Notes on my coaching philosophy shortened for NUs and INTROs, etc. -- Elise Lawton -- September 17, 2018
I believe all individuals need to participate in activities that require health-enriching movement.
I believe one of the ways this can be accomplished is for individuals to participate in activities such as sports.
I believe coaches have a major role to play in setting an environment that allows and encourages individuals to participate in sports. (Please note the focus on the environment.)
I believe all basic motor skills are developmental and should be treated as such. (In other words, basic motor skills typically should be developed instead of taught.)
I believe swimmers who have been allowed and possibly even taught to make mistakes during the learning and development process become stronger, better, and safer swimmers.
I believe all individuals are born with a natural inclination to develop their potential, and I believe the way coaches and instructors work with individuals can either nourish or thwart that development.
I believe the coach/instructor rightfully supports and nourishes intrinsic motivation rather than imposing extrinsic motivation.
I believe it is possible for an individual to coach for months or even years without employing either rewards or punishments. Thus, I believe that both rewards and punishments are terribly overused and terribly misused—especially in sports and by coaches and by parents.
I believe that the coach is neither more important nor less important than each other individual in a club or on a team. Still, the coach plays a different role than the other participants. The coach’s role includes to observe and to report, to see both the forest and the trees, and to give maximum respect to each individual with whom there is contact. I believe the coach should expect to receive no more respect than s/he gives to each player, each parent, each official, each spectator, etc.
I believe that there rightfully will be different coaching styles, yet none should encompass derogatory behaviors—including words, body language, etc. (Derogatory refers to behaviors that are rude, nasty, mean, hurtful, and devaluing.)
I believe norm-referencing is seriously overused in sports and self-referencing is drastically underused in sports, including artistic swimming (historically was called synchro). I believe norm-referencing never belongs in Intermediate or Novice. I believe criterion-referencing combined with self-referencing is appropriate for Novice and Intermediate. I believe norm-referencing belongs only in Synchro Junior Olympic levels and above, where it also is linked with criterion-referencing.
I believe one of the ways this can be accomplished is for individuals to participate in activities such as sports.
I believe coaches have a major role to play in setting an environment that allows and encourages individuals to participate in sports. (Please note the focus on the environment.)
I believe all basic motor skills are developmental and should be treated as such. (In other words, basic motor skills typically should be developed instead of taught.)
I believe swimmers who have been allowed and possibly even taught to make mistakes during the learning and development process become stronger, better, and safer swimmers.
I believe all individuals are born with a natural inclination to develop their potential, and I believe the way coaches and instructors work with individuals can either nourish or thwart that development.
I believe the coach/instructor rightfully supports and nourishes intrinsic motivation rather than imposing extrinsic motivation.
I believe it is possible for an individual to coach for months or even years without employing either rewards or punishments. Thus, I believe that both rewards and punishments are terribly overused and terribly misused—especially in sports and by coaches and by parents.
I believe that the coach is neither more important nor less important than each other individual in a club or on a team. Still, the coach plays a different role than the other participants. The coach’s role includes to observe and to report, to see both the forest and the trees, and to give maximum respect to each individual with whom there is contact. I believe the coach should expect to receive no more respect than s/he gives to each player, each parent, each official, each spectator, etc.
I believe that there rightfully will be different coaching styles, yet none should encompass derogatory behaviors—including words, body language, etc. (Derogatory refers to behaviors that are rude, nasty, mean, hurtful, and devaluing.)
I believe norm-referencing is seriously overused in sports and self-referencing is drastically underused in sports, including artistic swimming (historically was called synchro). I believe norm-referencing never belongs in Intermediate or Novice. I believe criterion-referencing combined with self-referencing is appropriate for Novice and Intermediate. I believe norm-referencing belongs only in Synchro Junior Olympic levels and above, where it also is linked with criterion-referencing.
In addition, I want to mention several beliefs that are not directly related to coaching.
I believe social media is much too impersonal and should not be used for recruitment or retention.
I believe that competition may be defined as (a) “the activity of doing something with the goal of outperforming others or winning something” or (b) “an activity in which people try to do something better than others or win something.” Therefore, I believe that the competition model should remain in a limited number of sports situations, while, at the same time, a non-competition model should be designed to embrace the large number of individuals for whom normative comparison is potentially a turn-off. I believe coaches can and should be major players in a robust body of individuals bringing about this profound transformation.