Reflection in Sport Coaching

Reflection in Sport CoachingReflection is defined by Stenho role 1975 p receipts as a capacity for autonomous maestro self-directed through systematic self- study. Discuss how a coach utilises mull overive practice to enhance their instruct performanceThe aim for this essay is to discuss how a coach burn use reflective practice to improve his/her coach. Reflective practice is an idea apply in education studies and pedagogy. It was introduced by John Dewey, he defined reflection as active, persistent and c atomic number 18ful consideration of some(prenominal) belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it t lay offs (Dewey, 1910). Dewey recommgoaled that before a coach can achieve effective reflection terce personal characteristics been to be in attendance.Open-mindedness- this is the yearning to want to learn more than you already knowWholeheartedness this is the enthusiasm to want to learn more s lightly a specific subjectResponsibility- this is to take the accountability of your live up tos, positive or negative.However, it is in addition important to understand other definitions of reflection as non all research has r to each oneed an agreed definitionJarvis (1992 p180) claims that reflective practice is something more then thoughtful practice. It is that form of practice that assimilateks to problematise many situations of professional performance so that they can become potential culture situations and so the practiti unrivalledrs can continue to learn, grow and develop in and through practice.Dewey (1910 p39) defines reflection as the active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusion to which it tends.Reid (1993) in her definition withal state reflection as an active process rather than passive thinking. She states Reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning more or less practice.(p305)McKernan (1996) refers to reflective teaching as not a knowledge-bounded set of competencies which are learned during student teaching, but on the setback teaching that reflectively supports growth and professionalism through the questioning ofpolicies, problems and the consequences of actions. This is true in relation to the coach.Pollard (2002) suggests that Reflective teaching is applied in cyclical or spiralling process, in which teachers monitor, evaluate and revise their hold practice continually.According to Reid (1993) cited by Ghaye and Lilleyman (1997) reflective practice is Potentially both a port of learning and a mode of survival and development once formal education ceases. They believe that reflective practice is more than just skillto be used in one particular context but throughout life as well.Reflective practice requires professionals to step back from themselves and thesituation to examine all aspects of the teaching/learning act, including essentialdispositions. It implies that they use an empirical, analytical review of their teaching andthat they employ a moral and ethical framework to guide their analysis and modificationof teaching behaviour. capital of Idaho State University (No Date)In 1987 Schon stated that reflection can happen in two ways reflecting in action and reflecting on action. Reflecting on action occurs aft(prenominal) the coaching has taken place, this can be aided with the use of another coach giving advice, or with the use of video. Fitzgerald (1994) defines reflection on action as The retrospective contemplation of practice undertaken in order to uncover the knowledge used in practical situations, by analysing and interpreting the information recalled. Reflecting in action refers to reflection taking place during the activity. It can be said that reflecting on action is engaging in a constant pro cess of rapid feedback and limiting by which skilful operators can adjust to circumstances and sustain high levels of effectiveness Jackson et al (2004).When reviewing a coaching academic session there a number of topics to take into consideration. The first and most important aspect of coaching to take into consideration is if the aims and achievements for not only when the coaching session but also for the season as a whole. Reflection to see if goals were achieved for the season can only happen once the season has finished. The goals may vary from winning every(prenominal) game, to trying to win one game, if the goals are not reached e.g. the team lost all games then the coach entrust know that his method of coaching magnate not come been the most effective to use for the athletes in his team.After a session there can also be a clip for reflection, each session should welcome a clear aim or goal of a specific skill that gets to be better, if at the end of the session th e athletes have become more efficient in that skill then they session can be see as a success. On the other hand however, if the athletes have not improved during the session then reflection needs to take place to see why this is the case.Another way that a coach can use reflection to enhance their coaching performance is to evaluate if there coaching is time and hail effective. It is not salutary coaching if for example, it takes a whole session to cover a skill that can be covered in five minutes. To evaluate if the session has been cost effective, there are a number of factors to take into consideration. The first of these is have the athletes improved? If they havent then they have paid to gain nothing. However, if the athlete pays very miniature for a session, where there is only one coach and a high number of children then the expectations of the athletes and parents leave drop. Young children i.e. under 7s may be only attending the session as an alternative to babysitting , especially if the cost of coaching is less than that of employing a baby sitter.A coach must plant genuine that what he/she is teaching is suited to the age group. For example, under 7s would not be capable of learning leg spin in cricket. Also at the other end of the spectrum you would not have the first team practicing basic drills such has hitting a tennis ball off a cone. Sometimes however, this is not that easy to plan for. For example, a group may have very extensive knowledge of one skill e.g. the front food drive, but have no idea how to play a pull shot. A coach can use reflection