Unprofessional coaching behaviour

[kmonty51]

Getting back to the thread,, how many coaches out there volunteer unsolicited to help a someone like I was - brand spanking new, but unlike me, unwilling or afraid to ask for help?

Allan began this thread by noting the unprofessional nature of coaches advising other coaches athletes. He has also stated elsewhere that a central problem with USA pole vaulting in not bad coaching, but a lack in numbers of good coaches. When we see so many un-coached athletes, so many ill equipped vaulters, so many schools phasing out the vault program; its hard to stand silently by. Perhaps the proactive stance we as coaches take to helping our event bleeds into an unprofessional mode where we over-step our boundaries.

I have a suggestion. Oftentimes, new coaches in an event are intimidated and don't know the accepted behavior for an event. In most sports, and other T & F events, it's "every coach for himself." They don't know how asking for advice will be accepted by other coaches. I had no qualms about asking advice because I had been around track and field longer than several others had been alive. Another incident that helped me quite a lot (here is the suggestion) is a young man, 24 or 25 at the time, that I had watched and admired in terms of his coaching (also an 18 foot vaulter himself), struck up a conversation with me. When he found out I had accepted the offer to coach pole vault with virtually no knowledge of the event, he said, " I think it's great what you're doing. It takes a lot of guts, and without people like you, the event is going to die." HE MADE HIMSELF APPROACHABLE AND ACTUALLY PRAISED ME! After that, I felt at ease asking him questions. I didn't feel intimidated, stupid, or any of those other things. Here was a coach (me) that had been brought out of mothballs after retiring from teaching and coaching several years earlier, being taught by a gifted coach that was less than half my age. To my credit, I wasn't too proud to seek his advice. I also sought knowledge at coaching clinics, tons of reading (yes, BTB 2 was in my collection), and asking questions on this forum. Ladyvolspvcoach and souleman e-mailed me regularly with answers to questions I asked.

What I'm suggesting is that those coaches, young and old, with strong knowledge of pole vaulting, find a way to befriend the newbies. Maybe ask them what they think about some issue. When the relationship is comfortable, the new coach doesn't have to swallow quite so hard when he asks another more accomplished coach for help. It's a two-way street, but we knowledgeable coaches (I think I've earned the right to call myself knowledgeable as long as I remember I have plenty yet to learn) can start the process. If the new guy or gal isn't open to our subtle approaches, we simply back off. Don't wait for the new coach to approach you. As was mentioned earlier, without those new coaches, including those who have never pole vaulted, the event will die.

[Andy_C]

Sounds like a great idea Kmonty!

I definitely would have been a bit intimidated and overwhelmed if I tried to step into vault coaching without knowing anybody.

Perhaps we could initiate some sort of "outreach program" for newbie coaches looking for mentors or just somebody to chat to about coaching the vault. IMO, PVP would be a great medium for that; a lot of good coaches and nearly endless enthusiasm I might add

We would basically be taking Kmonty's idea and turning it into a tangible system.

We'll have to find a way to promote this "find a mentor" program. There are already a lot of very successful programs out there like this for other sports and entire industries. Just a suggestion.

-Andrew

[kmonty51]

The "Find a mentor" program is essentially what happened to me on two fronts: one here in northwestern Wisconsin, the other through PVP's message board. Ladyvolspvcoach (hope you don't mind my mentioning you in all this, Dave!) private messaged me, offering any help he could give. I took him up on it, and probably drove him nuts with all my questions; however, I learned a great deal. The learning curve was definitely accelerated because I had a couple mentors in my conference, and a national caliber coach mentoring me through e-mail. I was extremely fortunate to have those people helping me. I can only wonder where I'd be had I not had such good fortune.

Taking Andy's idea, we need to find a way to formalize that process. In other words, take the luck out of the equation. Perhaps a few people on this forum with unquestioned credentials and experience could serve as an "approval committee" that reviews the qualifications of forum members who indicate a willingness to serve as an on-line mentor. New coaches simply request a "PVP approved" mentor through this forum, and the relationship begins. I daresay I now consider ladyvolspvcoach a friend, have shared personal information (health, family, etc.) with him that is outside the coaching realm, yet we have never met face-to-face (something I hope to remedy someday)!

So how about it? Anyone out there willing to be a mentor to a new coach on a basis a bit more personal than just through this message board? Becca, maybe you could help it get off the ground? (As if you don't have a million irons in the fire already!)

[ladyvolspvcoach]

As always I'll again offer the use of my personal copy of Dartfish (so as to not betray any license agreement) to any coach or athlete who would like to take advanage of it! Having retired from the working world I seem to have sufficient time on my hands to reply to any coach who would like to hear what I have to say and offer Dartfish as a way to analyze anyones videos and make comments on a frame by frame basis......

