Find me on
EDD CONWAY COACHING
  • Home
  • About and CV
  • Private Rugby Coaching
  • Blog
  • Contact

Coaching Conversations #10 : Kate Boyd

15/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Kate Boyd is a cheer leadership coach — giving cheerleading coaches the expertise and know-how they need to competently and confidently build their teams. She cheered from junior high to college and has coached on nearly every side of the industry — all-star, recreation league, high school, and camp instruction. Through Kate Boyd Cheerleading, she provides practical, online resources that fit into coaches’ busy lifestyles so they can build the program they want and give their teams the season they deserve. In 2015, she was named one of the 50 most influential coaches by CoachSeek.


Did you compete in cheer originally? If so, how did you find the transition from athlete to coach?
I started as a gymnast then switched to cheerleading when I realized I wasn't going to the Olympics so thought I might as well spend some time with my friends and keep up my skills. I cheered from junior high to college and completely fell in love with it. I started coaching it early on in high school, and I found it a little challenging to switch from athlete to coach. I had to learn to teach what I knew and not just do it. It was difficult at first, but after a couple of years it came a lot more easily as I watched others teach, which I did obsessively, and starting learning more of the mechanics of the things that came naturally to me.

What lessons did you learn along the way that are important to your coaching today?
I learned that you always have something to learn and I learned that establishing boundaries is very important. One of my first coaching jobs out of high school was for my alma mater. So I was coaching old peers. It made it very tricky, but we came through after a rough patch. That taught me that healthy boundaries and good communication are the key to just about everything.

You say Heart + Vision + Know-how = Hero. What made you settle on these ingredients? 
I took a little inspiration from Coach Taylor and Friday Night Lights here, but I really believe it's true. You need the heart, the passion, the desire to be better at what you do for your team. You need vision, a clear picture of the future of your program and your goals, especially what you want for the character of your athletes. And you need know-how, credibility, and coaching skills to make it happen. When you put those together you end up becoming the kind of coach people remember because you make a difference in people's lives, and those are the coaches I love working with.

How would your athletes describe you as a coach?
I haven't coached athletes in a few years, but I think they would say focused, creative, and passionate.

You mention running a practice, teaching stunts effectively etc which all require excellent communication skills. What do you think are the key things to keep in mind when communicating with and coaching athletes?
I think it's most important to communicate expectations at all times, and it's important to consider your goal when communicating. Are you trying to inspire, educate, inform, or something else? Then you can frame the communication properly. 

You describe travel as your number one hobby. Why is this? Do you think it has had any impact on you as a person and as a coach?
I can't explain my love for traveling. It's just been one of those desires that I've had since a child. Recently, I've had the opportunity to travel to quite a few places, and I absolutely love it and want more! It has certainly had an impact on me as a person to be someone who has more grace for others and focuses on what's important long-term and not just what seems important in the moment. 

Your website kateboydcheerleading is aimed towards helping coaches - what were you seeing out there that made you feel you could be of assistance? 
I was a rare case that was able to coach cheerleading part-time at a school. Many coaches I encountered were full-time teachers who happened to be cheerleading coaches, and many of those were handed cheerleading whether they had experience or not. I knew that I had a unique combination of skills that could help them with their trouble spots as a professional communicator, skilled teacher, and tech-savvy person. So they could get the education they desired from their home or their classroom in an affordable format.

Your website helps to educate coaches. Is there any form of official/formal Coach Education within the sport of cheerleading?
There are a few safety certification programs for school coaches through National Federation of State High School Associations and American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors. However, these aren't required or formal. All-star coaches have their own certification programs through the US All-Star Federation that are level-specific, and this is a very formal process.

Are there any common themes that you see younger and less experienced coaches seem to struggle with?
Younger and inexperienced coaches tend to struggle to get organized at first, especially for such a long season. They usually have a lot of questions about stunts and they are encountering cheerleading parents--famous for their passion--for the first time. So they're learning to communicate, teach, and be administrative which can be tough all at once.

Interesting that you released your Guide to Problem Parents. I'm sure this is something coaches in all sports have struggled with at times. It mentions, among other things, how you introduce yourself, expectations of both you and them too. I know of a few schools and Academies within Rugby here in the UK that run parent forums to do a similar thing and it works really well. Why do you think it is so important to establish that 'working relationship' with parents?
Most of the time in cheerleading, you're relying on parents to get your athletes to and from events, practices, and games, and you need their permission for their child to participate. So it's important to have them on the same page from the beginning and also try to establish a relationship with them so they trust you and want to work with you rather than against you.

Really enjoyed one of your blogs called "3 Keys to Your Parent Plan", think it would be a good read for any coach who works with young athletes. Particularly agree with the points of over-communication and trust. Do you think there is any aspect of dealing with parents that you still need to work on and improve?
I think there is always room for improvement! I'm not always the best connector and tend to shy away from reaching out without a good reason, but I still worked on it because I know it's important for me and for athletes to have solid parent relationships.

