As I wrote in the previous post, the Coaches Summit afternoon session was informative for the coaches and for the NHSBF board members.
A few rule changes for the JV State championships were proposed by the coaches in attendance.
The first proposal was to allow seniors to compete in the JV State Championships. This rule changed passed.
The second proposal was to drop the team size to four players for the JV State Championships. This proposal also passed.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Missed Deadline
It seems like once a year I get busy and miss a deadline. Usually it's later in the season, but this year I've blown my first deadline. I missed October's cutoff for the Nebraska Bowler.
It happens.
Since the last column, we've held our Coaches Summit, which was well-attended and we were able to get close to 40 coaches the technical training they need. Bob Rea was on hand to deliver some of the more critical corrective techniques that coaches can use with their bowlers. Bob's one of the best at delivering this information. Thanks for being with us in Kearney!
In the afternoon session, John brought the coaches up to date on the progress to date with getting a proposal submitted in as many of the six NSAA legislative districts as possible. We've got two districts committed to submitting the proposal, so we'll see how the votes go in November.
I talked a little bit about the ASEP training, and was pleased to hear that many have either finished the course, or are getting started with the material. There will be a more official announcement on this, but I will be able to deliver the Coaching Principles course for ASEP beginning in November.
For coaches who want to take the course in a day, in a classroom setting, this is another option for you. As soon as I have more information on pricing and location of the class, I'll post it here and I expect that John will send out an e-mail blast to all coaches.
It happens.
Since the last column, we've held our Coaches Summit, which was well-attended and we were able to get close to 40 coaches the technical training they need. Bob Rea was on hand to deliver some of the more critical corrective techniques that coaches can use with their bowlers. Bob's one of the best at delivering this information. Thanks for being with us in Kearney!
In the afternoon session, John brought the coaches up to date on the progress to date with getting a proposal submitted in as many of the six NSAA legislative districts as possible. We've got two districts committed to submitting the proposal, so we'll see how the votes go in November.
I talked a little bit about the ASEP training, and was pleased to hear that many have either finished the course, or are getting started with the material. There will be a more official announcement on this, but I will be able to deliver the Coaching Principles course for ASEP beginning in November.
For coaches who want to take the course in a day, in a classroom setting, this is another option for you. As soon as I have more information on pricing and location of the class, I'll post it here and I expect that John will send out an e-mail blast to all coaches.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Final Exam
I'm back to writing after getting finished with the Coaching Principles text. I took the final exam last night, and I scored 97%. I was surprised and pleased with the score.
As an adult learner, I get a bit paranoid about tests. In this case, I needed to score at least a 90% to be eligible to become an instructor for ASEP. That created some additional pressure as I made my way through the 100-question exam.
The test is well written and well organized. There are 4-6 questions for each of the 20 units, with half multiple choice and half true/false. I spent about 90 minutes on the test, which might have been too long, but I wanted to make sure I understood each question and the answers I was choosing.
The next step toward becoming an instructor is ordering the teaching materials (lesson plans, text, and DVD) and then going through an orientation. Hopefully, I'll be ready to start teaching the course in November.
As an adult learner, I get a bit paranoid about tests. In this case, I needed to score at least a 90% to be eligible to become an instructor for ASEP. That created some additional pressure as I made my way through the 100-question exam.
The test is well written and well organized. There are 4-6 questions for each of the 20 units, with half multiple choice and half true/false. I spent about 90 minutes on the test, which might have been too long, but I wanted to make sure I understood each question and the answers I was choosing.
The next step toward becoming an instructor is ordering the teaching materials (lesson plans, text, and DVD) and then going through an orientation. Hopefully, I'll be ready to start teaching the course in November.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Share Your Stories
This will be a quick post to solicit stories on how high school bowling has been a positive experience for Nebraska high school students.
We're looking for feedback from students, parents, and/or teachers, who would like to share their story on the benefits of being involved in high school bowling.
The goal is to have some stories to share with Athletic Directors on the positive aspects of being part of a high school bowling team.
Thanks in advance for sharing your stories with us.
We're looking for feedback from students, parents, and/or teachers, who would like to share their story on the benefits of being involved in high school bowling.
The goal is to have some stories to share with Athletic Directors on the positive aspects of being part of a high school bowling team.
