We have officially finished the first two weeks of the new semester here at IT Sligo and I wanted to share everything I’ll be up to for the next three months. In the marketing masters Zack Yonda and I are in, we have four classes this semester. Two of the classes we take are online, so we get to work them into our schedule at our leisure, which is nice. The other two classes we take are residential classes that we have once a month. That sounds nice on paper, but the one time we have to go in a month the classes last several hours long. There’s give and take with both types of class. On top of these classes we will be working on our own dissertations that are due in September. I’ve been finding articles and coming up with a more in depth outline for the literature review.
The coaching we are doing this semester is off to great start, and we will soon start coaching in three more secondary and primary schools in the area. It is very easy to see the impact Zack and I have on these kids because of the fun they have and the smiles they greet us with when they see us. Normally in primary schools we tend to focus on more game related teaching styles, integrating basic basketball fundamentals into fun and competitive games. One of the kid’s favourite games last semester was knockout, obviously. For those of you unfamiliar with this shooting game, the goal is to make a basket before the person in front of you does. If you do, you knock them out, and the last one standing wins. I remember in middle school, half of my class would line up to play on one side of the gym. It was awesome. In the secondary schools, we focus more on team oriented practice and skill development, like we do for the under 16’s club team we coach.
I really like coaching so far, however coaching at an elementary school level is not nearly as rewarding as coaching older kids and developing real skill and better mindsets. With younger kids, it is easy enough to throw some fun games their way and teach them how to play indirectly. With older kids, it is more of a challenge to develop skill because, being a young adult myself, you have to earn respect and build the relationship with the kids you coach to truly coach and push them. It is also interesting to see the personality of kids when you push them. Some are very good at taking coaching, and some push back no matter how much you explain things to them. No matter how coachable a player is, the exciting part to me is seeing them all work together on the court during a game.
Joke time:
Why did the basketball player keep sketching chickens?
He was learning how to draw fouls..
Picture from:
https://www.usab.com/youth/news/2010/10/5keys-to-being-a-great-basketball-coach.aspx
