Enable players to create their own session
Co-creation is vital within coaching. Here's a method I use to help players design and lead a training session
Co-creation in sessions is vital to engage participants. Play Their Way, an initiative that champions child-centric coaching, centres their philsophy on 3 pillars:
“Voice: Children and young people have the right to express their views which are acted on together in a meaningful way.
Choice: Children and young people have the right to play and shape what play looks like.
Journey: Children and young people have the right to develop holistically, in their own way.”
Co-creation of sessions empowers players and gives them a voice and choice within training. I believe this is important no matter the age of the players.
In some training weeks, the co-creation might be more subtle. This could be choosing a level of activity, a choice between two rule adaptions in a game or picking a focus for next week.
For some sessions, it’s fun to hand over the session to the players. Here’s one method that I use. I call it ‘The menu’.
(A player once used this idea when planning a session. I’ve loved it and used it ever since)
The menu
There is minimal preparation you, as coach, can do. However, in the session before you can prime the players.
Tell them they’re going to be planning the session next week, so they need to think of some activities they would like to do.
You can give them a theme for the session (rucking for example). You can also ask them what they’d like to work on and to think of activities to help.
Before players arrive for the session, I like to usually set up a few playing areas of different sizes that we can either use or quickly change to suit the activities they want to do.
When players arrive, you can then give them the task of planning the session and give them a time limit.
You can give them a structure to help plan their session, by using the concept of a menu.
Starter: This should be a warm up and include any activations.
Main course: As the title suggests, this should be the larger focus of the session.
Sides: You don’t have to include any sides, but these could be smaller skills games and activity that fit in with the theme of the session.
Dessert: This is any cool-down activity they’d like to do.
During the planning of the session, you can help with any ideas.
Running training sessions like this are fun for you and the players. Players get to have creative control over their own learning and development. Coaches get to see what the players enjoy and build their confidence by enabling them to plan a full training session.
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