TGfU Week 3 – Dr Dave Piggott

Connor Ratcliffe / / Communication, Differentiation, Organization

The final week of these sessions combines the majority of what has been touched on previously in order to create a game that has all the  fundamentals of Rounder’s but with adapted rules; This is what was our group came up with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYUDtJR6Sfg&feature=player_embedded

As you can see the rule and what is required can be seen in the video.

All players on the team start on one base and all have to get back to their original positions in order to score 1 rounder keeping everyone involved and having to communicate/work as a team. This goes on for however many balls the coach deems necessary, again depending on who has the most rounder’s at the end of their innings are crowned as winners. It should also be mentioned that in order to assess how many runs each team has selected one member to put a bib on and count how many times they go round just to make it easier to umpire.

This can then be revisited through the spiral curriculum first brought to us in 1986 by Thorpe, Bunker and Almond, that explains how over the years at secondary school it is essential to revisit areas already touched on in previous years

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Once again as in the previous 2 weeks communication is key in order to explain the game begin taught as well as adapting the rule to differentiate the game. As well as this the planning and organization that is put into the session plan and the 6 week block or teaching.

TGfU Week 2 – Dr Dave Piggott

Connor Ratcliffe / / Communication, Differentiation, Organization

During the second week of coaching our selected category of sport we were asked to plan and progress what we had previously touched on to a week of your choice and what you would teach in that week e.g in week 4 of 6 I will be focusing on the striking aspect of the game.

For my gorup we chose to move on to week 5 in which we would play a game known as “scatter ball” the aim of the game is that there are 3 balls of different colours and sizes, each player gets to hit all 3 balls before they are allowed to begin running, this allows them to have a fair turn when attempting to strike the ball as well as giving them the opportunity to assess whether to go for power or placement during shot selection this is rationalized because it provides tactical appreciation and technique to the game. On the flip side of this are the fielders who now have 3 balls to contend with meaning there is more than one person chasing a ball and throwing it back to the bowler. This gets more people involved throughout the session, the person keeps running until all 3 balls are returned to the bowler and then returns back to thier team with thier score e.g 1 1/2 time  round the bases. The scores are then added up between the two teams providing an overall winner.

Much like the previous weeks session this falls into 3 categories; Communication, Differentiation and  Organization for the same reasons as before. I find methods such as this to be key if you are looking to progress the participants further than the 6 weeks because it is a fun game but also focuses on the  of the  fundamentals game and can enhance their skills.

TGfU week 1 – Dr Dave Piggott

Connor Ratcliffe / / Communication, Differentiation, Organization

During the first week in a block of three the topic was to create in groups our own 6 week plan of a selected category of sport, the categories  were;

  • Striking and Fielding
  • Invasion Games
  • Net and Wall Games
  • Target Games

My groups selected area of sports were striking and fielding and the sport we chose was Rounders, the aim being to adapt the game to the be taught in a block over sessions at different levels during secondary school. An introduction to the sport in a game based scenario for absolute beginners with a view to develop further over the block of six weeks eventually reaching a full game with all original rules. That was designed to be taught at key stage 3 very at the very beginning in order to grasp the rules and regulations of the sport.

Our first week

As the first lesson we believed that the key to rounders at the beginning is to learn the bases and where to run, in order to maintain the TgfU approach to this we set out the bases for an original rounders game but rather than playing a game participants were paired up and raced around the bases, we called it the “fox and hound” race. This gave to participants an oppertunity to work out where they needed to run during a full game and a rough estimate on the distances between the bases. over the coming weeks this will be progressed introducing both striking and fielding aspects of the game eventually leading up to the full game.

This weeks lecture/practical links well into both differentiation and organization mostly due to the nature of what you are doing with adapted games and having to organize a 6 week block of lessons, however it can be argued that there is some communication aspects, as with any form of coaching some form of communication is required.

For more information on the catagory of sports and what needs focusing on please follow this link – http://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-719635-dt-content-rid-1066095_2/courses/SES3060M-1213/Sport%20forms%20posters%20%28×5%29%281%29.pdf

Revisiting TGFU – Guest Lecture Dr Len Almond

Connor Ratcliffe / / Communication, Organization

In 1980 a reflection was taken on the way games were being taught, the report found that

  • A large percentage of children achieving little success due to the emphasis on performance
  • The majority of school leavers leaving school “knowing” very little about games
  • The development of teacher/coach dependent performers
  • The production of supposedly “skillful” players who in fact possess inflexible techniques and poor decision making capacity
  • The failure to develop “thinking” spectators and “knowing” administrators at a time when games (and sport) are an important form of entertainment in the leisure industry

This means that learning to play games needs to be simplified and taught from a young age in order for participants to gain confidence and want to learn and understand the game. There are rules to TGFU these are primary and secondary rules, primary rules may also be know as game classifications and changing these rules will alter the game overall, changing football to hockey for example. It is also key that regardless of the game being played that it is not about winning but challenging the participants taking part.

Primary Rules
Rules that define the game but cannot be changed.  If they are changed they define a new game.
Secondary Rules
Rules that can be changed as a result of experience of playing the game in order to improve it and make it a better game to play.

The classification of games are as followed;

  • Invasion – Hand, Stick, Foot 
  • Net/Wall – Divided, Shared
  • Striking and Fielding – Fan, Oval
  • Target – Opposed/Unopposed

My coaching philosophy for this placement is all about Teaching Games for Understanding and helping to develop my pupils through a TGFU approach, so i aim to enhance my use of game based coaching and using those to develop different areas of rugby

Example 

An example of using games in my placement would be kicking tennis. The group is split into two even teams and placed either side of a set out area, each team will then have an attempt at kicking and receiving from a kick. Each catch is worth one point and each successful kick is worth 5 points. Mixing up the game of rugby with a slight undertone of tennis, it helps with shot selection and whether to go for placement or power.

 

 

 

Power and Coaching Teams – A Sociological Perspective

Connor Ratcliffe / / Differentiation, Organization

Coaches have different relationships of power with the participants they are coaching, how they develop this power is developed. This post looks at the different power relationships and the theories behind these ideas.

  • Foucault – Power and Knowledge 
  • Bourdieu – Capital and Symbolic Violence
  • Goffman – Impression Management

Foucault 

Michel Foucault’s theory suggests that power and knowledge have a direct link to one another and a lack of knowledge will affect the power over the coaching group. You as the coach should have direct power over your participant because of the more experience and knowledge you have. Those without knowledge and power are known as docile bodies, Foucault argues that individuals are under constant surveillance and regulation in ways that are often subtle and thereby seemingly invisible, leading to normalization and acceptance of such systems.

Bourdieu 

Pierre Bourdieu suggests that power comes down to social class and the more capital somebody has directly links to the power that they hold, capital is split into different sections cultural, social and symbolic. This can apply to my coaching placement in that the pupils with more social capital (popular children) can have more power over those who are judged as less popular, this can be explained as unseen symbolic violence with individuals placing themselves higher on the social hierarchy.

Goffman

Goffman believed that in a very autocratic style meaning that the only way to get a message across is through instruction because information is power. Also suggesting that a coach using questions shows weakness and a lack of knowledge around the chosen subject. Through my experience as a coach I believe that this theory could not be more wrong, making the participants learn from one another and through the use of questions I believe is a more successful way to get your coaching point across almost like a ‘find your own answer’ style to coaching.