previously described and hope the
athletes will teach
THEMSELVES
the techniques, tactics, and
{DECISION }
-making skills they need to
learn; nor will
ATHLETES
always fully understand the
{ SIMILARITIES }
and differences between the
practice game and the
REAL
game.; so as they play, you need to
FOCUS
your players’ attention on the
key
{ ELEMENTS }
of the game that you want them to
LEARN
; when you watch
{ MASTER }
coaches at
work, they excel at
FOCUSING
their players on the critical
{ ELEMENTS }
of the game as they practice;
this vital
PROCESS
determines the quality of practice and helps
{ TRANSFER }
transfer what they are
learning in
PRACTICE
games to real games
FOCUSING
can be done by explaining the
{ PURPOSE }
of the practice game and
LABELING
the key
elements to be learned, and then during play
{ REMINDNING }
players of these actions; you can also
STOP
the play and correct the
INCORRECT
action or positively
{ REINFORCE }
the correct action
QUESTIONING
is a primary tool that
{ GAMES }
-approach coaches use to help players
RECOGNIZE
what they need to learn; part of the art of
{ COACHING }
is knowing when to use
QUESTIONS
and when
to provide
{ ANSWERS }
; generally, when athletes are learning
SOMETHING
new and do not have the
{
KNOWLEDGE }
, you need to provide the
ANSWERS
; when they likely know but are not
FOCUSED
on
what they should be, questions are a good way to
{ DIRECT }
their attentions
A more
ELABORATE
focusing technique is called the
{ FREEZE }
replay; the coach gives an agreed-on
signal to “
FREEZE
” the players, who must
{ IMEDIATELY }
stop; play is then
REWOUND
back to the
critical point and the, through
{ QUESTIONING }
, the coach helps the players
REPLAY
the situation to
draw out the key
{ ELEMENTS }
of good play; the freeze replay,
SKILLFULLY
used, is a great tool for
{ CAPTURING }
those teachable moments and provides
OPPORTUNITIES
for players to think about
their actions
Enhancing Play
You can
ENHANCE
your athletes’ play by presenting
{ CHALLENGES }
during practices, using
HANDICAPPING
techniques to make
{ CLOSE }
contests, and of course
ENCOURAGING
them and
recognizing them for the
{ PROGRESS }
they make; your personality and
KNOWLEDGE
of the game,
and the
{RESPECT }
players have for you, are also important
FACTORS
that help enhance play
AL349
Page
7
Principles of Coaching
Chapter 9 _ The Games Approach
Advantages of the Games Approach
The games approach to
COACHING
gives you a hug advantage in motivating your athletes because
{ PRACTICES }
are much more gamelike and thus much more
ENJOYABLE
; moreover, your players will
quickly
{ RECOGNIZE }
that in the games approach the
PRACTICE
is focused on helping them, whereas
in the
TRADITIONAL
approach it often seems that practice is focused on
{ OBEYING }
the
COMMANDS
of the coach; in other words, practices using the
GAMES
approach are athlete-centered rather than
coach-
{ CENTERED }
