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COACHING MATTERS|NEWS|


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Monkey Business


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coaches took place as part of the RFL’s ongoing commitment to coach development.


E © RFL 2012


Professor Donna O’Connor, from Sydney University, shared her expertise in sessions such as Rethinking Your Coachingfor elite coaches and Youth Coaching, investigating perceptions of coaching at Levels 1 and 2.


She told delegates at the seminar in Headingley about the importance of rethinking the way they coach, looking at the factors which elite coaches might forget or take for granted. She specifically focused on language and


xpertise from Down Under was a highlight for coaches earlier this summer when a series of seminars for elite and grass-roots


how people can unknowingly be reinforcing ideas that are not conducive to success.


The coaches heard that there are two types of mindset, fixed or growth. Coaches with a fixed mindset tell athletes that they have inherent abilities and that players therefore train to a smaller percentage of their ability believing that what they have is ‘there’ and cannot be improved upon. Terms such as ‘child prodigy’ can reaffirm these beliefs and create a ceiling of talent.


Coaches with a growth mindset tell their charges that they have talent, yet training, and learning from making mistakes helps the athlete to grow and develop. A culture of working upwards and developing existing talent is fostered.


The coaches were encouraged to take away from the seminar an idea of the language they are using to praise or otherwise, and to really think about what they were saying during sessions.


O’Connor has significant coaching and research experience and has worked with the Australian Women’s Basketball team, The Wallabies and the Canadian Olympic Athletics team. She has worked with the North Queensland Cowboys, is a member of the ARL Research Board and is part of the group carrying out the ARL Pathway Review.


Professor O’Connor and her team were staying in the UK for a few days after the seminars to cheer on their friends in the Aussie basketball team who were competing in The London 2012 Olympic Games.


90762:4 Written and produced by Coachwise Limited


© Donna O’Connor


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