February 12th, 2016 | Uncategorized
When people imagine the glory of coaching, they probably conjure scenes of drawing up last-second plays for game winning shots. I imagine writing a practice schedule.
Over these past 5 months in Carlow, I’ve really come to love the act of planning practices. I spend time before each coaching session writing out a detailed plan. It’s a fun puzzle – first I might think of a play or certain drill I want to do, then I try to break it down into its component parts before putting it all together. I think that it’s really important for a coach to put this level of thought into the structure of practice. I want each drill to be intentional and productive. When players understand the importance of doing something, they are more likely to do it with urgency and full concentration.
On the flip side of this, I’ve found that one of the biggest challenges for me is improvising. While I prefer the comfort of a rigid schedule to follow, I recognize that taking a flexible approach to coaching a session is just as important as being organized about it. Recently I had to adjust a practice meant for a full team to suit the mere three players who showed up that day.
This balance of showcasing a skill and challenging a weakness is something I love about my role as a Victory Scholar. I continue to grow as a person, while also sharing my skills and passions with those I coach.