Thanks in advance for sharing your stories with us.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Follow-up to October's Column
After putting October's Nebraska Bowler column to bed, I got to thinking that I may not have made the coaching certification issue as clear as I could have. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.
So, I think I'll take another stab at it here and see if it makes more sense.
There are two types of coaches involved in high school sports in Nebraska. Those who are professional educators working for the school and those who are not. So far so good, right?
Because the educators hold a Nebraska teaching certificate, they have all the necessary requirements to be considered for a coaching spot in their schools. Certainly, an AD is going to look at the candidates knowledge of the sport too, but the teaching certificate is the main thing.
The NHSBF supports that criteria, so if you are an educator in Nebraska, you would really only need to register with the USBC's RVP program to meet our requirements.
Coaches who are not holding a valid Nebraska teaching certificate are also eligible for hire as a high school coach. There are some professional education courses to take, in addition to the ASEP courses we're requiring. This will give you a Provisional Certificate, which will allow you to coach.
The NHSBF does not require this group of coaches to take the professional education courses, but we do require two ASEP courses, Coaching Principles and Sport First Aid. These two courses, plus some type of recognized coaching class, plus the USBC RVP registration, will meet our requirements.
Personally, I think professional educators would benefit from the ASEP Coaching Principles course. We're not pushing the issue, because the NSAA isn't requiring it either. Still, nothing says a person can't exceed the minimum requirements, right?
Hopefully, this makes the whole certification requirement issue a bit clearer.
So, I think I'll take another stab at it here and see if it makes more sense.
There are two types of coaches involved in high school sports in Nebraska. Those who are professional educators working for the school and those who are not. So far so good, right?
Because the educators hold a Nebraska teaching certificate, they have all the necessary requirements to be considered for a coaching spot in their schools. Certainly, an AD is going to look at the candidates knowledge of the sport too, but the teaching certificate is the main thing.
The NHSBF supports that criteria, so if you are an educator in Nebraska, you would really only need to register with the USBC's RVP program to meet our requirements.
Coaches who are not holding a valid Nebraska teaching certificate are also eligible for hire as a high school coach. There are some professional education courses to take, in addition to the ASEP courses we're requiring. This will give you a Provisional Certificate, which will allow you to coach.
The NHSBF does not require this group of coaches to take the professional education courses, but we do require two ASEP courses, Coaching Principles and Sport First Aid. These two courses, plus some type of recognized coaching class, plus the USBC RVP registration, will meet our requirements.
Personally, I think professional educators would benefit from the ASEP Coaching Principles course. We're not pushing the issue, because the NSAA isn't requiring it either. Still, nothing says a person can't exceed the minimum requirements, right?
Hopefully, this makes the whole certification requirement issue a bit clearer.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Old Habits Die Hard
I'm down to the last two units of Coaching Principles course. To say it's been a great learning experience would be an understatement.
After going through one of the latest lessons, Principles of Teaching, I can see plenty of room for improvement in my methods.
This course stresses the use of the Games Approach to teaching a sport. The Games Approach simply says that you teach your technical skills and your tactical skills in the context of a game situation.
Within that approach, you modify the game by splitting the squad into pairs or trios and have them bowl Baker matches. This keeps your athletes engaged in the practice, instead of spending a large amount of time waiting to bowl.
Now, you can teach the skill you want to work on for that practice, within the context of a game situation. Drills are good for initial teaching, but getting them into the game mode to work on their skills is going to make the practice session more enjoyable for everyone.
I've leaned on drills more in the last few years. I thought that was the best course of action to take. We still bowled games, but that was not where we spent the majority of our practice time. This is an area I would approach differently in the future.
This lesson also spends a good amount of time going over the merits of planning. I can attest to the need for this. Like most of you, I balanced coaching with a full-time job. This forced me to layout a practice plan for the year, so I knew what we needed to work on with each practice. The plan would get adjusted as needed, but without a road map to follow, practices would've been a disaster.
Teaching the tactical skills is another area of importance. Here again, I wish I had spent more time on this than I did.
The tactical skills of bowling are centered around lane play and ball selection. We're trained to teach lane play once our athletes have the technical skill down pat. While there's some merit to that approach, I can see now where we're doing the athlete a disservice by not introducing lane play sooner.
