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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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
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