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[hockeygod]

Good article Dave. I enjoy reading Carol Dweck stuff. I agree with her findings about too much positivism. I think it needs to be 'deserved praise' and not too overdone.

I think we (coaches) expect things to go good… therefore we don't praise players consistently when things are good… but we certainly let players know when things aren't good! However, I do try to catch my players doing something right and letting them know. As a coach, it is far easier to be overly critical and negative. Sometimes it is tough to break old habits!

Dave King showed me a 2 x 2 Matrix in 1990…

General Positive General Negative
Specific Positive Specific Negative

He said a coach could have someone record and code the comments they made on the bench or during practice, into one of these four categories. Far too many coaches hand out General Positive comments ("good shift") – what the heck does that mean? Be specific! Dave suggested that from coding a game and a practice, you could gain a lot of insight into what you were saying… and then you could see how to fine-tune your coaching style in the future. Specific Positive and Specific Negative are better than general comments.

Plus using the Game Sense Approach, the coach shouldn't 'tell' the athlete anything. Ask them what they did / saw out there and then guide them towards what you really want to get across!

PS – I just watched the CBS 60 Minutes special on Pete Carroll when he was coaching at USC (about two years old). This guy was full of enthusiasm and positives – almost over the top – but it worked for him!

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."