Positive pedagogy for sport coaching

In this episode I talk with Dr. Adrian Turner from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in the USA. Adrian is an educator that had been using game-based pedagogies since the 1980's and was responsible for a number of early research studies on its impact on student learning in physical education. At BGSU Adrian leads courses where he teaches physical education teacher education students to apply the model in school-based contexts. He has also worked with and supported youth soccer coaches in Ohio as they looked to integrate game-based pedagogies into their practice. In the episode, Adrian outlines in more detail some of the things he has learned from his work and how he plans to continue this work in the future. Adrian can be contacted at [email protected]. 

In this episode I chat with two professors from University of Tennessee St Martin, Dr. Ajit Korgaoker (https://www.utm.edu/departments/hhp/AjitKorgaokar.php) and Dr. Stuart Currie (https://www.utm.edu/departments/hhp/StuartCurrie.php).  Dr. Korgaoker and Dr. Currie currently work together on various projects including one for the US Soccer Foundation where they are developing curriculum resources for teachers. However, Dr. Korgaoker has a background as a professional soccer player and coach in Australia and the US and Dr. Currie a background as a physical education teacher and golf coach. Both originally hail from England. In the podcast, we chat about their interest in and use of game-based coaching and how they use this in their work with players, coaches and teachers. You can reach Dr. Korgaoker and Dr. Currie via email ([email protected]; [email protected]) or on Twitter at @DrAjitKorgaoker and @DrStuartMCurrie. 

In this eposide I teamed up with fellow professor and podcaster Dr. Risto Marttinen to discuss a collaborative action research project with Dr. Pill and an Australian Rules Football Coach who enacted a Game Sense Approach to his coaching. The podcast explains what Game Sense is (which has similar features to PPed. We further discuss the differences between Game Sense and TGfU and the Tactical Games Model, as well as the crossover that physical education teachers can have while implementing these approaches in a PE setting. 

Shane Pill (@Pilly66) is an Associate Professor at Flinders University in Adelaide Australia. Shane is the author of six books on the concept of Play with Purpose using a Game Sense approach for PE teaching and sport coaching. He has also published the text Perspectives on Athlete Centred Coaching. Shane was a major contributing writer to the Cricket Australia S'Cool Cricket resource, the Tennis Australia game-based Primary and Secondary Schools Tennis resources, and the revised AFL Sport Education program. He has published over 100 scholarly and academic papers, and is an internationally popular speaker and workshop presenter.

https://www.flinders.edu.au/people/shane.pill

You can access the Paper Here: http://uvadoc.uva.es/bitstream/10324/23806/1/AEFD-2016-1-implementing-game-sense.pdf 

Risto Marttinen (@RistoMarttinen)'s podcast can be found on iTunes and is called "Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education"

In this episode I speak with Nick Hill. Nick is head coach/director of rugby of the Men’s Rugby Club at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He took over the club in Fall, 2018. Hill has an impressive resume of international coaching experience from several different schools in the U.K. to schools and clubs in Chile. Along the way, there were self-funded trips to shadow the coaching staff of the Canterbury Crusaders in New Zealand and then again with the Ulster Rugby staff in Belfast. Hill is also a devotee of the Gambetta Athletic Improvement Network or GAIN for short.

Nick believes in a player-centered environment. This is one where Games Based Coaching is used with a purpose for game action where players learn skills in the context of the real game, rather than just for the sake of a drill for drill’s sake. Players are encouraged to work things out for themselves and are not just told what to do. Guided Discovery questioning is one of the key coaching tools for Hill. This develops a culture that motivates the player’s involvement in practice as more than doers of drills, but active learners that take ownership of their development.

You can contact Nick at: nickhillcoaching.com and he is on Twitter @NH_Coaching_

Mark Egner is an Associate Head field hockey coach at William and Mary in Virginia, USA, but originally from Ireland. He has a background in education as an elementary school teacher in Ireland before taking up his current role. He also works with USA field hockey as Assistant Coach of the U17 women's team and as a coach education/developer. He is also a current masters student at University of Stirling.

I met Mark through my work with USA field hockey and was glad he could share his journey in using a positive approach to coaching.

You can connect with mark via Twitter @eggz_eleven and also learn more about Mark in his biography below:

https://tribeathletics.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1813 

In this brief introduction to the Positive Pedagogy for Sport Coaching Podcast, I explain what Positive Pedagogy is, why it's an important consideration for coaches, and how it works.