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Assignment 2, Part Two: A Critically Reflective Report: Kirkham Grammar School Work placement
Personal Development Placement Report
The placement was undertaken at Kirkham Grammar School and the role was that of strength and conditioning coach for the Rugby union 1st and 2nd teams. The rationale is that working as a consultant strength and Conditioning coach within the private School sector is a personal career aim. Therefore, it was hoped that the placement would help to develop the skills and connections required to achieve this goal.
This was no doubt a challenging prospect for an undergraduate student to undertake, with no external support from a senior strength and conditioning coach and no previous formal strength and conditioning structure in place. The initial dilemma faced as a young coach confronted with this scenario was what would the details of the program be for this group, which scientific methods would be chosen and was the knowledge of strength and conditioning gained thus far enough to oversee a program for multiple athletes. However, as the time at the school unfolded, the realisation that a key outcome in the early stages of coaching the group would be to build strong relationships with the players to gain their trust and develop buy-in from all the athletes towards the coaching process being implemented.
Leadership and Communication
This placement was a genuine opportunity to critically analyse management and leadership style, identifying and utilizing key communication techniques and recognizing appropriate times to implement different styles of leadership. In order to successfully achieve this objective, different theories of leadership and communication would need to be explored and tested. In the placement’s infancy, an autocratic style of leadership was formally adopted based on research from Chelladurai, (1990) who stated that team sports athletes will look to the coach for overall control. Whereas in individual sports there may be more focus on an athlete lead approach to training and competition. However, it was recognised that due to the level of independence that was needed for athletes to complete all their training sessions it was soon realised that a change of approach was needed. Subsequently, a more athlete lead approach was adopted, by which the athletes were given more freedom within the sessions to coach each other, select their own weights and intensities. This was based on the notion from (Bortoli et al., 2009; Burke., 2005) that the use of legitimate tactics, ‘Blanket approaches’ and ‘one size fits all’ styles to coach-athlete communication are commonly flawed. For these reason’s as the placement unfolded a personal transformation occurred, changing from a purely autocratic approach to a more democratic coaching style. This proved successful as athlete interaction with the coach and with each other increased. It was commonplace to witness athletes coaching and helping each-other with frequent questions being asked to their coach. Interestingly, it has been suggested by Carron and Chelladurai (1981) that one of the most important factors contributing to the perception of team cohesiveness in a sport was the discrepancies between the athlete and coach and between the athlete and the team. It was becoming evident that the role of this placement was equally about coach-athlete interaction and creating team cohesiveness as it was program design and scientific knowledge. Siegel (2015) stated that ‘Human connections shape neural connections in the brain.’ Meaning that communication can influence cognitive response and behaviour. If these connections were not formed with each individual then the results of the programming would not be positive, regardless of its level of technical detail and accuracy. Therefore, opportunities were often taken to put in more time than was required, to work with athletes as individuals and in small groups. Usually, those who were perhaps injured or not fully interacting with the program. This extra time invested in developing relationships which these individuals who had previously not been expected to attend the sessions frequently, suddenly began to become more engaged make notable improvements. A notion that makes sense considering it is commonly believed that successful coaching depends highly a positive relationship being formed with each athlete (Jowett and Clark‐Carter,2006) the more time invested in everyone and the more questions that were asked about the athletes as individuals outside of their sporting context, the better the level of interaction and buy in to the process was becoming.
