T ese terms help to clarify each end of the spectrum,


however it’s important to stress that neither breakdowns nor breakthroughs are required to improve. Most learning and growth takes place with gradual, small improvements that take us from shaky beginners to fl uid experts – over the course of many years and lots and lots of focused practice. You might hear an athlete refl ect on a failure as a positive


part of their overall development. While it’s true that we can usually rebuild successfully after things go awry (see “If at First You Don’t Succeed: Timely Advice for Bouncing Back from Setbacks,” Winter 2016), by no means are breakdowns required in order to improve. In fact, breakdowns can have long-term negative eff ects as they set people back and prevent them from performing at their usual level. As coaches, it’s up to us to recognize when a breakdown might be imminent and work with our students to manage and prevent it. Should a breakdown occur, work to recover from the initial stress, and then try to unravel what went wrong and how to avoid it. On the other end of the spectrum, who doesn’t love the idea of a big breakthrough? While the idea of learning by huge leaps and bounds is appealing, it doesn’t often work this way. Don’t waste time waiting and wondering when a big breakthrough will take place. Instead, examine your overall skill development and see where you may be uneven.


Take a look at some examples of how learning might take


place. Figure 1 depicts a model where breakthroughs vault us through to the next level. Or maybe improvement is just a steady upward progression


where the longer we do something, the better we get (fi g. 2). But it doesn’t always feel like that, does it? Figure 3 shows the typical model of learning that one sees in textbooks. But it tends to be more applicable to individual tasks than to one’s overall career. In reality, the path we most often take is a meandering one of steady improvement interrupted by occasional plateaus and setbacks. T ere are approaches that may not work out and times when a new focus, better fi tness, or coaching can put us on a faster track. T e path is uneven and at times can seem slow and illogical, but it only stops its upward trajectory when we let it stop. As explored in more depth in the following articles, we can boil it down to this simple advice: For yourself and for your students, adopt an approach of gradual but continual improvement. While it’s not as dramatic as catastrophic failure or a spectacular breakthrough, this is the time-tested way we get better (fi g. 4).


breakthrough!


waiting for next breakthrough


breakthrough!


waiting for next breakthrough


waiting for breakthrough time Figure 1: Learning by Breakthroughs time Figure 2: Continuous Learning


plateau


set aside dedicated time to train


adoped a fiWQHVV SODQ


improvement steady


had a great clinic


slow beginning time Figure 3: Textbook Learning Curve time


Figure 4: Reality THESNOWPROS.ORG | 27


recovered from setback


had a setback


fiGGOHG DURXQG ZLWK VWXff WKDW GLGQȇW really go anywhere


attended a training camp


ability


ability


ability


ability


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