These are some thoughts that I came to as I was reading the material and going through the on-line segment for this unit. This would be a great time for you to be reflecting on these ideas as you go through this course. The time you spend on this unit will pay real dividends for your program in the upcoming season.
After going through one of the latest lessons, Principles of Teaching, I can see plenty of room for improvement in my methods.
This course stresses the use of the Games Approach to teaching a sport. The Games Approach simply says that you teach your technical skills and your tactical skills in the context of a game situation.
Within that approach, you modify the game by splitting the squad into pairs or trios and have them bowl Baker matches. This keeps your athletes engaged in the practice, instead of spending a large amount of time waiting to bowl.
Now, you can teach the skill you want to work on for that practice, within the context of a game situation. Drills are good for initial teaching, but getting them into the game mode to work on their skills is going to make the practice session more enjoyable for everyone.
I've leaned on drills more in the last few years. I thought that was the best course of action to take. We still bowled games, but that was not where we spent the majority of our practice time. This is an area I would approach differently in the future.
This lesson also spends a good amount of time going over the merits of planning. I can attest to the need for this. Like most of you, I balanced coaching with a full-time job. This forced me to layout a practice plan for the year, so I knew what we needed to work on with each practice. The plan would get adjusted as needed, but without a road map to follow, practices would've been a disaster.
Teaching the tactical skills is another area of importance. Here again, I wish I had spent more time on this than I did.
The tactical skills of bowling are centered around lane play and ball selection. We're trained to teach lane play once our athletes have the technical skill down pat. While there's some merit to that approach, I can see now where we're doing the athlete a disservice by not introducing lane play sooner.
These are some thoughts that I came to as I was reading the material and going through the on-line segment for this unit. This would be a great time for you to be reflecting on these ideas as you go through this course. The time you spend on this unit will pay real dividends for your program in the upcoming season.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Requirements for Making the Team
There's been some back and forth lately about a high school bowling coach requiring that all players on the team sign up for the youth league at the host bowling center.
It's a bonus if a high school coach can also have their players participate in the host center's youth leagues. Especially if the coach is a part of the center's youth coaching staff. The decision to participate, however, belongs to the athlete, not the coach.
Much is expected of student-athletes when they wear the uniform of their school. Along with getting the athlete's best effort on the lanes, good sportsmanship and respect for the rules should also be expected.
Requiring the players to bowl in the host center's youth program during the season should not be a part of those expectations. Once NSAA recognition is achieved, this won't be allowed to happen anyway, but in the meantime, this is an unnecessary requirement to place on the student-athlete.
The bowling centers give their lineage to this program and that is appreciated. Many proprietors are also coaching, which is also much appreciated. The return on that investment may not come immediately. It may be 3-5 years down the line, depending on if the student-athlete chooses to leave town for college. If the student comes back and becomes an adult league bowler thanks to the positive experience he or she had as a high school bowler, everyone wins.
Now, it's possible that this requirement may have been made to get in a little pre-season practice without looking like a pre-season practice. Two schools in other sports have gotten themselves into a little bit of trouble with the NSAA recently over this issue, so I would advise any high school bowling coach looking to get an early start to think twice before organizing any pre-season practices. Granted, we're not an NSAA recognized sport yet, but the NHSBF rules mirror the NSAA rules just the same, so read up before thinking about putting together any informal "practice" sessions.
It's a bonus if a high school coach can also have their players participate in the host center's youth leagues. Especially if the coach is a part of the center's youth coaching staff. The decision to participate, however, belongs to the athlete, not the coach.
Much is expected of student-athletes when they wear the uniform of their school. Along with getting the athlete's best effort on the lanes, good sportsmanship and respect for the rules should also be expected.
Requiring the players to bowl in the host center's youth program during the season should not be a part of those expectations. Once NSAA recognition is achieved, this won't be allowed to happen anyway, but in the meantime, this is an unnecessary requirement to place on the student-athlete.
The bowling centers give their lineage to this program and that is appreciated. Many proprietors are also coaching, which is also much appreciated. The return on that investment may not come immediately. It may be 3-5 years down the line, depending on if the student-athlete chooses to leave town for college. If the student comes back and becomes an adult league bowler thanks to the positive experience he or she had as a high school bowler, everyone wins.
