The Teaching Coach Syllabus – EDEX 173

Drake University School of Education

Co-authors:

Dr. Janet McMahill, Interim Dean, School of Education and Director, Extension Education, Drake University
Michael K. Bryant, Director of Training and Curricular Development, Extension Education, Drake University

Course Description:

This three-semester-hour graduate course is intended to provide added perspectives in the professions of coaching and teaching.  Through a series of videotape presentations and accompanying textbook, in conjunction with Internet and print articles and a series of interviews conducted by the student, this course addresses the coach-athlete relationship, team cohesion, the various elements contributing to peak performance, arousal and anxiety, attentional focus, successful performance components, aggression and sportsmanship, and strategies for avoiding burnout.

Purpose of the Course for Prospective Students:

The Teaching Coach is designed to help teachers who coach and coaches who teach look at their professions from broader perspectives, including those of their players, fellow coaches, and experts in topics related to the psychology of coaching.  Students will be able to apply the insights, instructional techniques and presentation theories to their practical situations.

Course Goals – Module 1:

To provide an overview to The Teaching Coach textbook, The Psychology of Coaching Team Sports, by Larry M. Leith; to see issues of the coach-player relationship from student-athletes’ points of view; to better understand the issues involved in setting specific goals; to consider approaches that heighten the student-athlete experience; to better understand what student-athletes expect from the competitive experience.

Course Goals – Module 2:

To define team cohesion and apply the concept  of cohesion to your needs and resources as a coach; to look at various theories of leadership and coaching styles; to discuss traits of an effective team, including communication techniques and involvement strategies; to consider effective ways of identifying and using team leaders.

Course Goals – Module 3:

To explore strategies for measuring and managing team cohesion; to use the team cohesion questionnaire to survey team values and attitudes; to examine social and task coherence; to create specific strategies that help increase team cohesion.

Course Goals – Module 4:

To define peak performance and the factors affecting it;

Understanding qualities of effective goal setting; Negotiating and communicating shared goals; Developing strategies for mental preparation to achieve peak performance.

Course Goals – Module 5:

Understanding arousal levels and their relationship to task-specific skills; Adjusting arousal levels to meet specific tasks of your sport;  Developing strategies for increasing and decreasing arousal levels as needed to achieve optimum performance levels.

Course Goals – Module 6:

Defining the four modes of attentional focus; Applying those modes of focus to the needs of your players; Understanding the adjustments in attentional focus needed by a coach relative to his or her sport.

Course Goals – Module 7:

Gaining insights into our players’ perceptions of the reasons behind their success or failure, referred to as causal attribution;  Using those perceptions to effect future motivation and performance; Taking a systematic approach to creating quality practices; Using practices to work on weaknesses and build mental toughness in players; Designing practices to help your student-athletes prepare for distractions and for success.

Course Goals – Module 8:

Understanding the various forms of aggression; Conducting a self-assessment of responses to aggressive behavior; Defining which forms of aggression are acceptable and which constitute poor sportsmanship.

Course Goals – Module 9:

To understand psychological and physiological symptoms of stress, staleness and burnout among players; Developing techniques for addressing the underlying causes of stress, staleness and burnout; Outlining steps to proactively plan to reduce their occurrence or recurrence.

Course Goals – Module 10:

To identify short- and long-term goals in your coaching program; Learning systematic approaches for making goals a reality in your coaching; Synthesizing and applying the presentations and concepts of the first nine modules.

Major Tasks:

During the course the student will complete the following tasks:

1.)  View and take notes on all videotapes included in the course;

2.)  Read the textbook assignments and the print and Internet assignments;

3.)  Complete all of the assignments in The Teaching Coach Study Guide, including “Responses to Presentations” and “Application Assignments.”

Evaluation and Grading Plan:

Students enrolled in The Teaching Coach will be graded on a 300 point system:  Each of the first nine modules is worth 25 points, the final closure module is worth 75 points.  The total points will be converted to a letter grade according to these percentages:

            A   90 – 100%

            B    80 -  89%

            C    70 -  79%

            D    60 -  69%

            F     59% and lower

The Teaching Coach – Instructional Staff:

        Contributing Presenter / Advisor:

                                    Dr. Tom Davis, Men’s Basketball Coach, Drake University

         Instructors:            

                                    Chad Buchanan, Asst. Men’s Basketball Coach, Drake University

                                    Melanie Buchanan, Head Volleyball Coach, Indianola High School

                                    Steve Duncan, Athletic Director, West Des Moines Valley High School

                                    Scott DeJong, Head Girl’s Basketball Coach, Ankeny High School

                                    Kelly Nordell, Head Coach, Des Moines Swim Federation

                                    Aziz Haffar, Head Men’s and Women’s Soccer Coach, Simpson College: Soccer Coach, West Des Moines Valley High School

                                    Aaron Quinn, Sports Psychologist

                                    Dr. John Bartholomew, Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin.

                                    Dr. Greg Dale, Ph.D., Mental Training Coach, Duke University

                                    Tim McClellan, M.S., C.S.C.S., Performance Enhancement and Director, Makeplays.com, Phoenix, Arizona

References and Presentation Videos:

Textbook

Leith, Larry M.  The Psychology of Coaching Team Sports: A Self-Help Guide (2003).  Toronto, Ontario:  Sport Books Publisher.

Videos from Championship Productions

Tape One:  “The Teaching Coach Guide Tape,” introducing and coordinating the video presentations of The Teaching Coach, is narrated by Chad Buchanan, assistant coach of Drake University men’s basketball.  Contains panel discussion with student athletes and selected comments from Dr. Tom Davis, head coach of Drake University men’s basketball. 

Tape Two:  “Coaches Panel Discussion” – Moderated by assistant coach Buchanan, a team of distinguished coaches elaborates on the themes of team cohesion and goal setting. 

Tape Three: “Performance Under Stress: What Every Coach Should Know,” by sports professor John Bartholomew.  A discussion of task specificity and arousal levels.

Tape Four: “Arousal, Anxiety and Focus,” by sports psychologist Aaron Quinn, focuses on psychological components of performance.

Tape Five:  “Making Every Practice Count,” in which professor and trainer Greg Dale takes a close look at how practices can be structured to align mental and physical training drills with our developmental goals;

Tape Six: “Aggression Training Drills to Bring Out the Warrior from Within” by Tim McClelland. 

Tape Seven: “Becoming a Champion Athlete: Goal Setting for Success,” by Greg Dale, examines the components and applications of effective goal setting.