Should you script your coaching?

Why it might be a good idea to write out what you are going to say at your next session.

Coaching is a dynamic art – you have to be ready to adjust quickly to what is happening as your session unfolds.

But being dynamic isn’t just about reacting. You can’t simply throw out an idea and let it develop as the players find their way.

The best coaches are well-prepared and have a pretty good idea of what might happen. That comes both from experience and with planning.

For example, I know of at least one academy boss with scripted questions ready for their session.

They might not ask all of them and they might not even use the exact words in the question. However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that you need to frame a question to elicit the best answers carefully.

Listen to yourself speaking off-the-cuff to see why that’s so important!

The phrase 'off the cuff' comes from the days when formal dress shirts had stiff paper on the end of the sleeves.

A dinner speaker could jot a few headlines on this cuff and then refer to them as they spoke.

In reality, this works well if you recount a story you’ve told many times. You aren’t reacting to the situation other than, perhaps, choosing not to use one story and skipping to the next.

Another problem comes from generic questions like: "What did you notice?" and "How did you feel?".

While these are valid enough, they don’t speak directly to the player's experience. A scripted question would check in more detail what the players might have noticed and include a follow-up question that might probe the player more or, alternatively, scaffold an answer.

By scaffolding, you give the player information they can embellish.

For example: "Neil, what did you notice about the inside defenders’ movements from the rucks?" is one question. A probing question would ask: "How could you manipulate that movement with your alignment?" while scaffolding would be: "If the defenders are moving up quickly, with their shoulders facing outwards, how could you make them slow down?".

Time to start writing scripts?