[Andy_C]

Hi again,

I wasn't really trying to get into specifics but those are all great ideas. I was actually more concerned about opening actual lines of communication just to get started. Some way of attracting newbie/startup coaches to a central location (like PVP), and then from there start to work out who needs what kind of mentoring (face to face/correspondence/email/chat etc.)

It will be a smaller undertaking just trying to maintain a communications line rather than a full system in one massive gulp. Additionally, it can provide a lot more flexibility for people's needs and commitments so we will be able to include a lot more people. Low maintenance, broad audience and high flexibility to start. Then we'll see where we go from there. It will also give us the chance to see what works and what doesn't. A "phased-roll-out implementation" rather than a one hit superstructure is my take. Of course if you've got the manpower you can try to pull off the big kaboosh

Either way, getting started will always be the hardest part!

-Andrew

[baggettpv]

I agree to mentor some young pup! But they need to get some basic information first from my Groundwork and Airwork DVD and have read Alans book "Beginner to Bubka" so as to have a base of information to work from. Alans latest DVD would be helpfull too.

Rick Baggett
WSTC

[Barefoot]

A mentor program is a superb idea.

When I returned to coach the vault after a 25 year absence from the event, my greatest resources were other vault coaches both locally and over the net. Fortunately (or not) I do not suffer shyness in my ignorance, and am happy to ask anyone questions. I have asked questions of local high school coaches, local college coaches, nationally renowned coaches, private coaches, my old high school coach. I have swapped emails with folks a continent away who I have never met and have plonked down next to international caliber coaches at meets just to watch and occasionally spy on their methods. Vaulters and their coaches can be the most generous people.

That said... Locally, It was a slow process gaining acceptance with most of the "successful" programs in our area. The struggling programs were usually far more generous. And as helpful as quality advice from Texas can be, sometimes when you are starting out, local knowledge can be essential if you want to know where to find a good pole supplier in your area.

The bane of the pole vault community could be the coach who views upstart programs as a threat to his local dominance or an annoying rash which will hopefully fade over time... Because vaulting in the USA is dying one school at a time. If we can't support passionate individuals who can keep kids safe and competitive, and can't justify to a head coach/AD the cost and the reward of keeping the vault alive, then one day our sport will be relegated by lawyers and accountants to the high school javelin bin. We have to welcome our competition.

This past season our conference lost a dedicated long term coach who finally quit coaching because of a head coach who felt their vault program was excess baggage. This coach packed it in, selling his 30 pole inventory that he had provided freely to the kids at the school. The only thing I could do as a competitor was pass on buying his poles so they could go cheaply to a new coach and program (which they did) and to connect the new coach with another program that had need of the redundant poles in the inventory. Though I am saddened to see one program die, I am delighted to see the new program produce the top freshman vaulter in our county.

So as we move into 2011, in addition to continuing the quest for better results for my kids... I'm going to make sure to seek out the new kid on he block... or maybe I'll harass some head coach from another school by asking him if there's anything I can do to help him get his vault program started. Better yet.. I'm gonna hunt down a donor for a new pit at our school and donate our pit to a local program who doesn't have one.

[tsorenson]

Great thread. I have been guilty of helping other coaches' athletes in the past, as we get several schools together during our offseason vault practices. Even though the athletes and coaches have been very receptive to my input, and often asked for advice, it is important to be respectful and not overstep due to enthusiasm. Sometimes it becomes apparent that my advice directly conflicts with advice that the kids are getting from their coaches. To solve this problem, my coaching partner and I have tried to shift our responses away from things that occur after the takeoff, to purely helping kids (and other coaches) master the run/drop/plant/takeoff. Basically, we refuse to even talk about anything other than that until they are nailing it every time. Too many coaches spend all their time coaching the top end when the bottom end goes neglected.

Many experienced and successful coaches regularly share information with other, less experienced coaches. Baggettpv, Vaultwest, Master, and Altius have helped me a lot as I continue to learn more about coaching the event. One great tactic that Altius uses is to allow coaches to attend his clinics for free...what a great and unselfish way to share knowledge! Let's not forget the major contribution that this website has made to vaulting. Even though it can be confusing wading through the many pages of dialogue, I have learned a lot here.

We are lucky to participate in a sport that encourages cooperation rather than direct competition...after all, it's all of us vs. the same opponent...gravity!! Experienced coaches need not fear giving away their secrets...it takes a lot more than just an understanding of the event to be a great coach; it requires being a great teacher and knowing how to teach a strong work ethic...not a simple task in this day and age!!

Tom