My eldest son is learning to drive, and in Illinois one of the hoops he has to jump through before he can get his license is logging 50 hours in the car driving with me. That is not a particularly comfortable experience for either of us. But we try to put an hour or two in together every week.
In the midst of this process, I have thought a lot about what we are trying to accomplish beyond just putting the hours in. He needs to learn how our car works. He needs to learn the rules of the road. But I also realized the most important thing he needs to do is learn a new perspective.
He has been driven everywhere his entire life so until recently all he knew was the perspective of the passenger. Passengers can do a lot of things that drivers can't do. The passenger in a car is typically mostly interested in enjoying the ride. Now as a driver he has to realize his main perspective must be on what his destination is and how to get there safely. Getting him to transition his perspective from being a passenger to being a driver has become my goal for him.
This metaphor I originally got from Tim Elmore's Leadership Blog. But yesterday I began thinking of the passenger and the driver as it extends to athletics. One way to look at a team structure is to think of teams as driven by coaches and the athletes on the teams as passengers. The destination is consistent improvement throughout the season. Since coaches know best the destination, they determine whats going to happen every day and every week. The players show up to practice and complete the coaches practice instruction. The result, if the planning is good, is a successful season.
There is another way to use this metaphor of drivers and passengers in athletics which I like even better. Some athletes are passengers. They show up to practice. They work. But they do not have a destination other than the end of the season. Other athletes are drivers. They know their destination. They have a measurable goal (a certain level of performance or a championship) and they know how to get there. They have invested in a process of daily improvement. The coach just aids in keeping the driver on course as a navigator making slight adjustments when needed. The trick for the coach is how do you transform an athlete who has a passengers perspective towards athletics into an athlete who has a drivers perspective.
Deciding to become a driver in your athletic career is not easy because you lose some freedom. You have to focus on the road ahead and your destination. But I would argue transforming your perspective as an athlete from a passengers perspective to a drivers perspective is the key to real accomplishment and a secret to great coaching.
Here is a video that I also saw yesterday that in another way gets at this same point.
Great video & Great message - Intrinsically motivated athletes are a coach's dream. I recently read a book review of "Getting to the heart of youth sports, more than just a game:" http://bit.ly/SrgB8t
ReplyDeleteTwo quotes stood out from the review:
"For a kid to really find the joy in sports, they need to find it on their own:"
"When a boy (or girl) needs a schedule to announce when it’s time to have fun, then we have lost the route to joy."
Clarence -- Angela Duckworth was at North Shore yesterday. She has written a lot about Grit and is in Paul Tough's book on How Children Succeed. Her comments would concur with yours. In her family, they have a rule that everyone is working on something hard. Her feeling is that out of this she will get her kids to not be afraid of focused practice and help them find a passion.
ReplyDeletePatrick McHugh's further stated - "I am interested in what triggers that change from passenger to driver, experience, self-belief, achievement, all?"
ReplyDeleteMy response - Great question - I've coached kids in a variety of sports from 5 on up. Some kids have it from day one. There's a girl I coached when she was 8/9 years old in soccer. Now she's a senior in high school, captain of her team, all-league performer in basketball. She was the smallest on our U10 team, but was the MVP. Played with heart and courage at such a young age. Had a tremendous work ethic.
Coached a 3rd grader last year in track. Great all-around female athlete. Also plays basketball, soccer, baseball, surfs, horseback rides. Does it all. Work ethic & focus is beyond her years.
Both of these kids were drivers at a very young age. Gives credence to the notion that it's innate in some kids. Others, it has to be nurtured. For most, if it happens at all, it comes with experience and maturity.
A great navigator(coach)can create the environment to empower kids to take-on more responsibility for the direction of their careers/lives. Never discount the impact of positive peer pressure to aid in the cause.
As for achievement being a factor, no doubt, it's important. Once you see you can do it, then it makes it easier to believe you can continue to achieve it, & hopefully one recognizes what it takes to keep doing it {love to teach kids reverse ABC's - C it, Believe it, Achieve it).
On the achievement/self-belief factors, Navigator (coach) must always understand their power to influence this in a positive as well as negative direction. A Navigator's role is to give feedback & direction. Doesn't always have to be positive, but it must be constructive. Most importantly, they must go out of their way to catch their players doing good.
That's my take & we could go further in-depth with the subject. It's a rich one & requires a coach who isn't a total control freak. Recent article on John Harbaugh & Baltimore Ravens http://yhoo.it/Ys8wZi is a shining example of how a coach of men has to have his mind open to empowering leaders on his team, instead of worrying about protecting his turf.