Now, it's possible that this requirement may have been made to get in a little pre-season practice without looking like a pre-season practice. Two schools in other sports have gotten themselves into a little bit of trouble with the NSAA recently over this issue, so I would advise any high school bowling coach looking to get an early start to think twice before organizing any pre-season practices. Granted, we're not an NSAA recognized sport yet, but the NHSBF rules mirror the NSAA rules just the same, so read up before thinking about putting together any informal "practice" sessions.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Part 2 is Completed
I'm making good progress through ASEP's on-line Coaching Principles course. I wrapped up Part 2, which deals with communication, motivation, and managing athlete's behavior.
It's easy to forget sometimes that there's more to coaching than being able to show student-athletes how to bowl. Obviously, one needs the knowledge to show the proper technique, but how the coach communicates this information to his or her players goes a long way toward how succesful a coach will be.
Part 2 goes into great detail on the various communication styles used by coaches, and examples of which ones are successful and others, not so much.
Do you spend so much time talking that your athletes tune you out?
Is your feedback generally positive or negative?
Are you spending more time judging your atheletes than you are instructing them?
Is your communication consistent?
Are you a chatterbox during practice and during matches, to the point that your athletes can't get a word in edgewise?
Are you expressionless during practice and matches?
Do you talk down to your athletes when discussing their technique?
Are you all over the board when it comes to reinforcing the positive or negative behavior of your athletes?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, or you aren't sure why those questions are important, you're a good candidate for taking this course. Regardless of how much time you've spent working with student-athletes.
Part 2 goes on to talk about motivating athletes, and how to help them feel like they belong on the team and how to have fun while practicing and developing their skills.
The final unit in Part 2 discusses discipline and the importance of establishing a team culture and team rules. The key here is that discipline is not the same thing as punishment. As you go through this section, you'll find that we often treat those two terms the same.
Reading through the book and answering the questions on-line, I've found that much of the first two parts of this class have universal application, so if you are in any type of management for your career, much of what you'll learn here could be adapted on your job.
I'm spending anywhere from 30-45 minutes on each unit, between reading the material in the text and going through the exercises on-line.
Tomorrow I move onto Part 3, The Principles of Teaching.
It's easy to forget sometimes that there's more to coaching than being able to show student-athletes how to bowl. Obviously, one needs the knowledge to show the proper technique, but how the coach communicates this information to his or her players goes a long way toward how succesful a coach will be.
Part 2 goes into great detail on the various communication styles used by coaches, and examples of which ones are successful and others, not so much.
Do you spend so much time talking that your athletes tune you out?
Is your feedback generally positive or negative?
Are you spending more time judging your atheletes than you are instructing them?
Is your communication consistent?
Are you a chatterbox during practice and during matches, to the point that your athletes can't get a word in edgewise?
Are you expressionless during practice and matches?
Do you talk down to your athletes when discussing their technique?
Are you all over the board when it comes to reinforcing the positive or negative behavior of your athletes?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, or you aren't sure why those questions are important, you're a good candidate for taking this course. Regardless of how much time you've spent working with student-athletes.
Part 2 goes on to talk about motivating athletes, and how to help them feel like they belong on the team and how to have fun while practicing and developing their skills.
The final unit in Part 2 discusses discipline and the importance of establishing a team culture and team rules. The key here is that discipline is not the same thing as punishment. As you go through this section, you'll find that we often treat those two terms the same.
Reading through the book and answering the questions on-line, I've found that much of the first two parts of this class have universal application, so if you are in any type of management for your career, much of what you'll learn here could be adapted on your job.
I'm spending anywhere from 30-45 minutes on each unit, between reading the material in the text and going through the exercises on-line.
Tomorrow I move onto Part 3, The Principles of Teaching.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Coaching Principles
In the first column of the season, I listed out the criteria that the NHSBF wanted our coaches to meet to continue coaching.
This generated some interesting feedback, not all of which was positive. Generally, I think everyone that works with student-athletes wants to improve their coaching skills, but I also believe we have too many people who feel that because they've been coaching for 10, 15, or 20+ years, they know all they need to know about coaching.
This year, the NHSBF is requiring at least one coach from each program to complete the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) Coaching Principles course and Sport First Aid course. Both of these courses are offered on line to make it easier for our coaches to get the necessary certifications to coach.
