How to Develop as a Great Coach: Pedagogical Knowledge
Pedagogical knowledge means a basic understanding of how to teach.
Great coaches are always teaching. They’re first and foremost teachers — whether they think of themselves as such, or not.
As a coach, we set a powerful example for our athletes and by default, everything we do is a lesson to them.
A coach’s lesson could be on skills, behaviors, or simply the ability to grow in experience and maturity.
A pedagogical approach requires a coach to understand several areas of basic human development and how they apply to their athletes.
One is an elementary understanding of motor control and learning. This will guide the coach to know what improvements can be gained simply through maturation, as well as what skills and exercises are — or are not — appropriate for athletes to learn at a given age. An excellent book on this topic is Motor Control and Learning.
Great coaches also understand motor-skill development, which deals with skill improvements that are not simply a result of maturation. More can be learned in the book Motor Learning and Performance.
The coach needs to understand instructional methodology and effective ways of teaching skills. John C. Maxwell, in his book The 360 Degree Leader, offers the following simple 5 step process to effective teaching:
I do it.
I do it and you watch.
You do it and I watch.
You do it.
You do it and someone else watches.
And finally, knowing the basics of sports psychology is also important. Some people will consider psychology to be specialized knowledge and outsource it to a credentialed sports psychologist. If you have the budget and time, a qualified Sport Psych is an invaluable aid to the athlete’s support team. But access to a Sport Psych is a luxury few have. So the coach must try to fill those shoes. Cultivating a team environment, or coach-athlete relationship, founded on empathy, trust, and unconditional support can go a long way to help athletes feel safe, confident, and that they belong and matter. If those elements are in place then there exists a very high probability athletes will enjoy a strong sense of well-adjustment, not only when they’re playing their sport, but, more importantly, when living their life.