Jay Mahoney

SES 335

10/17/17

Nichols

Coaching Observation Assignment

1.
 List the date, time, coach, team and school you have selected to observe. What is
your relationship with this team or coach?
 Did the high school coach utilize a practice plan for the observed session?
 Was it in writing?
 Did he/she use specific times for specific objectives?
 Obtain a copy of the written practice plan and include with your paper.

The team I observed was the University High School Cross Country team. I observed this

team on two different dates, October 17th from 3:30pm-5:00pm, and October 19, 2017 from

3:00pm-6:30pm. I met the coach of this team when my team participated in the all comers track

meet that the team hosted. In addition to this, one of the individuals who assisted in the founding

of the club running team here at UNC is an alumnus of University High School. Although the

assignment only requires us to attend one practice, I attended as many as I could. This is due to

part of my coaching philosophy. In my personal philosophy, I think a coach should always see

their athletes to the end. Although I wasn’t coaching and I was only observing, I enjoyed getting

to know the athletes and coaches and I personally took it upon myself to see them through to

their Regional Competition.

The practices that were utilized were based on the Regional Competition on Thursday,

October 19, 2017. The workout Tuesday (Oct 17th) was a simple practice so the coaches did not

utilize a practice plan. The coach used knowledge based on the upcoming competition and the
experience of the team to decide on what they were going to do for practice. The coaches did

utilize specific timings to ensure that the athletes knew when they had to be done with a certain

task. Unfortunately, because the coaches did not use a written practice plan, I will be unable to

turn that in with my assignment.

2. Did your coach use or outline any practice objectives for the observed session? If yes,
what were they? And if no, what practice objectives might he/she have used?
The coach outlined a few objectives for the practice. The first of these objectives was to

get into the mindset needed for the important competition. To make this happen, the coach gave

a very detailed speech in front of the entire team before practice. The coach encouraged the

athletes to perform at their best regardless of the competition. The second objective for the

practice for that day was to work on the speed work during a cross country race. Although there

was no written practice plan, I wrote down exactly what was done.

Location: Track Time-3:30pm

 800m warm up run

o On track
 Plyometrics
o High knees
o Butt kicks
o A-Skips
o B-Skips
 Dynamic Stretches
o Leg Swings
 Static Stretches
o Quadricep stretch
o Hamstring Stretch
o Calve Stretch
 2-mile warm up run
o 2 mile loop around school grounds
o Medium pace
 5x 200m
o Race pace
o 30 seconds rest
 5x200m
 o All out pace
o 15 seconds rest
 1-mile cool down run
o On track
The coach explained that the reason for the workout was to give the athletes a sense of what their

race would be like. With surges past opponent runners and a kick into the finish to end the track

portion of the workout. The final objective that the coach outlined was the team comradery.

Unknown to myself, there had been a great deal of upheaval within the team regarding the senior

leaders and some of the faster under-classmen. The boy’s team was in disarray and someone

needed to take the initiative as the leader. In a sport that is mostly individual until competition,

this is a crucial element. The coach could achieve this by making the senior leaders lead all the

intervals. This seemed to make the team a more wholistic group. On the girl’s team, the coach

had to have a one-on-one session with the fastest runner, a freshman and the second runner, a

senior. This was essential to making sure that the two were to practice and compete together. The

practice itself greatly helped this by having them run together.

3.
 Describe any skills that were presented or represented skill correction during the
observed practice.
 Describe the demonstration.
 What arrangement/formation was used?
 Was there an introduction, and what was it?
 Was there an explanation of the skill, and what was it?
 Did the coach relate the skill to any transfer of learning/previous learning?
 Did the coach identify any relevant cues?
 Who demonstrated the skill?
Due to the timing in the season, there were no skills that needed to be presented to these

athletes. The team had competed in most of their competitions prior to the practice so the athletes

all knew what to do. The coaches did not have anything to demonstrate. The coach did use an

explanation to describe what the workout would be. The coach described the intervals in detail
and what to focus on during these intervals. This ensured that the athletes knew exactly what to

do. The practice attended was only two days away from the Regional Championships, therefore

most of the practice had been previously learned. The coach only needed to tell the athletes to

warm up and they went and did exactly as they were taught, without any further instruction. The

coaches used many cues to instruct the athletes. The cue most used was “Pick it up” meaning that

they were behind their pace and needed to accelerate. The coaches also used the cue “Look up”

to assist in athletes who were getting tired to continue to look up. This cue was very important as

it assisted the athletes keep looking forward towards the goal. “Arms” was another cue used by

the coaches in order to bring awareness to the athletes who’s upper body form was starting to

diminish.

