First XV Performance
  • Home
  • Get Started
  • Strength Camp
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Ways to Start Training
  • FAQ
  • About First XV
  • Get Your Badge On (Store)
  • Blog
  • SimpleMovestoStronger
  • SignUpNextSteps

6/26/2019

What I think I Learned While Coaching (Volume 2)

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Happy Wednesday all, hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their summer and the kids haven't driven you madder than a hatter yet. It’s been a hot minute since I last put something down for you all to read, so let's fix that today. Most of you are aware that the number one thing that occupied my time over the last 3-4 month is coaching rugby. Last year I did a piece, inspired by another coach, talking about my thoughts on the season and things I may, or may not have, learned in my first season as the head coach.
 
It was my second go around as the head man this year. The year brought up some new things for me to learn and unlearn. Today, I wanted to share those lessons with you all, let’s get to it;
 
Stick to your guns- This is something I got better at from last year to this year. There were a few policies I tried to put in place last season, but I didn’t stick to them. By the end, I didn’t feel great about breaking away from them, so this year I vowed to do better. What a surprise, it worked much better this go around. The players understood what was expected of them, and in the end my conscience was much cleaner than last year. Did it make some players mad? Oh yeah it did, but in the end, you’re not going to make them all happy, just be consistent and your decisions won't be questioned...OK let's be real, they'll be questioned, no matter what, just less so.

Hold your leadership group accountable, they’ll take care of the rest- With the new season I decided to create a leadership group (thank you James Kerr). Yes, I had my captains and vice captains, but I wanted a slightly bigger group to hold the team accountable. Most of you know, I hate yelling, if it gets to that point then I blame myself, not the players. With that, there’s obviously a certain point where the players stop listening to the same voice.

Honestly, these youngins, whether they like me or not, I’m still somewhat of an authority figure, which means I’m not always going to be listened to. I did find that when messages came from their peers (the leadership group), it hit them just a bit harder and sunk in just a bit deeper. If I felt like the team was unfocused, instead of shouting at them, I’d have a quick word with my captains, tell them they have 1 minute with the team to get them to refocus. They’d have their word, we’d get a quick sip of water and back to it, most the times the team refocused, with a few exceptions (nothing’s perfect).
​
Picture

Show them you care, they’ll care too- This job is so much more than coaching the skills, the tactics, the analysis and all that. There are so many soft skills, as it were, that are required to be successful as a high school coach and make an impact. Seriously, if you're honored with being in this position, why are you going to make it all about wins and losses, and not try something that will last far better no matter how the season went.

There were a ton of challenges brought to my attention this year with the players, with that, more than anything else, I wanted to show them that, yes I cared greatly for them, their well-being and their growth as a person (never mind a rugby player). When I showed them this, what happened was really awesome, they truly cared about each other and each other’s well being on and off the pitch. The feeling of pure elation after a big achievement and the feeling of complete sadness after a disappointment, both are far better when there’s care shown by everyone around. There might not be crying in baseball, as has been said, but if there’s no crying (not out of fear or terror mind you) after the players feel like they’ve let each other down, in my opinion, the group as a whole, didn’t care enough.
​

Picture

Those that want to know, yes this season in terms of record was more successful, but I feel like that was a product of things we laid last year and in our pre-season this year. When it becomes all about the record, you've turned a bad corner, and many times, there's no going back.

Thanks for reading everyone, hope you all haven't missed me too much. More content coming your way in the months ahead, so until next time, go out there and get after it.

Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Author

    Jarrod Dyke, CSCS

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Pre-FirstXV blog posts

    Categories

    All
    Fitness
    Food

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Get Started
  • Strength Camp
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Ways to Start Training
  • FAQ
  • About First XV
  • Get Your Badge On (Store)
  • Blog
  • SimpleMovestoStronger
  • SignUpNextSteps