Purpose: As a former 12 and under AAU softball assistant coach, my purpose is to explain how to successfully coach your team and help them to become more experienced and increase their skill level (without overworking them). If a coach understands how to use constructive criticism, but compliment them when they are doing well- the cooperation will escalate and that is what creates a healthy bond between coach/player.
Audience: The audience I am trying to reaching is mainly for beginning coaches who have no idea how to talk to their players, or push them to do better without pushing them away. Also, along with being new to coaching, their team is new to the sport- so their are some drills that are better than others. It's a learning experience for both parties and the reader is not narrowed down to being female, male, or even a specific age... just coaching material!
Context: The "future/new coaches" will probably be out searching for tips on how to make their team work. So they could stumble across this list of instructions anywhere...either in their home or maybe in a flyer handed out in an athletic facility or at a coaches meeting.
Strategies: I plan on using illustrations of specific drills designed for young teams (with safety precautions) and also maybe a short video clip at the end of how to get your players to respond well to your constructive criticism and compliments. Also, I plan to include bulleted tips along the way on how to increase support "on and off the field."
Medium: I feel that the best way to get this set of instructions out there would be to have it handed out at a voluntary coaches meeting. For example, the parents who choose to coach their kids YMCA teams and Little League teams. Also, online is always a successful way to get information out there. Everyone seems to be technologically savvy these days.
Arrangement: I plan to start out with a few pointers- "A top 5 things to gain your team's respect." Then go directly into a set of instructions on what you can do to effectively communicate with your players in order to get desired results from them: how to make them care, want to do better, strive to learn new skills, work hard to improve important ones, etc. I will have captions and tips bulleted along the side, as well and possibley a few illustrations.
Testing: Since I only have experience with being a new coach, and learned from the managers and coaches I once had- I plan to contact my old Varsity softball coach and get her to explain how she got our team to cooperate and respond so well.
How to coach an experienced/successful team
Purpose: This is for people who either come into coaching a very successful team (long winning streaks, impressive record, etc). Sometimes coming in to coach a successful team is even harder than coaching beginners. These players already have a routine, and tend to be confident about their skill levels. This will teach you how to keep pushing them to do better, to play harder, and to not get lazy at practices.
Audience: Coaches of any age, sex, color, etc. As long as you know the sport you are about to coach and are ready to put forth extra effort in keeping your team on the right track and pushing them to excel to their maximum point- then this is for you.
Context: This would probably be found either on the internet, on a coaching website, or even handed out to high school/college coaches, or simply just to more experienced teams that seem to be doing well.
Strategies: What to do and what to do section with examples and reasons why. For example: Yelling and criticizing is good if it is done constructively. You can't yell at your player everytime they do something wrong and then never tell them "great job!" when they are right.. or they will feel there is no way to please you and possibly give up trying (depending on the player). Along with the what to do/not to do list, I plan on providing a video clip at the bottem and maybe a few illustrations to keep the readers attention.
Medium: You should be able to find these on the internet or in a brochure handed out to coaches at meetings. Or even handed out at the local gyms, etc.
Arrangement: Start out with the "what to do/what not to do" and then get into a bulleted list of pointers. There will be the video clip at the end and illustrations.
Testing: I plan on taking a copy of my instructions home with me this weekend to my old travel ball coaches and also my varsity coach from high school who took us to 3 consecutive state championships. I will get her to read over them and possibley make her own revisions since she has been coaching for over 20 years.
Classmate Comments
her bases seem to be well covered (no pun intended). I felt that her strategies were well thought out and look as if they would be effective. The audience was a little broad though, I would try to narrow it if there is a way to do so. This relates to my instructions because it adheres to experienced and inexperienced participants. It actually contrast in that both parties in her instructions will enjoy what they are doing, however in mine one group is usually not happy to be partaking in the activity.
Feeback for "How to coach an experienced/successful team"
- This whole list of instructions is dead on for this audience, but that's because your purpose is very solid and everything else follows.
-The arrangement needs a bit of detail; although, the same format for instructions toward the previous audience would be just as effective.
feedback for "How to Coach a young/inexperienced team"
-You seem to have the arrangement of the coaching instructions already in pictured in your head! I especially like start of it- the top 5 things to gain your team's respect; it sounds like this would help make the instructions more memorable after reading them.
-Maybe you have a broader audience than you think. Is there a way to talk people who haven't considered coaching, but have potential to, into pursuing it?
-I like the brochure idea. It would be an effective way to connect with this audience.
-Some type of presentation would work for this audience, and maybe a web page would be effective for reeling in people who aren't necessarily thinking about coaching, but may consider it after these instructions.