Don’t Be A ‘Joystick’ Coach
How much faith do you as a coach have in your athletes to complete the task you have set them? Do you bark instructions to your players during play? Do you tell them where to position themselves and how to execute the next play? If you do, the phrase ‘joystick coach’ probably relates to you.
Whilst coaches of this nature have great intentions, the consequences of telling athletes what to do can have a negative effect on them. Instead of letting your athletes think and learn by their own actions, you are unintentionally creating athletes that cannot think for themselves. You risk them becoming athletes who rely on being told what to do next on every play.
As tempting as it is to instruct players during play, if coaches can resist the temptation and allow their athletes to make their own decisions they can then learn from their own mistakes. They will then be more likely to become thinking athletes who rely less on their coach to make the correct play. Read more about creating ‘thinking athletes’ here.
“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”
Richard Branson
Below is a link to an article by Alex Kos’ which discusses what ‘joystick coaching’ is and the negative consequences of it. He also recommends some tips that will assist you from becoming a joystick coach.
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