However, I am old enough and self-actualized enough that I can look back on my life and see many occasions where an unexpected change occurred, and I came out a better or stronger person. I guess it is simply an issue of being able to trust in myself and my own resilience, to see it as less of a problem. I guess a test is to ask myself if I honestly thought that coaching would never end or even if I wanted everything to be exactly the same in 10 years time. If I just pictured the grind part of coaching, I might feel stuck in a rut and would hope things had improved or changed in some way. However, if I couldn't know what something better would look like, I might simply have stayed in coaching, just because couldn't imagine not coaching as opposed to really still feeling the same passion about it. So if I go back to one a statement made near the top of this post, " only constant is change", a benefit of moving on and accepting change will be the discovery of some new great passion and a greater enjoyment of what coaching meant to me over the years, what I have right now and an exciting and optimistic view looking forward. Being fully aware and accepting that as rewarding and positive the coaching experience was for me while realizing the sooner or later it had to end will enableme to embrace the change now that it has happened. I guess in some ways, I might have been imagining a reality where somehow I get back into coaching, but given all the reflection I have made about my coaching career, if I started again, it could be like an aging retired athlete who returns the to the game a while after stopping hoping to relive his ( or her ) glories only to find it tarnishes the legacy and reputation. Now most of us are resistant to change. In general, I’ve yet to find a single person who is completely fine with changes in life, whether they be large or minute. We are resistant to change because it makes us uncomfortable; and no one wishes to revel in discomfort. However, aspects of our lives are going to change whether we like it or not. We age, lose loved ones, change jobs, get fired, etc. Nothing in our world will be consistent forever. Change, in general, is usually a struggle against every fiber of our being. We’d rather live comfortable, meaningful lives without any disruption to our daily routine. The great part about change, though, is our ability to learn and grow as a result of having to adapt. In fact, change is really the only thing we will ever experience on a consistent basis. So, while our struggles with change may seem cumbersome, we must accept and learn from them. Changes are consistent with the daily lives of everyone in the world. No one will live and die without experiencing plenty, if not many drastic changes during their existence. The only way to cope with my "struggle" is to embrace it, have very fond memories of what coaching has meant to me but to look forward with optimism and excitement. My grandmother ( the one who lived with me for most of my childhood) would sometimes tell me nothing else matters except how you feel at any given moment. Even well into her 90s, she had a strength about her that showed how she had dealt with many things in her life. So I will take a page of her book and go through life standing straight up and dealing with things as they happen...... |
AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
January 2023
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