ADDRESSING his team during a half time break many years ago, the coach of an Australian Rules football team was not happy with his players. He started speaking to them softly saying, "When I was a little boy.....my mother told me about some little things which had wings. They sparkled and flitted around from place to place leaving trails of star dust. (Pause) .....She told me they were called fairies. (Another pause) ..... In my whole life, I haven’t seen one." Then suddenly at the top of his voice he screamed out, "....but today I’ve seen 18 of them....." The tirade went on. In the past, many sports coaches used to scream and shout abuse at their players because it was considered to be the way that coaching was done. Think of the consequences the above scenario had on the players. What were the intelligent ones thinking during that ‘fairy tale’? Nowadays, with a greater awareness of what constitutes good coaching, we have come to realise that good coaching is about research, analysis, remediation, support, techniques and practise. Good coaches are caring, intelligent, fair and empathetic. They also know their pupil and treat them according to their levels of ability, development and individuality. Managers will often need to coach, or provide a coach, for a staff member to help them achieve a higher standard. Here are some pointers to successful coaching. • If not yourself, provide a coach who is respected by the trainee. • Use visual aids and practical situations to make the coaching session effective and relevant. • Look for opportunities to praise right efforts as much as right results. • Use words the trainee understands. • Pace the coaching session to the skill level and learning ability of the trainee. • Be aware of the limitations of your own skills and knowledge. • Allow for discussion time when planning a coaching session. • Act to reduce distractions during a coaching session. • Ask the trainee for their knowledge about the area being covered. • Organise yourself, the content and objectives, and prepare for the session thoroughly prior to coaching. • Explain the ‘big picture’ and the intended outcomes of the coaching sessions. • Involve the trainee at all times during coaching sessions by encouraging two-way communication. • Be aware the coaching task is not complete until the objective has been achieved. • Act on feedback about your coaching effectiveness immediately. • Monitor results of coaching. • Discuss the role of the coach. • Set up the coaching session. • Break the coaching session into small chunks – don’t overload with information. Watch their body language for indications of frustration. • Identify exactly what the person needs to learn. • Tell the person what to do, how to do it and why it is important. • Show them how to do it. • Ask for questions or things to show again. • Get them to practice while you watch. • Ask the trainee to describe in their own words the critical aspects of this job, the key things to do and/or the critical safety issues. • Ask the trainee what they would do differently if a mistake had occurred while they are practicing a skill. • Give feedback on what they did well and what needs improvement. • Get them to practice again. • Give feedback. And so on until the person can do it. • Identify areas still requiring improvement and repeat the above coaching process.