During my first semester at Leeds Beckett University I have had to complete the Applied Pedagogy module for sport. Applied Pedagogy consists of delivering coaching sessions to children in a sporting environment, and throughout the module there have been many occasions in which we have learnt skills that would benefit me, should I choose to undergo the Pedagogy degree.
In our very first task, the group had to undertake an orienteering session, in which we had to get into pairs and search for cones, set down by the other pairs on and around the running track. This was frustrating as we had to rely on maps that were annotated by the other groups. I feel like I was quick to understand the moral of the session; success depends on perspective as people see things differently, hence annotating the maps differently.
We then went on to deliver running drills to one another over the next few weeks. This was our first real experience of delivering activities to small groups. I don’t feel like I struggled to get to grips with coaching, as I have always been quite confident and though I may not always want to, I am capable of standing in front of people and delivering a session.
From here, we went onto the 3G pitches and looked at football coaching and used this sport for our progress. Football is a sport that I played for many years during my childhood and so I was happy to engage, as we were able to learn through the sport that I love. It was actually during one of these sessions that I learnt how I would aim to be as a coach. Me and my partner Callum had two separate ideas of how to deliver the activity, but through counselling the tutor, Joe, we adapted and managed to deliver the session whilst highlighting both of our key points. It was here that I realised that I can occasionally rush into ideas, and so this encounter taught me to sit back for a few more minutes and really consider every possible opportunity to get the best outcome for the group.
Whilst these practical sessions were ongoing every week, we were also taking part in the course’s seminars. These were teaching us about how technology has impacted coaching, and we often found ourselves working the video analysis and the Dartfish software. As someone that really doesn’t claim to be amazing with computers I really thought that I’d struggle. Occasionally I did, and had to seek help from either Joe or Keith, who were the tutors for the workshops. Over time, I saw that the system was simple enough to get to grips with, and found it ever easier to analyse videos of performances.
To summarise this blog, I feel like I have fine tuned some pre-existing people skills whilst simultaneously developing brand new skills as a result of completing this module. Though I do not plan to enter sport coaching, I must say this module certainly made me consider it, and even if I don’t enter this degree, I have some new skills and perspective to apply to whatever avenue of sport I choose to commit to.
Jack - Sport and Exercise Science 