It was highlighted prior to starting the placement that leadership and communication style would be key skills developed. They have been extensively tested and subsequently developed, not only when having to communicate with the athletes, but also the head coach of the rugby team. It was discovered through reading the available literature that Collaboration tactics have been shown to be successful in military and corporate settings (Yukl ,2002). Subsequently, it was decided that a collaborative approach was needed when communicating with the head coach in order to achieve the best outcomes for both athletic and rugby development
On one occasion the head coach felt it was appropriate to completely change the pre-discussed conditioning plan to a significantly more intense plan an hour before the session was due to start. This wasn’t ideal from a player load management point of view as it had been predetermined that the players may need an easier session, however it was recognised that the relationship with the head coach was extremely valuable and conflict should be avoided in such instances. A compromise is a form of collaboration and on this occasion, a method of rational persuasion was used to achieve a reasonable compromise. (Yukl and Seifert, 2002) It was a case of explaining the scientific reasons behind not changing the plan as much as was proposed; in order to still retain a proportion of the original plan. A compromise was a communication tactic often used in the interactions with the head coach, however, at times it was recognised that some low-level conflict could be useful, for the reasons suggested by Rahim, (2002) that often conflict can be the catalyst for positive change. Initially, the placement didn’t allow for any control of the filed based conditioning for the players. However, after some questioning over why this was the case it was agreed that the conditioning could be handed over for a trial period which later developed into complete control of all aspects of the gym and field-based conditioning. The perfect outcome, which wouldn’t have been the case without some cautious questioning of the head coach’s rationale.
Logistical Challenges
It was pre-determined in an initial need’s analysis that the role at Kirkham would present a significant logistical challenge. For example, the Gym facility itself had been fabricated from a former shower block (appendix 1a.). Initially this was seen to be a challenge, and ultimately running sessions for upwards of ten athletes in this space with no support was difficult, however over time this challenge enabled the development of personal skills of innervation and compromise as a coach. It has been stated by Birkinshaw et al., (2006) that successful innovators succeed “despite the system,” not because of it. This was arguably the case throughout this placement, for example; on numerous occasions group warm-ups of up to 20 players have had to be conducted in a school corridor. A practice requiring management of the group’s behaviour in respect of others in the surrounding area and effective communication with other school staff members to help build understanding and tolerance towards the occasional inconvenience. When reflecting on initial placement aims, these unique challenges have been the perfect environment to develop skills such as facilities management and resourcefulness as well as how to develop relationships with other school staff and facility users. No doubt these skills can be utilised in future employment within a school setting.
Collection of Data
When devising the initial placement aims it was recognised that for future implementation of similar services in other institutions significant data would need to be collected. Unfortunately, there were no sophisticated methods of collecting scientific data available due to a lack of available funds. Therefore, these skills had to be developed in the most simplistic and practical way possible. Skills In managing player fatigue were extensively developed and the method of asking the players to rate the perceived exertion (RPE) of a session using the Borg scale (Borg,1998) then multiplying that by session duration enabled the formulation of a measurement of load (RPExtime=Session load) this method has been used by others such as Twist and Highton (2013); and ultimately enabled the comparison of weekly loads with player performances something that could be tracked longitudinally. Valuable information which could then be fed back to the coaches and athletes. An invaluable skill that could now be implemented in a huge variety of sports settings. As well as load management performance Measures were also recorded. However, due to the required simplicity of these measures, maximal strength tests were deemed optimal and a 3-repetition maximum (3RM) back squat and (3RM) Bench were used over the course of the placement as a predictor of lower and upper body strength. Not only did this develop skills in how to safely test and record these results with young athletes in a challenging setting but it also gave a set of longitudinal data that could be used to show progress when applying for other similar roles.
Self-reflection
An ability to reflect critically and honestly on personal performances throughout the duration of this placement has been a key skill. The reflective method chosen was that of Borton (1970), asking one’s self; what? So, what? And Now what? The reason for the selection of this method is that it was concise, so fitted in with a busy schedule and prioritised getting to the key points that went well and points for improvement. In a day consisting on occasion 6 hours of back to back coaching it was essential to take the time to reflect, otherwise key aspects for improvement could be missed. Often this would take place in the car driving home where a verbal reflection could be recorded, it was vital to be able to discuss both negative and positive aspects so that future good practice could be repeated and improved apron.
Potential career opportunities
The popularity of strength and conditioning has seen exponential growth in recent times, which ultimately has led to it becoming an essential part of athlete preparation and a well-respected profession. (Hartshorn et al., 2016). However, a direct result of its growing popularity has been an increase in competition for employment, latest figures showing the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) to now hold in the region of 30,000 members (‘A Brief Review’,2010). This increased competitive market has led to a reduction in average salaries and an increase in Coaches perceived stress (Dawson et al., 2013). A recent review into the experiences of Internships in Strength and conditioning by Reading and colleagues (2017) determined that 93% of strength and conditioning internships are unpaid and over half occupied by coaches who had already achieved a higher education qualification (bachelor’s degree 56%; master’s degree 18%).
Uniquely this placement opportunity required the formulation and practical implementation of a fully functioning Strength and Conditioning service alongside completing an undergraduate degree. This has given a unique insight into personal skills that are needed for further development. It is now felt that personal skills in business require some development, as following successful implementation of a comprehensive program from the position of a student intern. Further understanding is now needed to understand how to offer this as a bespoke service at other institutions and be able to monetize these services. This will require personal development in areas such as time management and finance. If this service is to be offered to another school, understanding of how to quote fair and reasonable expenses whilst making some profit will be a key skill. Furthermore, how to appropriately market this service will be essential therefor a well-developed understanding of marketing strategies will be an important skill set to develop. At present Its generally felt that a personal love and passion for coaching, coupled with the nature of the industry has resulted in advantage being taken of this very comprehensive service for free. Consequently, further developing this new skill set is the next priority in order to monetise this service.
Current Job prospects
A search into job opportunities within the sector conducted on the UK strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) website reviled that most paid roles for new coaches require at the very minimum a bachelor’s degree in Strength and Conditioning or a related subject. Also, notably, a minimum of 3 years coaching experience in a variety of settings (‘Jobs’, UKCSA, 2018). Fortunately, through a desire to gain as much experience as possible while completing this Undergraduate degree there are several opportunities for which the minimum requirements have been met (see appendix 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d). Notably, three of the adverts included in the appendix are private schools seeking strength and conditioning coaches. This is the desired sector wished to enter and subsequently the experiences gained thus far during this module helped to give a unique skill set to be able to excel in one of these environments.
Career progression plan included (Appendix 3).
Reference list
Afzalur Rahim, M. (2002). Toward a theory of managing organizational conflict. International Journal of Conflict Management, 13(3), 206-235.
Birkinshaw, J. M., & Mol, M. J. (2006). How management innovation happens. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47(4), 81-88.
Borg, G. (1998). Borg's perceived exertion and pain scales. Human kinetics.
Carron, A. V., & Chelladurai, P. (1981). The dynamics of group cohesion in sport. Journal of Sport Psychology, 3(2), 123-139.
Chelladurai, P. (1990). Leadership in sports: A review. International Journal of Sport Psychology,
Hartshorn, M. D., Read, P. J., Bishop, C., & Turner, A. N. (2016). Profile of a strength and conditioning coach: Backgrounds, duties, and perceptions. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 38(6), 89-94.
Jowett, S., & Clark‐Carter, D. (2006). Perceptions of empathic accuracy and assumed similarity in the coach–athlete relationship. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45(3), 617-637.
Read, P., Hughes, J. D., Blagrove, R., Jeffreys, I., Edwards, M., & Turner, A. N. (2017). Characteristics and experiences of interns in strength and conditioning. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(3), 269-276.
The National Strength and Conditioning Association.A brief history. Retrieved from http://www.nsca-lift.org/AboutNSCA/history.shtml.
Tod, D. A., Bond, K. A., & Lavallee, D. (2012). Professional development themes in strength and conditioning coaches. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26(3), 851-860.
Twist, C., & Highton, J. (2013). Monitoring fatigue and recovery in rugby league players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 8(5), 467-474.
