Labeling Relationships
Christine Ruffolo For the second time this year, I told a client they no longer need to pay me. We were peers, and the level of engagement and conversation I got from talking with them far exceeded my $65 per hour asking fee. The interest was mutual, the reciprocity organically leveled up, and I […]
Lessons from Teaching in 2019
Steph Lee As a teacher and educator, daily self reflection is crucial. Instead of making a new year resolution, I decided to review all my lesson plans of 2019 and summarise them. Transmit Insight, not Information The more you know, the smarter you are and thus the better teacher you can be? Nope. Information can […]
A Curious Cultural Experiment
Christine Ruffolo For many reasons and convergences of fate, I recently took on the assignment of coaching high school volleyball. It was a sport I knew very little about and had the least experience coaching and playing. It was also a position to lead JV2, traditionally known as the ‘freshman team’. I was the […]
Shaping the Game
Alex Sporticus At the heart of a games based approach to teaching is the challenge to the centrality of learning isolated and decontextualised techniques that will ‘allow’ the child to play. Instead of starting with the practice of the prerequisite techniques, the starting point is the game and play itself. It is through play that […]
The Dangers of Misinterpreting Coaching Cues
Tom Morrison I’m really excited about writing this one as it really brings home to me what “coaching” actually is. No matter how many books you read, no matter how many courses you do, you have to learn “how to people”. One of the coolest phrases I was told once about coaching cues […]
Silent Coaching
Alex Sporticus Imagine this scene: The pupils are silent as they file into the exam hall. Their names are checked, valuables left at the side and they quietly walk past the rows of desks and chairs till they find their own. Nervous tension fills the the room. The exam papers are distributed, instructions issued and […]
Coaching Feeling
Jenn Pilotti I was talking with a physical therapist a few weeks ago. He has worked with everything from professional athletes to seniors recovering from hip surgery. When I asked how he felt about working with athletes, he said, “athletes are easy. It’s general population clients that are difficult.” I have heard this […]
Cleaning Up the Olympic Lifts
Tom Morrison There is nothing I love more in the world than weightlifting! No two people lift the same and no two coaches teach the same. There are hundreds, if not thousands of strength drills, speed drills, mobility drills, programs, you name it. All of that…. And it’s just two lifts, the snatch and […]
Feedback, Process, and Accomplishment
Jenn Pilotti As a coach or movement specialist, when do you give people feedback regarding their performance? Do you do it in the middle of the movement? Do you do it after? And after you have sussed out when what do you give feedback on? Do you give feedback on how the movement is […]
Three Things Psychotherapy Teaches Us About Effective Coaching
Movement is amazingly complex. What we quickly realize is that there’s more to the body than muscle and bone. We have tendons, ligaments, connective tissues of all kinds…and a nervous system to top it all off. But what’s most confusing for so many movement practitioners is the mind-body connection. In fact the whole idea of […]