IMPACT is an acronym coined by USA Volleyball's
John Kessel that stands for Increased Mastery and Professional Application
of Coaching Theory. It is an off-shoot of the USA Volleyball Coaching Accreditation
Program (CAP) and serves as an introduction to understanding the responsibilities
and opportunities of coaching. That in fact is one of the primary focus
areas of IMPACT--to make coaches aware of the great opportunities and responsibilities
when coaching others, especially young athletes. IMPACT’s other primary
focus areas are:
-
to help coaches create what they need to coach volleyball efficiently and
effectively,
-
to develop a better understanding of USA Volleyball, and,
-
to identify the latest resources available.
IMPACT and the CAP Courses are applicable to Junior Olympic/Youth Volleyball
as well as adult volleyball of all levels.
The primary goal of Junior Olympic/Youth Volleyball
is to TEACH young people the skills of volleyball. If we think of
our coaches as teachers, we can get a better understanding of what type
of behavior and character that we would want from our coaches. How many
high school teachers have we had that scream and throw tantrums because
a student misspelled a word on the blackboard, or failed to correctly solve
an algebra problem, etc. We would certainly hope that teachers of that
ilk would not last long in our school systems. We would certainly also
wager that our parents would not tolerate such behavior from their children’s
teachers. Parents should be equally diligent in not tolerating such
behavior from our coaches. And hopefully, such behavior from our
coaches is on the wane.
The current literature on teaching methods
all points to modeling as the most effective teaching tool. While one need
not be a volleyball player to be a good volleyball coach, one must be able
to correctly model volleyball techniques. Words have very little meaning
for beginners in learning motor skills. Young players learn by imitating
f rom others--their coaches and other players. This implies that if coaches
actively participate in drills and scrimmage, they need to exhibit the
proper skills and techniques that they are trying to teach. Coaches who
use practice time attempting to “show-off”, demonstrate “cool” moves, etc.
have no place in teaching our kids. The gyms are our classrooms and parents
should ensure that such behavior is not condoned by our clubs.
More next time.
— Shang Hsiung, CAP Cadre
|