UK Strength and Conditioning Association. (2018). Jobs. Retrieved from https://www.uksca.org.uk/jobs
Yukl, G., Gordon, A., & Taber, T. (2002). A hierarchical taxonomy of leadership behavior: Integrating a half century of behavior research. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9(1), 15-32.
Yukl, G., Seifert, C. F., & Chavez, C. (2008). Validation of the extended influence behavior questionnaire. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(5), 609-621.
Appendix
1a
Figure 1: Kirkham Grammar School Gym
2a
2b
2c
2d
3.
4.
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21/02/2019
Daily Challenges
Being an student coach is hard at times, people think you don’t know much, and it is hard to get your point across without speaking out of turn and seeming big headed. I defiantly don’t think I know it all, in fact the more I learn the more I realise I don’t know; however, I can really see the hard work reading and listening I have done, starting to pay off. I don’t care what people say, Frans Bosch’s book is a great one if anything it has taught me so much about motor learning and rehabilitation. Today I had a conversation with the sports rehabilitator about their screening process. To be honest I was familiar with the concepts she was showing me, although I didn’t mention this to much as I didn’t want to come across arrogant as she was trying to help me, I think! The more time I spend at the school I am realising that she does really know her stuff in terms of rehab protocols for different injuries, would I would say though is there is too much divide between rehab and performance. This is where I believe that my knowledge can bridge the gap. Today the sports rehab was working with a player returning from ankle fracture and they were doing running. She stated that his ankle joint was internally rotavated which was fair comment however she chose to fix this by telling him to turn his foot outwards. I know from research that this is an internal que which is difficult to respond to and that to find a way to externalise this concept for the player would be easier. However, I feel that I am on the borderline of constantly suggesting things to the staff and need to be careful that I don’t come across as arrogant. I have to learn to speak at the times that will benefit me most and retain the respect of all of the staff even if sometimes I know that I have the knowledge.
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20/02/2019
Understanding My role
Coaches don’t respect S&C, they especially don’t respect S&C interns, it is my responsibility to earn their respect. Tonight, I was put off working with the 2nd team in the future as the coaching staff have been difficult to communicate with. They don’t want to know your name or anything about you. To them, you are the S&C guy who does the warm-up. I think I let this put me off slightly tonight as I made a couple of mistakes. I must remember why I coach, and that I am there for the players not for armature coaches who think they are above me. It is, however, for the overall benefit of the players. Important that I make more of an effort to engage with these coaches and try and collaborate with them. I am fully aware of the cultural difficulties in rugby, perfectly highlighted tonight by one of the coaches entering the gym and stating that we need to get them big. You have to take these things with a pinch of salt when it is coming from the 2nd team coaches, they don’t have a good understanding of what your role is and they can only see the size and speed of a player standing in front of them. Overall, I think I am doing ok, I am targeting the people in the paid roles at the top of the organisation who would potentially hire me, I am listening to their concerns and making compromises that benefit them. However, I must always ensure this is not at the expense of the quality of coaching that the players reive. Moving forward I must continue to communicate with all staff and build a relationship with everyone at the club this is my weakness and something I need to improve.
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03/12/2018
What value can you add as an intern?
The goal for me now has to be adding value to the setup and starting to make them think about how much better it is with me around. The issue here is that time is limited to have an impact. I have already managed to gain my own section of the overall training sessions taking a movement specific warm-up which lasts 10 mins and I quite a significant amount of time for them to be giving a student S&C coach in the grand scheme of things. The other area’s I see myself being able to have an impact is by assisting and taking a keen interest in prehab. Being relentless in my approach in terms of coaching movement competency, not allowing for any poor movement at tall. Getting lt here early, leaving late, talking to everyone I can.
Making an impact on the decision makers.
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The Gym at KGS
The gym has been fabricated from an old shower block and is small and basic. It is a logistical challenge to train all 35 players in just two sessions with the facilities available and with no additional coaching support. However, I have grown to love that challenge and I firmly believe it has seen me become extremely resourceful, for example on numerous occasions I have taken a group of up to 20 players through a warm up in a school corridor.
