Patience

Wednesday 7 September 2011 - The day I started a voluntary role as head coach for one under 10 rugby league team in Oldham. It's a brand new start, providing some familiar challenges, however I'm the main person to deal with these. I'm excited yet apprehensive for the future.

Before turning up today I didn't have much knowledge of the children who were members of this club. I didn't know numbers, background, ability, school year and definitely not names. The session plan I originally organised for the evening did not exactly go to plan. Immediately I realised I have a few challenges with this group.

After a chat with other members of the club, I understand that these are children who need keeping connected and involved within activities, otherwise they are easily distracted. However, as the only coach with this group, it became difficult to organise the next activities and keep the children occupied. This allowed the children to start to play about, throw balls at each other, stamp on each other and use some foul language. At times I felt the pressure.

The initial thought was to offer these children an opportunity to earn a weekly prize, with a bigger prize at the end of this short season or even at the end of the month. The original thought is something I have picked up from watching a local football run session providing the child who puts the most into learning and taking part with a trophy. Do I link it back to my experience at camp where the first bunk to win 5 inspections were offered ice cream or pizza parties? Do I bribe them with treats like you do with pets? That would certainly go against my own values. If I was to follow this route, what incentives would I use?

The thought which is currently occupying my mind though is that in some way I'm going to have to develop a relationship with this group that commands their respect. Today, it could possibly be the children playing up and testing their 'new coach'. Could it by my delivery style? I'm not an autocratic coach and I definitely believe that in these early stages it would be detrimental to progress in the long term if I was to show signs of it. Am I going to need to be a co-operative coach? Do I give them responsibility for their own learning? I tried that tonight and didn't get the big response. Do I become submissive and let them pick what they want to do? I didn't get the chance for them to identify their own learning next week.

The feedback I received today identified that I demonstrated a lot of patience with the group, something which may have been lacking with some of their previous coaches. Showing patience is a good thing, right? I'm not sure though if I'm too easy to let them get on with this behaviour until I have their attention. Surely there will be no progress with their development as a team if the sessions were to continue in this manner? If there is no progress would the children move on to clubs that will allow them to develop as they could and should? Or would they drop out of sport completely? Some serious questions to be considered in order to help the club maintain its presence in that community.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, I'm excited with this opportunity yet apprehensive. This will be a serious test of character, my ability to coach a developing side and my enthusiasm to continue coaching in the community.

Stevie