You can pre-order "The Language of Coaching: The Art & Science of Teaching Movement" on Amazon.com now (book ships in April)
This presentation was delivered in 2019 at the Perform Better Summits. This talk focused on the impact coaching language (instructions, cues, and feedback) has on the way people learn to move. Profiling many of the topics covered in my forthcoming book, "The Language of Coaching," this presentation will help anyone who teaches movement elevate HOW they coach to the same level as WHAT they coach.
2. The coaching communication loopâŠ
-00:02:00
DESCRIBE
-00:00:30
CUE
-00:00:00
DO
+00:00:30
DEBRIEF
-00:00:60
DEMONSTRATE
Extended
description of
the activity
Physical
demonstration
of the activity
Brief phrase used
to bring focus to
the activity
Player focuses
and performs
activity
Player & coach
feedback is
considered
4. To understand the impact of coaching cues on skill
learning, we must first understand the role of attention
5. WE CAN ONLY LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCES WE PAY ATTENTION TO,
THUS A COACHâS CHIEF RESPONSIBILITY IS TO FIRSTâŠ
CAPTURE KEEP DIRECT
6. ATTENTION IS A LIMITED CAPACITY RESOURCE
COACHES, LIKE BANKERS, GUIDE ATHLETESâ ATTENTIONAL INVESTMENTS
WE CAN ONLY âPAY ATTENTIONâ TO #1 THING AT A TIME
7. Say the most with the least, provide
athletes with ONE CUE, one major
focus point at a time
8. Now that we know how much to say, the next
question we need to address is what to say.
9. Narrow | Internal
Broad | Internal
Close | External
Far | External
The continuum of coaching cuesâŠ
ANALOGY
10. Narrow | Internal
Broad | Internal
Close | External
Far | External
The continuum of coaching cuesâŠ
ANALOGY
No evidence to support its effectiveness
Possible benefit compared to narrow Internal
Conclusive evidence confirming effectiveness
Conclusive evidence confirming effectiveness
Conclusive evidence confirming effectiveness
14. Halperin et al., 2016
STRENGTH â FORCE PRODUCTION
CON: âgo as hard & fast as you canâ
INT: âcontract your legs as hard & fast
as you canâ
EXT: âpush the ground as hard & fast
as you canâ
Force: EXT (9i% | 3c%) > CON (5i%) > INT
âResearch consistently shows that
external cues improve muscular force,
endurance, speed, and efficiencyâ
15. Porter et al., 2010
POWER â EXPLOSIVE FORCE PRODUCTION
INT: âExtend your knees as rapidly as possibleâ
EXT: âJump as far past the start line as possibleâ
DISTANCE:
EXT (187.37 +/- 42.66 cm)
INT (177.33 +/- 40.97 cm)
âResearch consistently shows that
external cues improve vertical and
horizontal jump performanceâ
21. INT: ââJump as far as you can. I want you to think about extending your knees as rapidly as possibleââ
EXT: ââJump as far as you can. I want you to think about pushing yourself off as hard as possible from the floor.ââ
WHAT ABOUT TECHNIQUE?
30. The anatomy of a cueâŠ
Focus on being quick
off the ground
Descriptor âHOWâ
Direction âAWAYâ
Distance âCLOSEâ
Focus on driving hard
toward the finish
Descriptor âHOWâ
Direction âTOWARDâ
Distance âFARâ
31. DISTANCE
"Push the ground back with
as much force as possible"
"Explode through the finish with
as much speed as possible"
32. DIRECTION
"Drive the (GREEN) tape away from
the start line as fast as you can"
"Drive the (GREEN) tape toward
the finish as fast as you can"
33. DESCRIPTION
"Explode out like a cheetah is
two steps behind you"
"Explode out and up like a jet taking
off from an aircraft carrier"