In my years as an athlete it was hammered into to me that repetition was the mother of learning. I worked harder and harder and repeated drills and exercises by the hour. Sometimes I got better, but just as often I stagnated or regressed. Then in my first sport psychology class at UCSB I learned that practice made permanent – well da! Back in 1969 I did not need Anders Ericsson’s research, Malcom Gladwell or Coyle’s books to quickly realize that that it was the quality of the practice that matters. It is not just putting in 10,000 hours like so many people are espousing today. It is what you put in the hours that matters. Mindless work leads nowhere. Oh sure you will better but not to the same extent as when the practice is focused and mindful. We also know now that technical perfection comes from those who operate on the outer edges of the particular skill or technique. They are willing to take chances to make mistakes, learn and self-correct based on feedback from the ”mistakes.”
Give the athlete a clear goal. Make sure they have the tools to reach the goal and then allow them to discover the path to that goal. You guide them when necessary but remember coaching is not something you do to the athlete; it is something you do with the athlete. Give them space to grow and learn. Remember that deep practice the type of practice that is meaningful and provides results. It is error centered, thoroughly planned and information rich. As coaches we are, to paraphrase Coyle in Talent Code, myelinators. Coaching = Growing Skill Circuits. Guiding the athletes to improve the circuitry, to grow more myelin is a big job full of challenges, but it affords the opportunity for creativity and innovation that was unimagined when I started coaching 42 years ago.