4. Summarize with an evaluation of the practice session.

 Was it organized?
 Did the coach use a written plan?
 Were the athletes attentive?
 How much time was spent on learning new skills?
 How much time was allotted for practice?
 Were skills practiced under conditions similar to game or competition conditions?
 How and what would you change to improve on this practice session?

The practice I observed was very loosely organized. The athletes all arrived at different

times and just joined in when they arrived. The coaches were not on the field with the athletes,

rather they stood in the stands and coached from there. The warm-up was very well organized

because the athletes had most likely performed it every day. The beginning of the workout

started with the 2-mile run. This was a mess, nobody knew which ways the coaches wanted the

team to go. The senior leaders just chose a path they knew and started running, expecting

everyone to follow behind. The coaches followed in the rear on bikes to make sure everyone got
back. I personally ran with the coaches for the first mile and then caught up to the lead group.

The practice on the track was structured to put like-timed athletes together. This became a

problem as there was a main group of 10, and then 5-6 small groups of 2-3 people. Rather than

rally everyone together prior to the workout, each group just started when they got back from the

warm-up. Each group was starting at different times and there were many instances of overlap.

The coaches did not use a stopwatch to measure times, in fact I oversaw running with and timing

the main group for the first set of intervals. This itself was crazy because nobody, athletes and

coaches alike, knew what pace they were to be running. The coaches remained in the stands

overseeing practice. The end of the practice was messy with some athletes having left by the

time the coaches reminded everyone to cool down. The use of a written plan would have

assisted with the organization of the practice. If the athletes knew exactly where they were going

to run, it would have prevented a lot of confusion.

As I mentioned above the team itself had been going through a large lack of leadership.

The senior runners weren’t taking charge and leading the team. Due to this the athletes were not

very attentive. While the coach was giving her speech to motivate them for what may be their

last race, there were side conversations. During the workout, itself there was little to no

communication between athletes or coaches. The athletes went on their way doing what they

were told without question. This may have been due to the time of the season. With a large, end

of season competition approaching, the coaches really didn’t need to do much more than

supervise and motivate. Due to the timing of the practice, there was no time spent on learning

new skills. The skills were expected to be memorized and performed well. From what I observed

the skills were all very well performed and the coaches recognized that.
 The time allotted for practice was 90 minutes. The practice started precisely at 3:30pm

but some athletes arrived late. The practice itself was planned perfectly to mimic the conditions

for the upcoming race. Practicing at 3:30pm in the heat and sun trained them to be ready to

compete at 4:00pm at Regionals. The environment was different because they were doing

intervals on the track, the course they were to run was completely grass.

What I would have done to change this practice would have been to create a detailed plan

on exactly where everyone was to run and exactly what pace to hit. Knowing what times my

athletes are running and providing a practice that is paced specifically for each athlete. In

addition to this, I would have made sure to explain the area at which they would be doing their

warm-up. This would have made sure that everyone would know the route and get back safely.

Making sure each athlete gets a cooldown in before they leave practice is essential to reduce

fatigue.

*Continued summary, read if you wish*

As stated in my coaching philosophy, I take it upon myself to see my athletes from the first step

all the way to the last step of their competition. To do this, I asked the coaches if I could come

and watch the team compete at Regionals. I went and watched the Regional Championships on

Thursday, October 19, 2017 on my own time. On my way to the meet I was outlining the

differences between my experience and what I was observing. The practice itself was

dramatically different from what I was used to. To start the team itself, being a 3A school only

had 29 athletes. My team was 5A with 130 athletes. My practices were always planned to the

minute, with every interval specifically paced to each athlete. I left the practice almost in
disbelief that this team was to compete at the Regional Championship just two days away. The

lack of leadership and communication between the athletes had created an environment that

seemed much more afraid of the competition rather than excited to compete. I did not believe

that the methods of the coaches would have worked because it was vastly different from my own

methods. In cross country, the mental strength of an athlete is greatly tested and there didn’t

seem to be much strength left in these athletes.