after the session to see if the performers have improved at the specific skill.A coach can reflect on the use of coaching points, there is no use in using advance(a) coaching points for athletes who are not experienced e.g. telling a 7 year old to rotate their shoulders vertically when playing the front food drive. The similar can be said for experienced athletes, you would not tell them for example to keep their eyes on the ball when catching it as they will already know this.Coaches have to reflect on demonstrations, for the athlete to learn best the demonstrations need to be accurate and performed from many angles. The coach must also make sure that the athlete can see and is not obstructed by another athlete or the coach himself.The coach can also reflect on the safety, this can be a rather easy subject to reflect upon. If there is an injury then the reason for that injury will need to be looked at and reflected upon. Safety could also be reflected upon when thinking virtually equipment, the equipment that is used may be faulty or broken.All of the above are times when reflection can occur. Feedback from a number of people is very important when reflecting about a session. The athlete that you are coaching will let the coach a lot of feedback this can range from the improvement they make to their body language. Some more elite athletes will know what works for th em so will inform their coach how they learn best. It can be hard to judge how much an athlete has improved from the beginning of a session to the end of one. It is important to distinguish how much if an the athlete has gained so a test like situation could be helpful to ensure that the coach is coaching in a way that is effective. For example, when coaching throwing in cricket, it can be useful to see how far the athlete can throw before any coaching has taken place, so that after the coaching you can see if the athlete can throw the ball any further.Other coaches can help when reflecting about a session, especially if the coach is more experienced and or more qualified. The employer can also help with reflection, if the employer thinks that the athlete is improving then the coach will know that the way he is coaching is effective. But if the employer is not pleased with the improvement then change will have to be made. Parents can also play a large role in the reflective process, the parents may not be happy with the way that a coach is coaching. This may ungenerous that the coach will have to change his coaching method, but only if the parent is knowledgeable.Reflection can also be aided by the use of a video. A video can record the coaching session, and give the coach an incite to what he/she actually does. This can help as it will show demonstrations, body language and what exactly was said. It will also allow the coach to look back on sessions in the past looking to see how his/her coaching methods have changed. McKernan agreedmight use a video recorder to trap teaching performance as evidence or informationto be analysed. More importantly, such a film becomes a critical documentary forreflecting on practiceresearch can be undertaken by reactive methods such asobservers, questionnaires, interviews, dialogue journals or through such non-reactivetechniques as case studies, field notes, logs, diaries anecdotal records, documentanalysis, shadow studies. M cKernan (1996)Hanson believed that asking the students to fill in journals after each session would allow the coach to reflect properly. Ive had students make brief journal entries at the end of each sessionit doesnt take much time but meter reading and responding to the journal entries is time consuming. An approach taken from the values clarification literature is to ask students for one word that represents their behaviour that day. Hellison (1985)Reflection makes the coach test their own behaviour, reminding them to act sensibly in their actions. Reflective military rank shows areas where population, for example, children, have a bigger social need in addition to their individual pleasure. When creating training session it is vital to think of the childhood of that child.Reflective practice demands the coach to examine their own behaviour honestly,reminding them to act responsibly in their actions. Reflective evaluation highlights areaswhere the population, for example, child ren, have a great social need besides theirparticular sport. When designing training sessions it is important to consider the childhood of that child. Extreme training sessions may fall in their childhood.Reflective practice is detailed as being essential in increasing coaching effectiveness (Crisfield, 1998 Clifford and Feezell, 1997). Crisfield (1998) considers coaching efficiency to be determined by factors such as knowledge, skills, experience and philosophy.In conclusion Pollard (2002) states the importance of the reflection within coaching. Theprocess of reflective teaching supports the development and maintenance of professionalexpertise. If a coach feels that they have nothing more to work on then they are not using reflection correctly, every coach no matter what level needs to use reflection to become a more competent coach.The importance of reflective coaching is not just about finding and defining the problem. Organising, planning and acting upon it are essential also. There must also be re-evaluation to see if it has solved the problem and continual evaluation resumed. Reflective practice lets the coach value for different styles or methods of coaching. If a coach did not use reflective practice then he/she could not guarantee continual re-evaluation of their work.McKernan (1996) refers to the coaching process as a ladder. To get any higherperformers must extend their ladder by making it long through reflection and hopefullyimprovement, or they and their will be limited to the same level.Adapted from Department of Education for Northern Ireland (1999) cited byPollard (2002) this delegating statement sums up the truth of the reflective coach At theheart of becoming a good teacher is, above all else, being a learner-a life long learner.To learn one has to ask questions of oneselfBibliographyJohns C Freshwater D (1998) Transforming nursing through reflective practice. 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