Coaching Tip #7

Tagged – Tip of the Week, Practice Management, Coaching Practice

When you start a weight training program, you have a period at the beginning that during which improvement is very fast.  Sadly this is not due to improved strength, but due to learning the how to perform the movement correctly.  It is known as the Learning Effect.  Only after the Learning Effect has taken place do you start to see the improvements that are caused by muscle adaptation through the weights program.

That same concept can be seen in other areas in the training environment.  For example, any new drill that the coach tries in practice has a period in which the players and team are learning how the drill works.  At some point performance off the drill improves significantly.  This is not actual skill development, but a Learning Effect.  And it is important to note that before the Learning Effect performance is terrible.  The same applies with warm up or small sided games.  Any time the coach introduces a new game, before the Learning Effect takes place performance is terrible.

The lesson is, the first time you do anything in practice, don’t expect performance to be excellent.  Relax and let the players work out how to do the drill.

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