I have never been so wrong in my entire life. I arrived at the race thinking that the team

was going to perform just as I had seen at the practice. I met with the coaches and discussed with

them how the day prior’s practice had gone. I then proceeded to talk to the athletes and gauge

how they felt before what could be their last race of the year. The reactions were very positive,

each one of the athletes had completely changed. Rather than seeing a group that was barely

together, this was a team. I did my best to motivate the athletes and talk to the coaches about the

game plan. The first race was the boy’s race starting at 4:00pm. I made sure to get to a position

where I could easily time and count the runners in the race. I did this to keep track of the overall

score of the team I was observing. The coaches were poised in different locations around the

course so I did my best to keep track of them. They were doing their best to motivate the athletes

as best they could. Meanwhile I did my best to make sure the athletes knew exactly how many

people they needed to catch and where they were. Through my efforts, the coaches’ efforts, and

the efforts of the teammates and parents cheering, the boys all ran very well. Only 4 teams would

continue their season and University High School was confident they could take one of those

spots. The boys scored a total of 114 points it was going to be close on which teams qualified for

State. Two of the athletes that had little to no passion at practice placed in the top 15 and

automatically qualified for State. As someone who was on a very close team with very close
friends and teammates, I have never seen a team come together in the way that the University

High School team did. The senior runners gathered everyone after the race for a team photo and

cooldown. During this time, the girl’s race began. With the freshman runner hoping to get second

place there was a lot of hope for the team. The boys all returned from their cooldown to cheer on

the girls. Along with the coaches and myself, we cheered louder than any other team. When it

came down to the results, I discussed with the coaches that it was to be a very close race but I

was confident that the team had made it. The coaches told me this was the most passion and

athleticism they had seen out of their team all season. It was clear that the speech at practice

made the team come together like never before. The athletes were running not only for

themselves but for each other. When it came to the results, the athletes were all very worried

about the results, when it was announced that the team had placed 3rd and qualified for state it

was an amazing feeling. The athletes and coaches were all in very high spirits. The team that two

days earlier had seemed so frail, was flourishing. The boy’s team showed so much comradery

and passion for the sport and the team. Although I had only known these athletes for a couple

days, I was so proud of them. I know that this wasn’t part of the assignment but it was something

I had to do for myself, and I’m glad I did.

 5. Practice Plan
 Rewrite the practice plan for your observed practice – include and identify all the
twelve elements of an effective practice plan as incorporated with the observed practice.
1. Date, Time, Length
2. Practice Objective
3. Equipment
4. Practice Schedule
5. Warmup
6. Practice Previously Taught Skills
7. Teaching & Practice of New Skills
8. Practice Under Competitive Conditions
9. Cool down
10. Coaches comments to players
11. Evaluation of practice by coaches
12. Conditioning

Date: 10/17/17

Time/Length: 3:30pm-5:00pm

Location: Track

Athletes at Practice: 16

Objective: Perform intervals similar to the conditions during the 3A Regional Championships on

October 19th, 2017.

Equipment:

 Key to Track

 Stopwatch

 Bike/run

Practice Schedule

3:30-3:35: Wait for athletes to arrive

3:35-3:40: Speech to motivate and teach leadership

  Focus on what we’ve done that is well, and what needs improving

 Give athletes a chance to speak their mind about the upcoming event

 Motivate athletes to perform their best

3:40-3:45: Athletes will do an 800m warm-up run

3:45-3:55: Athletes will do their daily stretches (Previously taught Skills)

 Plyometrics

o High-Knees (Many many many)

o Butt-Kicks (Many many many)

o A-Skips (Focus on form)

o B-Skips (Focus on form)

 Dynamic Stretches

o Leg Swings with a partner

 Static Stretches

o Quadriceps (Hold leg behind body)

o Hamstring (Reach towards toes)

o Calve Stretch (Use edge of track to stretch)

3:55-4:00: Explain the chosen route for the run and the distance. (2 miles around school perimeter)

4:00-4:20: Lead run on bike

 Assistant Coach will bring up the rear

4:20-4:25: Make sure everyone is back and wait for any remaining athletes to finish.

4:25-4:30: Explain Workout to everyone and show them their pace

 5x200m

o 30 seconds rest
 o Boys 1,2,3,4=37 seconds

o Boys 5,6,7,8,9,10=39 seconds

o Girls 1,2=40 seconds

o Girls 3,4,5,6= 44 seconds

 Focus on consistency and form

 5x200m

o 15 seconds rest

o All-out pace

 This will simulate the end of a race

4:30-4:40: Time first set of intervals

 Have all athletes start at the same time

o This will build teamwork

4:40-4:50: Time second set of intervals

 Make sure athletes are using correct form

 Use encouraging words to motivate tired athletes

4:50-5:00: Cool down mile

 Outside lanes on the track

 Opposite direction

 Provide feedback to athletes based on the day’s performance

5:00: Chocolate Milk

 Encourage healthy recovery