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LISTEN AND LEARN

Listening—Receiving Messages Effectively
Many coaches love talking, being in charge and organizing, but they are often poor listeners. Players want to feel satisfied that their words have been heard and understood by the coaches. Coaches who are good listeners do not miss out on information, from players, parents or other coaches, that could be of importance to them. Good listening is hard work requiring intense concentration. Active listening involves paraphrasing what you think the person said, for example, “Let me see if I’ve got this right, you said…,” “What you are telling me is…” It can also include asking questions for clarification or to get more background information.

Besides active listening, the following will improve your listening skills:
Be mentally prepared to listen.
Listen to the content of the message. Forget the appearance or reputation of the speaker.
Listen with your eyes. Observe the body language of the speaker.
Listen with empathy. Great leaders have the ability to adopt the perspective of the other person, understanding how that person perceives events and experiences emotions. That is not to be confused with sympathy. A sympathetic person feels emotions of regret for a person experiencing trouble.
Listen with openness. You cannot hear a message if you are evaluating or judging it while it is being delivered.

How Players Learn
Players learn in a number of different ways and have preferred learning styles. Essentially, players learn best from the following sources of information, but this will vary between players:
· Visual – through pictures and images.
· Sound – through sounds and the spoken word.
· Senses – through feelings and physical interaction.

It is important as a coach that you consider all learning styles. For example, you can show players what you are about to do in training on a tactics board (visual), you can describe and explain to them (sound) and you can ask them to demonstrate (senses).

You can implement the learning-style requirements in your coaching environment by:
· Drawing diagrams of the specific session or show a video or clip (visual).
· Explaining (verbal) the diagrams/video to the group.
· Putting some questions up on the dressing room wall and asking the players to show you the answers on a tactics board (visual).
· Doing the work on the field (senses).
· Asking the players to reflect on the session and to write down or draw what they have learned and how they feel about their work.

Demonstrations—“A Picture Paints a Thousand Words”
Demonstrations provide opportunities for players to model skilled behavior. They also provide a visual image for learning. Coaches should ensure that the demonstration is reasonably correct from a technical perspective. The coach can demonstrate to the group or use one of the players to demonstrate. When you set up a demonstration ensure that:
· You have gained the players’ attention. You should have their eye contact and wait until they have stopped talking, moving the ball, etc.
· The group is positioned so that they can all see you.
· The demonstration is repeated a number of times so that everyone understands what is required.
· The demonstration is silent (no verbal instructions), for players can only focus on one aspect while learning. Before or after the demonstration you can add some verbal instruction.
· The player’s attention is directed to a few crucial messages. Avoid overloading them with information.
· You avoid jargon and other technical terms. Keep it simple and concise.
· Demonstrations are at the appropriate level for the players to match their ability and stage of development.
· Remember to use people’s names. This is courteous and helps put people at ease.

Feedback: Bite-sized Digestible Building Blocks for Improvement
Through feedback, coaches should aim to give praise, build upon existing strengths, improve weaknesses and reduce the number of errors made. In soccer, feedback is mainly based on the coaches’ observations (visual). Some coaches also use video or match analysis to provide feedback to players. Players can also get internal feedback from their own senses when they perform a technique. They can feel the movement, see the outcome and hear the sound of the action. Coaches can draw the player’s attention to this source of feedback. When providing feedback:
· Give players time to consider their own feedback before providing any additional external feedback.
· Young players need to be acknowledged. They get highly motivated if they receive praise when they are trying to master a new skill. To children under 12, the coach and parent are like a mirror in which they see their capacity or incapacity. That is why coaches need to be positive, to praise the child frequently and keep critical comments to a minimum.
· Take care not to overuse praise such as, “Well done.” If you use it too often, it loses its effect. Balance its use with more technical information, such as, “Well done, good pass. You kept the ball low” and “Good pass, you hit the bottom half of the ball.”
· Coaches should also be able to accept feedback from other coaches and adults regarding their coaching performance. They should encourage feedback from their players. This is not to be confused with “fishing for compliments.” Coaches could get the players to fill in a small, anonymous questionnaire to get more input from young players.
· “Know when to put the ball away.” Coaches need to know when to switch off and stop providing feedback to the player. There comes a time after the session or game where it is best to move on and think about other things. Likewise, players do not like to be constantly reminded of their mistakes.

Giving Feedback—The Sandwich Technique
Coaches are always striving to be positive towards players when giving feedback. However, there are times when criticism is necessary. Unfortunately, players become defensive when they are criticized and they fail to take on board the information. The “sandwich approach” has been identified as an effective way to give constructive feedback in a sensitive, yet effective, manner. This feedback technique involves three sequential elements:
· A positive statement, i.e. “Good effort.”
· Future-oriented instructions, i.e. “Next time, make sure you hit the ball with your laces.”
· A compliment, i.e. “Keep up the good work.” This builds trust and rapport.

It is important that coaches do not provide too much feedback as this can interfere with a player’s enjoyment of the session or it can overload the player with too much information.

If only words are used to teach a lesson, you are only being one-third as effective as possible. Including visual learning and the senses can help the players link the words and feelings to the picture to better their understanding of the lesson and to better your ability to help their improvement.

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