Teaching Like a Coach

I have two boys who have been active in youth sports since they were old enough to throw a baseball.  Add up all the soccer, baseball, and basketball practices and games over the past few years and that means I've witnessed a lot of coaching.

Here are some things that good coaches do that good teachers should do too:

1.  High-Fives for every player.  Every time, and I mean each and every time one of my boys arrives at a practice or a game the coach high-fives him and greets him.  I wrote my first blog post about talking to every student every day.  Do I give my students that moment of attention and recognition each day?

2.  Less Talking.  More Doing.  Coaches don't spend a lot of time talking about how to throw a perfect pitch, how to swing the bat correctly, or how to dribble.  They get to the point quickly and clearly, and then they show it.  If the kid doesn't get it, they don't talk about it more, they show it again and then do it with them.  Do I spend too much time telling instead of showing?

3.  Practice and Repetition.  Coaches believe in muscle memory.  Shoot the basketball over and over and over and more shots are bound to go in.  Period.  My 9 year-old son's basketball homework over the three month break of club basketball:  10,000 basketball shots.  Guess how many balls my 7-year old hits at the batting cages!  Do I give my students enough practice?

4.  Games Count.  Coaches know games are where it matters.  It doesn't matter that you hit a triple in practice if you strike out in the game.  No one really cares that you swished ten free throws in a row in practice if you airball your shots in a game.  Of course I praise effort and practice with my students, but do I need to grade every assignment?  Do I need to collect each and every piece of writing?  Or do they need to just show it in a test?

Lesson Learned:  My students don't wear uniforms or compete to win a trophy, but there are still some coaching strategies that I can apply in the classroom.