1 Games Approach Introduction: (10 Minutes) The Games Approach to coaching (in contrast to the Traditional Approach) entails first introducing a sport as a game form and teaching skills and tactics as part of the activity. In contrast, the Traditional Approach first breaks a sport into smaller parts and teaches skills in a variety of drills. Tactical learning is often left to scrimmages when the notion is that the smaller parts will be reconfigured and executed in competition. While each approach has advocates, the Games Approach would seem more appropriate for youth who engage in sports because they want to have fun, maximize their activity time, and be with their friends. In contrast, the more Traditional Approach may be more appropriate for advanced performers who already are highly motivated and interested in perfecting skills that they already understand are critical to game performance. Drilling for hours is very typical for world class and professional athletes. A question often asked by coaches interested in the Games Approach is what actually constitutes a game? This is an important question since sports can be taught as games without having full-fledged scrimmages. For example, one could construct a basketball lay-up game that looks very much like a lay-up drill, or a soccer dribbling activity that has many of the elements of a dribbling drill. Perhaps the easiest way to conceptualize the Games Approach and to know whether a particular activity is a game or drill is to use the acronym FAST. The F stands for fun. While drills can be fun, they are often perceived to be boring because they require the same movements over and over again, have players waiting in-line for a turn, and are not usually evaluated by keeping some type of score. In contrast, games typically are intrinsically motivating to kids as they entail lots of activity with some type of meaningful challenge. The A stands for achievement, and includes participants competing either against themselves or against opponents. During and after a game, players will have a sense of whether they have improved in making more baskets than in a previous session and/or whether they won a competitive event. S stands for skill development or, at least, opportunities to practice certain responses such as shooting, passing, dribbling, and playing defense. And finally, T stands for tactics. Here, the skills that are practiced during an activity are done so in a realistic context that closely mirrors the game from which they come. Shooting, passing, and dribbling takes place in a context that includes defense, and defense is performed with the unpredictability found in game situations. Clearly, we know a soccer or basketball game when we see one. But, playing dribble-tag in soccer, or having a relay-race lay-up contest in basketball are also games. These examples have all the components of FAST, but are constrained to provide participants with more opportunities to practice specific skills. In contrast, a soccer dribbling activity that requires players to weave around pylons, or the conventional lay-up line in basketball are not truly games since they are usually low on the F and T components of FAST.
2 Another characteristic of the Games Approach is the method in which a coach provides feedback to players. This is normally done within the game context and is minimally disruptive to the flow of play. An acronym that Project Coach uses to remind coaches about how to instruct is FIM. F stands for freeze. Since player actions occur in the game context, it is normally important to recapture the game situation when something the coach wishes to point out occurred. For example, if a player made an exceptionally good pass, it may be worth rewarding the player and showing the rest of the group what happened and why it was good. On the other hand, a shot executed from a poor position when a teammate was free by the goal would also be important to illustrate by having the offense and defense freeze to see what the coach is attempting to convey. I stands for instruct. And M stands for model. As noted, once players are frozen, the coach quickly explains why she asked players to stop the game and shows them by modeling what was or should have been done. The I and M components should be performed quickly to minimize disrupting the flow of the game. Fifteen to 30 seconds should be the time frame for providing feedback, and the number of times that FIM is used should be minimized so that the rhythms of play can be maintained. Overall, the major objective of invoking the Games Approach is to maximize the fun kids have in a sport so that they wish to continue playing it. As they become more proficient, they will be more interested in perfecting their skills and tactical knowledge. Presumably, at that stage a more drill-like approach might be used. This is not to construe that skills and tactics are unimportant at the earlier stages of development, but that they should not be the main focus of the activity when working with youth unless they have reached advanced levels of performance and are motivated to strive for perfection. A. Session Objectives: Objectives: 1. To have coaches understand the difference between the games and traditional approaches to coaching. 2. To have coaches understand FAST. 3. To have coaches understand FIM. 4. To have coaches simulate how to apply FAST and FIM. B. Huddle: (10 minutes) 1. Secret Game --Everyone write down a secret about themselves. (For example, I speak five language My favorite class is science. ) 2. Collect the papers and then the group attempts to match a person with a secret. C. Activities: (45 minutes) 1. Using your knowledge of the 'Games Approach' say whether you think the following coaches are doing a good job or a bad job of being 'Games Based' coaches and WHY!
3 a. Coach K - Starts practice with lay-up lines for 30 minutes, before a 20 minute lecture about last week's game... b. Coach Riley - Has his players practice shooting free throws until each player makes 50 shots...there are 30 players in the gym, and only 4 hoops... c. Coach Knight - Has 3 different activities going on at the same time: (1) creative dribble contest use as many different dribbling skills to go from one end of the court to the other using smooth transitions graded on a scale of 1-10; (2) shooting contest between 2 players HORSE, and (3) 2 on 2 play until one team scores 10 points. 2. We talked about what makes a great 'Games Based' game...so now its your turn to have a go at selecting or creating your own! Use the FAST Principle.. Fun, Achievement (challenge), Skill Development, Tactics a. Your game must: (1) make sure that nobody is standing around or not involved, (2) is fun to play, (3) has a challenge that everyone understands- -such as scoring the most points, making the most passes or baskets in some period of time, (4) works on improving a soccer/basketball skill and understanding of tactics. b. Before, you attempt to create your own game, take a look at a few examples of what you might think about doing 1: --(1) Dribble Tag, (2) Red Light-Green Light, (3) Kangaroo Jack, (4) Body Part Dribble, (5) Juggling, (6) Knock out, (7) Paint the Field. c. You can use this space to describe in words or sketch your game plan - REMEMBER - be sure to give it thought...we may ask you to demonstrate the game to the coaching group! 1 Adapted from Massachusetts Youth Soccer G License Manual (2004), pps 43-46
4 D. Evaluation/Summary: (10 minutes) 1. Briefly explain the difference between the games and traditional approaches to coaching. 2. Give an example of an activity that is a game and one that is a drill that emphasizes the same skills (e.g., dribbling, passing, shooting). 3. What do each of the letters in the acronym FAST mean? 4. What do each of the letters in the acronym FIM mean?
5 Homework Assignment: (5 minutes) Now that you're an expert on the 'Games Based Approach', talk to an adult coach that you know and explain to him/her what you've learned. Then ask him/her to give you an example of a game that follows the 'Games Based Approach' which he/she thinks would be a great game for kids. Explain or sketch the coach's game below: