Thursday's Blog- December 15- Four Virtues

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." -Henry Brooks Adams

In my last blog, we learned what master coaches are. Great teaching is a skill like any other. It looks like magic, however it is a combination of skills- a set of myelinated circuits built through deep practice. Ron Gallimore, a professor at UCLA describes this skill as, "Great teachers focus on what the student is saying or doing and are able, by being so focused and by their deep knowledge of the subject matter, to see and recognize the inarticulate stumbling, fumbling effort of the student who's reaching toward mastery, and then connect to them with a targeted message." The three words highlighted are the key words. Master coaches are the human delivery system for the signals that fuel and direct the growth of a given skill circuit, telling it with great clarity to fire here and not there. Coaching is a long intimate process and conversation. It is a series of signals and responses that move toward the coach and that certain individuals goals. A coaches true skill is not just their ability to communicate, but rather the ability to locate the sweet spot on the edge of each individuals ability, and send the right signals to help the student reach toward the right goal, over and over again. With any complex skill, there are several different qualities involved. Daniel Coyle calls these different qualities "the four virtues".

The First Virtue
Most of the people Coyle met and talked to were in their sixties or seventies. They all had spent decades intensively learning how to coach.  A great teacher has the capacity to always take it deeper, to see the learning the athlete or student is capable of and to go there. Years of work go into myelinating a master coach's circuit, which contains knowledge, strategy, experience, and practice instinct ready to be put into use to take the athlete and students to where they need to go. People are not born with this ignition and deep practice. One does not become a master coach by accident. For example, coaches in the NFL did not just become coaches on accident. They loved football and most likely played it growing up and then grew a tremendous amount of knowledge and skill and wanted to pass it on.

type of knowledge, it's something they grow, over time, through the same combination of

The Second Virtue
Eyes are a giveaway. They are usually sharp and long, unblinking gazes. Several master coaches told Coyle that they trained their eyes to be like cameras. Though the gaze can be friendly, it's not about making a friendship. Yeah, it is important to be friendly and on good terms with your coach, however it is there job to pass on the information and get you to where you're suppose to go. One person Coyle met was a coach named John Wooden, he said " I am not going to treat you players all the same. Giving you the same treatment doesn't make sense, because you're all different. You are different from each other in height, weight, background, intelligence, talent, and many other ways. For that reason each one of you deserves individual treatment that is best for you. I will decide what that treatment will be." I feel like this is hard for some coaches to realize. Sure I have only had a few coaches in my lifetime, but I feel like a lot of coaches now-a-days are more focused on trying to get their athletes to win or to try and be successful right away. Those may be good goals to reach, but it is important to get to know each individual because treating a bunch of people the same could be difficult on the athletes because they could not all be on the same page physically and mentally. Most master coaches Coyle met sought out details of their athletes personal lives such as, finding out about family, income, relationships, an motivation.

The Third Virtue
"You gotta give them a lot of information," said Robert Landsorp, a tennis coach. Shock will be an important word toward this virtue. Most master coaches deliver their information to their students and athletes in a series of high-definition bursts. Coaches never start a sentence saying, "Could you please" or "Do you think this...", instead they say "Now do this... Do that." Basically saying "you will do what I tell you". They are not trying to be rude or mean, but delivering in a way that sounded urgent. Most master coaches change their input. If A didn't work, they tried B and then C; if they failed it would go on to D and E and so on. As soon as a coach sees their student or athlete accomplish something they would add difficulty. Small successes were not stopping points, they were stepping stones. Push is another important word. The second they accomplish something it is important to push them to a new goal or spot even if they are struggling.

The Fourth Virtue
Many coaches Coyle met radiated a subtle theatrical air. Theatrical honesty works best when teachers are performing their most essential myelinating role: pointing out errors. It is important to point out their errors because you don't want they doing something wrong continually. Coaches should be warm and encouraging instead of making them feel like they are doing everything wrong. This is where experience from the coach steps in. In order to understand what that individual is doing wrong, the coach has to be able to connect with them because they know what they are talking about.

Being a master coach is hard work and it takes a lot of dedication. The quote I added in the beginning, "a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." Once someone is a master coach they are always going to be a coach at heart. For example, when I did track, my uncle would come to some of my meets and help me correct some errors I had (fourth virtue) and even thought he was no longer a track coach, he still had that knowledge to help me. A teacher affects individuals for eternity. Some coaches could even change lives. It is incredible what coaches can do.