By Dave Brunner
(July 20, 2021)

Coaches are looking to refine their skills and become more effective teachers of the skills/techniques and strategies that will provide their teams with a competitive advantage. Often overlooked in this process is the simplicity borne for adopting the mantra—Always Be Coaching (ABC). Regardless of the sport, ‘teachable moments‘ occur with a frequency that is often neglected or under-utilized by even some of the most experienced and successful coaches.

If a coach continues to cue themselves with this ABC form of instructional self-talk, they will find opportunities where coaching can occur during what might seem to be moments of inactivity or inaccessibility. For example, this morning during a strength and conditioning workout for football, I had the opportunity to visit with a quarterback while he waited in line for his turn at the med ball toss. We went through his read progressions on three of our core pass plays against multiple coverages; taking advantage of the opportunity to check his understanding of our offense and his ability to create mastery imagery scenarios; quality mental repetitions imprinted in his consciousness as ‘successful reps.’ Further, during water breaks, our wide receivers will take turns walking their assignments for the plays they are about to execute. One of the receivers who is not engaged is asked to evaluate the route for execution in terms of assignment and technique application.

We also ask our coaches to be sure to provide Direct and Effective Feedback (DEF) when coaching. Instead of offering the usual, ‘that won’t get it done or ‘that’s a great route’, we challenge our staff to identify specific skill execution which evidences skill mastery or deficiencies in skill execution with suggested remediation instruction. For example, a successful repetition on a vertical route might inspire the following comment from the coach: ‘Great pad level with excellent application of club/arm over to gain leverage—great finish with the stack and high late hands.’ All four of the aforementioned phrases refer to specific skills/techniques which have been taught previously in drills. Conversely, an ineffective repetition is likely to elicit the following comment: ‘you raised your pads up too early and drifted too far to the outside to gain leverage—remember to ‘step on the toes’ of the defensive back before you attempt to gain leverage, and ‘stack’ your hip on his hip as quickly as you can to gain leverage and separation.’

Again, the effective feedback is tied to instructional cue phrases which offer a clear path for remediation to the player. In summary, by following the mantra Always Be Coaching, you will find many more opportunities to provide the DEF’s necessary to build skill mastery and ultimately skill execution in your players.