Manage helpful mistakes with Russell Earnshaw
In a recent podcast, I chatted to coach developer Russell Earnshaw. Here's an extract on how to manage transitions between activities and helpful mistakes.
Rugby is a ball out of play sport. There's more ball out of play than in play. Halftime is also ball out of play.
I think coaches have to practice those out of play moments. I've been doing quite a bit of work with football coaches. I’ve asked them to get their phone out to time them.
I’ve challenged them: ‘imagine you've got to introduce a session in 30 seconds’, or ‘imagine you're transitioning from this activity to this activity and I'm giving you 26 seconds to do it.’
It’s a good challenge for coaches to practice introducing sessions by speaking into their phone. They might find they’re saying words too often. I use the word ‘nice’ too often, so I try not to say that word now.
Another good challenge for a coach is to think about what happens when training goes well and doesn’t go well.
‘When stuff goes well, how am I going to be?’
‘When stuff goes less well, am I going to be curious?’
If something doesn’t go as planned think about what activities you’ve done prior to this. If a player does unopposed passing all the time and then they suddenly have to pass playing against a defender, they may not understand depth or drop the ball.
When things go badly, I’m pretty chilled, but that’s not always been the case. If that happens, think about what and how you’ve coached that skill. Have you coached players to make decisions under pressure?
I think thoughtful mistakes in training are helpful. It’s good feedback for a coach.
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