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29/11/2018
A very Quiet session today with both teams being away playing. I did, however, get to spend time working with the same group of 4 athletes I worked with on Tuesday, this has been a really positive week for them as I have been able to address underlying issues they had with attendance to my sessions. I was also able to give them the attention they needed and are not able to get when I have the full squad in. I think that this has been a great way to get them motivated and help them to buy into the process like the rest of the squad have. I firmly believe that the time that you as a coach can dedicate to each athlete in a team sport is less than that when working with an individual. This viewpoint is one shared in the research into coach-athlete relationships, Bartholomew, (2017) describes how the ability to build relationships with athletes is of paramount importance to achieving a common understanding between the coach and athlete towards the objectives of training.
Bartholomew, B. (2017). Conscious Coaching: The Art & Science of Building Buy-in. Bartholomew Strength.
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29/11/2018
Small numbers today as the first team and second team had games, the first team was away so I didn’t see any of them. The second team didn’t have to travel far so they came in for a session. I adapted their current program so that this session only included light explosive concentric stuff to act as maintenance and a way of priming their CNS before the game the following day. Unfortunately, the attitudes were great today and I didn’t have too much patience due to being under stress with my workload, so I snapped at one player and told him to leave. On another day I don’t think I would have handled it this way and he probably caught me off guard. He did however apologise, and I let him continue, I don’t think it was a negative thing in the end. However, to improve I think I need to do a better job at setting the right mood during the warm up as I was a bit casual tonight. On a positive note, I had three injured players that I exposed to some conditioning for the first time. We did a Hoff running track style session and the responded well!
Hoff, J., et al. Soccer specific aerobic endurance training. Br. J. Sports.
Med. 36(3): 218-221, 2002.
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07/11/2018
We know from research into coaching (Bortoli et al., 2009; Burke., 2005) that the use of legitimating tactics, ‘Blanket approaches’ and ‘one size fits all’ styles to coach-athlete communication are inherently flawed. An autocratic coach is unlikely to achieve a positive outcome with their group of athletes, therefore bringing the challenge for the strength and conditioning coach working within team sport back to the ability to communicate with each athlete as an individual and managing time to allow for these interpersonal relationships to form.
This is perhaps the biggest challenge at Kirkham, time constraints and a big cohort of players to coach on my own means that often building relationships with players have to come secondary to the training process. In the past few weeks, I have tried to overcome this issue by always interacting with players whenever possible. This has meant watching rugby training sessions and chatting with players on the sidelines, when they have breaks to get a drink, speaking in length with injured players and going to watch games. I feel that these efforts are really starting to pay off as coach-athlete interaction has massively increased during my sessions. Going forward I will continue to build and strengthen these relationships.
Bortoli, L., Bertollo, M. and Robazza, C., 2009. Dispositional goal orientations, motivational climate, and psych biosocial states in youth sport. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(1), pp.18-24.
Burke, K.L., 2005. But coach doesn’t understand: Dealing with team communication quagmires. Sport Psychology in Practice. Illinois: Human Kinetics, pp.45-59.
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Some Pre-training thoughts on the way to a Monday night session at Kirkham Grammar School
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31/10/2018
Very positive session I didn’t really have to do much to be honest, I implemented a new warm-up which was more time efficient, and then I just let them lift. We are three weeks into this block now so they are confident with the program. I also watched how some individuals were beginning to coach each other which was very rewarding form my point of view. It shows a good level of understanding and of buy into the process, it also matches my philosophy of creating competent and independent athletes. Interestingly, Chelladurai, (1990) has previously stated that team sports athletes will look to the coach for overall control, as opposed to individual sports where there may be more focus on an athlete lead approach to training and competition. I believe that I have seen this to be true in my initial encounters with this group, however tonight has demonstrated that if encouraged, team sport athletes can also behave in a similar manner, this is something I am going to continue to aim for, as due to the nature of my role, the athletes may have to train without my presence there. Therefore developing an athlete lead program is a key goal of mine moving forward.