I decided to take the courses too. I wanted to make sure I understood the time involved for someone to do this on-line, but I also want the knowledge. I've read the course text before, and found it to be most helpful when I was doing more coaching.
These days, I'm interested in teaching this course, so to do this, I need to pass the course with a grade of 90% or better.
I signed up for the on-line course last week, and today finished Part 1, Principles of Coaching. Despite having read the material before, I can see this isn't going to be a walk in the park. I've been reading two units at a time and then going on-line to review and do the lessons contained within each unit.
Each unit has a 3-5 question summary quiz to take before moving on to the next unit.
Principles of Coaching helps the coach come to grips with what their coaching philosophy is, how they would respond to different scenarios that test that philosophy, and also introduces the coach to the idea of Athletes First, Winning Second.
Everyone likes to think they would put their athletes ahead of winning, but this philosophy gets tested over and over in practice and competitive situations.
It took two days, approximately four hours, to complete Part 1. For any coach "offended" that we would ask them to take this class, Part 1 should make it clear why this ought to be a required course for all coaches, regardless of the sport they coach. I can also see application to business people who want to become leaders in their companies.
So, whine all you want about the requirement to complete this course. The bottom line here is that you'll be a better coach, which is what we're looking for, and you'll be doing your student-athletes a favor.
This generated some interesting feedback, not all of which was positive. Generally, I think everyone that works with student-athletes wants to improve their coaching skills, but I also believe we have too many people who feel that because they've been coaching for 10, 15, or 20+ years, they know all they need to know about coaching.
This year, the NHSBF is requiring at least one coach from each program to complete the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) Coaching Principles course and Sport First Aid course. Both of these courses are offered on line to make it easier for our coaches to get the necessary certifications to coach.
I decided to take the courses too. I wanted to make sure I understood the time involved for someone to do this on-line, but I also want the knowledge. I've read the course text before, and found it to be most helpful when I was doing more coaching.
These days, I'm interested in teaching this course, so to do this, I need to pass the course with a grade of 90% or better.
I signed up for the on-line course last week, and today finished Part 1, Principles of Coaching. Despite having read the material before, I can see this isn't going to be a walk in the park. I've been reading two units at a time and then going on-line to review and do the lessons contained within each unit.
Each unit has a 3-5 question summary quiz to take before moving on to the next unit.
Principles of Coaching helps the coach come to grips with what their coaching philosophy is, how they would respond to different scenarios that test that philosophy, and also introduces the coach to the idea of Athletes First, Winning Second.
Everyone likes to think they would put their athletes ahead of winning, but this philosophy gets tested over and over in practice and competitive situations.
It took two days, approximately four hours, to complete Part 1. For any coach "offended" that we would ask them to take this class, Part 1 should make it clear why this ought to be a required course for all coaches, regardless of the sport they coach. I can also see application to business people who want to become leaders in their companies.
So, whine all you want about the requirement to complete this course. The bottom line here is that you'll be a better coach, which is what we're looking for, and you'll be doing your student-athletes a favor.
Moving Beyond a Monthly Column
For several years, the High School Bowling Confidential column has appeared in the Nebraska Bowler. It's great getting the word out on what the Nebraska High School Bowling Federation is doing to get bowling accepted by the NSAA.
There are, however, some limitations to only publishing in print media. For one, there is a definite lack of immediate feedback. I hear through the grapevine that people get angry or agree with what I've written over the years, but it would be cool to get that feedback more directly, and be able to respond more immediately. The addition of this blog should help with that.
So, for those of you who read the column each month (I know there's a couple of you out there), let this blog be a place for you to read and comment. Also, you'll get a little bit more information than what I'm able to publish in the column. So, everybody wins, right?
There are, however, some limitations to only publishing in print media. For one, there is a definite lack of immediate feedback. I hear through the grapevine that people get angry or agree with what I've written over the years, but it would be cool to get that feedback more directly, and be able to respond more immediately. The addition of this blog should help with that.
So, for those of you who read the column each month (I know there's a couple of you out there), let this blog be a place for you to read and comment. Also, you'll get a little bit more information than what I'm able to publish in the column. So, everybody wins, right?
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