Have you ever been exhausted by the player's inability to grasp what you are trying to accomplish and you are at the point where you feel they are purposely defying you. Most of the time, the reality is: they do not understand what is different between what you are asking and what they are doing.
Individuals have dominant learning styles. That is, most people favor some particular method of interacting with, taking in, and processing information. A learning style is the method of learning that is unique to an individual that allows that individual to learn the fastest.
The four major learning styles are:
1) Auditory: Auditory processors learn by hearing. They interpret the underlying meanings of spoken language by listening to the tone of voice, pitch, speed, and other spoken nuances. The most effective method to teach verbal learners is to use short explanatory sentences and have them repeat back the particulars of the drill.
2) Visual: The majority of individuals are visual processors. Their optimally learning occurs through seeing the teacher's body language and movements, and facial expressions to fully understand the content of the lesson. Visual learner's see the coach's body language and facial expression and, typically, prefer standing near the front of the group to avoid visual obstructions.
3) Kinesthetic(tactile): Kinesthetic processors learn by doing and retain information best by acting out the activity themselves through mimicking the action. Although kinesthetic learners are a minority in society, many youth coaches exclusively use this style. Coaches tell the players to do a specific drill by name, watch them, and then quickly provide a verbal adjustment without first telling them what and why they are doing it and showing them.
4) Sequential: The sequential learning style is not as well recognized as the auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learning styles, but many very talented athletes are sequential learners. The sequential learning style is based on the "why" question. These athletes learn through linearly stepping through the process from start to finish and need to know the reason behind each different step.
A key objective in youth sports is to amplify the athlete's learning during the two hour practice. Incorporating every learning style can increase the effectiveness of your practices. When introducing a new skill or team play:
1) Tell the players what they are going to learn and the motivation for learning it.
2) Have a coach physically act out the drill and have the players break the drill down into individual steps.
3) Let the players act out the drill and provide constructive coaching fine-tuning.
4) Recap the activity with why it is important and the process steps.
By incorporating multiple learning styles during practice, each player learns using their preferred style. Auditory learners are taught in their style during step 1, 3, and 4. Optimal learning for the visual and kinesthetic styles occurs during step 2 thru 4. Finally, sequential learners get the most from steps 1, 2, and 4.
How many learning styles are you using during practice? Based on your teams previous performance in practice and games, what is the one area that needs to be worked on in the next practice. Break down the drills and play execution into the four steps above to maximize the players learning potential.
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