Picture
0 Comments

I Found It Interesting #8

15/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Don't Decide Like Martians, on psychologyblog.com
- The most common team decision strategy (voting) is probably the worst
- Team decisions have competing agendas and interpretations
- 3 options for decision making: Leader decides; team broker action to reflect the desires of members; vote.
- Vote puts huge social pressure to conform, therefore if using voting then confidentiality is key

The Coach's Coach, on hmmrmedia
- Becoming a better coach is more than methods
- Find a mentor, observe then build a bridge between theory and practice
- Art of coaching not just about training methods but communication and understanding athletes
- Nothing replaces experience
- In the end you have to try to do it yourself. The trouble is in knowing how you are doing.
- Everyone needs a coach

Secret Ingredients of Great Coaching, on Changing the Game Project
- Coaching is a RELATIONSHIP business
PERFORMANCE = (POTENTIAL + BEHAVIOUR) - INTERFERENCE
- Too many coaches ignore 'interference'
- Trust is the secret ingredient of great coaching.
- Steven R Covey: characteristics of high trust teams include:
Common purpose and values; Respect; Commitment; Resiliency; Love which decreases fear; Few discipline issues; Intrinsically motivated players; celebrate each other's success
- Coaches must intentionally build trust in team
- Coaches need to be worthy of trust, coach the person not the sport
- Trust works by Blanchard, Olmstead and Lawrence:
ABILITY / BELIEVABILITY / CONNECTEDNESS / DEPENDABILITY

What a Fighter Pilot Can Teach About Teamwork and Focus, on inc.com
- Feel the fear, do it anyway
1. 80% is good enough. 80% of the information is enough, follow up and follow through
2. Prioritize. Three priorities is enough
3. Deal with fear. Question is not whether you will fail but how you will respond to it.
4. Trust
5. Focus. Simple statement of purpose, adaptability easier if everyone is oriented to one singular purpose.

Why Organisations Don't Learn, on internettime.com
- Real Learning features:
* Destigmatize making mistakes
* Embrace growth mindset
* Avoid attribution bias
* Don't work to exhaustion
* Take frequent breaks
* Take time to think
* Encourage reflection
* Leverage your strengths
* Know the person

Knowing How You Decide is as Important as the Decision, on nymag.com
- Traditional research = keeping options open ultimately makes you less happy with your choice. It is better to choose and move on with it.
- New Research = reversible decisions can still make you happy. Depends on what type of decision maker you are.
There are two types:
1. MAXIMIZERS - concerned with making BEST decision having considered every option
2. SATISFICERS - know what they want, find an option that meets that criteria then pick and move on
- Satisficers tend to be happier with choices
- New research (R Shiner) indicates Satisficers happier with permanent decision, Maximizers happier knowing they can change their mind. This suggests, at least for little things, Maximizers better off recognizing tendencies around decision making and adjust accordingly
- Key to better decision making may be understanding how you make decisions

Reflective Practice, on SCUK
- Reflective Practice basically = thinking/reflecting on what you do
- Difference between casual and purposeful thinking - making considered and cognitive effort to consider and recall what happened, the part you played and your view against it as coach with expected outcome
- Reflective Practice is a conduit for experiential learning. A PURPOSEFUL and COMPLEX process that facilitates the examination of experience by questioning whole self within context of practice
- Reflective Practice transforms experience into learning
- Must develop critical thinking and open mindedness

Establishing Athlete Behaviour Standards, on ASEP.com
- Athlete behaviour should be evaluated against flexible team standards, not rules
- John Wooden = equal treatment is not equitable treatment
- Rules punish negative behaviour whereas Standards promote positive behaviour
- Urban Meyer has a three-tier system:
BLUE LEVEL = entry level for all. Lowest status and fewest earned privileges. eg No unexcused absence from class
RED LEVEL = show record of good academic performance and adherence to team standards. Earnt more freedom and trust.
GOLD LEVEL = shown they desire to be treated like 'grown men'
His coaches meet weekly to review and move athletes up or down the levels.
0 Comments

    Author

    Edd Conway is a London-based rugby coach. This blog will comment on coaching stories and articles, share my experiences as well as meeting and interviewing coaches, 

    Archives

    March 2021
    November 2019
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014

    Categories

    All
    6nations
    All Blacks
    Analogies
    Antifragile
    Autonomy-supportive
    Badminton
    Bruce Arians
    Challenge Point
    Coach Development
    Coach Education
    Coaching
    Coaching Conversations
    Coaching Intervention
    Coaching Trips
    Coach Logic
    Communication
    Complexity Theory
    Constraints
    Creativity
    Cues
    Culture
    Decision Making
    Dual-management
    Emergent Leadership
    Emotional Intelligence
    Empathy
    EngVsIta
    Environment
    Feedback
    First Blog
    Football
    Game Sense
    Gender Barriers
    Goal Orientation
    Grit
    Growth Mindset
    Holistic
    Horizontal Leadership
    I Found It Interesting
    Incentives
    Injury
    Instructional Behaviour
    Interventions
    Interviews
    Language
    Las Vegas
    Leadership
    Learning
    Meeting Coaches
    Mental Fatigue
    Mindset
    Momentum
    Motivational Climate
    NGBs
    Olympics
    Originality
    Perspective
    Pete Carroll
    Podcast
    Pressure
    Princeton
    Psychological Safety
    Reflection
    Relationships
    Research
    Resilience
    Ruckgate
    Rugby
    S&C
    School Sports
    Self-evaluation
    Sharing Knowledge
    Sports Science
    Stereotypes
    Teaching
    Transformational Leadership
    Transition
    Trust
    University
    USA
    USA Rugby
    Values
    Warm Ups
    Winners
    Yale

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.