Chelladurai, P., 1990. Leadership in sports: A review. International journal of sports psychology, 21(4), pp.328-354.
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24/10/2018
Much better attendance at tonight’s session, I feel like I have started to get through to some of the players who weren’t attending frequently, however, this situation still needs to be closely managed. I have created an attendance document which will be updated after every session to track everyone’s attendance. One player came to me tonight with a knee injury, after discussing the interventions he had had from his academy team (sale sharks) following this injury, I felt that no real diagnosis had been made and the player was very frustrated at not being able to play. I gave some movements that didn’t induce pain and we had a good conversation about what I thought he should do. I instructed him to go to the physio and find out some more information for me and I assured him that I would speak to the coach and get him excused from training. Overall, he left feeling more positive and thankful that someone was showing concern.
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23/10/2018
Poor turn out again tonight, However, I did manage to have a good honest chat with the lads that did turn up. They said that the boys were overall exhausted from all the 7s training that they have been doing. I had anticipated this would be the case and therefore I have only planned light sessions for this block with a focus on recovery and a quick hit on the weights (no more than 30mins). It is very difficult because I know the lads are being overworked by the coaches, but I have very little control over their running loads. I need to establish a better line of communication with the head coach, I am aiming to do this by adoptting a collaborative approach suggested by Bartholomew, B. (2017). Futher to this I need to use the players that are turning up to get through to the players that I am not seeing. It is my hop that the enjoyment and improvments that will displayed by the attendies will translate to better particpation and engagement from other less committed Players. Overall it was a very appropriate and well-executed session tonight, however, I now need the players that did turn up to pass on that sentiment to the rest of the squad.
Bartholomew, B. (2017). Conscious Coaching: The Art & Science of Building Buy-in. Bartholomew Strength.
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17/10/2018
No strength and conditioning session today, the boys had a game, so I went along to watch. This was a useful trip and I think it will help to get buy-in off the players. As they were able to chat with me at the game and simply by seeing me there has helped show my commitment and helped them to make the link between what I do with them and what they do on the pitch.
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10/10/2018
Today’s session was a valuable lesson in challenging perspective limiting assumptions. One of the players turned up to my session late, this was the initial issue. When questioned he had said he didn't know he was supposed to be there which I found surprising, however, I didn't question this. As the session went on, however, the player in question began to start acting out of character, he was very vacant and unresponsive. I found this extremely strange and started to question why this may be. During this time another player shouted out that this player had been in the woods before training and may have been taking something the should have. I found this quite believable based on the behaviour I was observing. There was a line marked out on the floor where the player was standing so without thought I asked him if he could walk along it one foot in front of the other, he did it with no issues and I could see he looked distressed so I quickly told him I was joking and took him outside for a private conversation.
During that conversation, I found out that he was feeling faint after training sessions and very tired, I reassured him that it was probably nothing to worry about but that he should visit a doctor and tell them about this, in the meantime, he would be excused from gym sessions.
Shortly afterwards the player returned accompanied by a teacher, the player was in tears as he felt that I had embarrassed him in front of the group. I apologised and we discussed how we should communicate more clearly with each other in future. Once I had finished my sessions I then went to find the teacher to get a debrief about this situation.
I had assumed that being a young rugby player in that gym environment, he would have known I was joking when I asked him to walk in a straight line, this was wrong of me and I should have taken him out of that environment for a private conversation with the teacher as my initial reaction.
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09/10/2018
Not a good session today, the turnout was poor, and energy was low, I need to speak to the players as a group and find out what the general feeling is towards the sessions. Also, not having control over the sale shark’s players programs is proving difficult. I need to speak to that group and gage where their heads are at, 'have they already left school for the big bright lights of professional rugby?' this is a challenge that I must face
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