Variable practice – varied drills, constantly changing
Findings
To begin with this section will look at coaching methods for a beginner. One way which is common among the sources for teaching a beginner is the command style (see web 1) as it is the safest way to teach as it puts the coach in full control of the student and also gives the beginner a ‘good foundation’ as it teaches them the exact technique which is required. This is argued against especially by some of the coaches which were observed (see other sources) who said, “Teaching a student monkey style (referring to the command style) can get boring for them and doesn’t allow them to explore what they can do”, (Interview with Mick Shore) another said “its to set and you end up with a bunch of robots who know techniques but cannot really box …its important to teach correct technique but a boxer should be unique and not just a clone of the coach”. (Interview with Oliver Ng) Guided discovery is considered to be dangerous and unhelpful especially for beginners in the sport and this is a constant fact which is backed up in all of the sources. Finally, the reciprocal style is considered to be a good way to help train as it has been seen in the observations and although is not referred to in the text sources, seems to be a factor which helps beginners especially a few months into training. Hand in hand with the command style is massed practice. But most of the coaches that were spoke to said that distributed practice is better, “…it’s best if the student has rests during training so we can tell them what they’ve done wrong and it gives them time to recover, ready for the next drill…” (Interview with Pete Bell – Hatfield ABC) Overall the sources tend not to favour variable practice for beginners as it gives them too much information to work with and they will get confused and not pay enough attention to the real training which they need. Although, some coaches say that using variable practice keeps students coming as they have varied training, but when it comes to the actual performance it is unclear whether this kind of training would really pay off.
The research has also shown that all the different types of guidance are use but some are used more than others. Verbal and manual guidance are the two most common types used in developing a beginner and visual guidance is sometimes used. But some of the interviewed coaches say that visual guidance is needed so that the student can see exactly what they have to do.
Now the assignment will address the coaching styles and their affects on performance at an advanced level.
The gyms that were observed had a few advanced students and the coaching was the same throughout. What was observed seemed very poor as the students who were advanced were just left to basically do what they wanted. All of the coaches came up with a similar answer that they were exploring boxing for themselves but they received little or no input so it was not really guided discovery. The fighters which had the most talent got a lot of attention at whatever level they were at and the coaches seemed to concentrate their efforts on them. No evidence of other coaching styles was found at the advanced level, but in the research an article was found which highlighted some of the attributes a coach will need to take his students from beginner to advanced level (See web 2). The type of practice that can be seen at the advanced level is variable practice as this is the one which keeps the students interested and also gives them many drills to work with. But an argument against this is that it can lead to advanced students not training the things they really need and neglecting the basic drills which need constant practice and development.
Finally the types of guidance used in advanced boxing are visual, mechanical and verbal. the main difference being that the visual aids are used more but altogether guidance is used a lot less with advanced students from what can be seen in the research.
Research Proposals
To research further into the affects of the styles of coaching you could try a test. With 100 students (who have no previous martial arts or boxing experience) they could be split into 4 groups of 25 and set into the groups of teaching styles (command, reciprocal, problem-solving, guided discovery). Each section will train for 6 months in solely the style which they have been assigned to. At the end of the 6 months fighters from each section could fight each other using the Amateur rules and the winners from each group would be recorded then presented so it would be clear which style produced the best fighters. Some problems with the validity of the tests may be that fighters may have natural ability; coaches may differ in skill and also the range of equipment and facilities may hinder or advanced the development of some fighters.
Implications
The findings imply that many different styles of coaching are used within different clubs and some of these clubs may not be attaining their full potential as a result of this. It also implies that the actual performance of a fighter relies heavily on the style of coaching which their coach has adopted and the types of practice and guidance which they use. Also it implies that the standard of coaching for advanced students who do not show great potential is very poor.
Conclusion
Firstly, the essay will look at the conclusions which can be drawn up from the findings about the factors affecting performance for beginners. From the research it can be seen that overall the coaching for beginners is good but relies too much on the command style. This has the drawback of being boring for the students some it would be best to combine the command style with a small amount problem solving or reciprocal style coaching to keep the student happy within the sport. Also the practice should rely on massed and not really touch variable as this would not gain anything but should also include distributed practice so the students take enough time to absorb what they have learnt and get ready for the next stage. Finally the guidance used should include all three styles as a beginner needs as much guidance as possible.
Finally, the conclusions for the factors affecting performance at the advanced level. The assignment has found that the coaching styles for advanced students seems to be very relaxed and don’t really make the fighter any better unless they are very talented.
Although there was not much information on coaching at the advanced level, it can be concluded that more guidance is needed, so guided discovery would be used. Also the other main coaching style which should be employed at the advanced level is the problem solving, and students at this level should not neglect the basics and train the command style also to keep their basics up to scratch. Guidance should again be used as much as possible like in the beginner level because even an advanced student has a lot to learn and they must be constantly fed information to keep their technique developing which is a never ending process.
So, the things which have been highlighted in conclusion are the best methods and combinations of coaching methods to achieved the best results in performance which have been found by assessing a variety of sources.
Webliography:
(web 2)
(web 1)
Bibliography
Advanced PE for Edexcel Textbook
Interview with Mick Shore
PE notes (John Saville)
Other Sources
Hatfield ABC (Observation)
White Tiger Gym (Observation)
Planet Fitness (Observation)
Old Goole ABC (Observation)