Feedback During Competition

For those of you that have attended conferences with multiple presenters, you'll know that some conferences hold a Panel Q&A to wrap up the weekend.

Well recently I attended the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre's National Throws Conference and one of the topics during the Q&A was feedback during competition. The panel included all the presenters and was moderated by Coach Derek Evely.

Here are my notes on this particular topic:

Feedback During Competition

• Both the kind and quality of feedback always depends on the athlete you are working with
• Feedback cannot disrupt the athlete's and their "flow" during competition
• Several of the coaches on the panel use sign language and gestures as a form of feedback, especially since they are well out of auditory range during international meets (note: I think this is a good way to also bypass the "working memory" and facilitate automization - see this post)
• Many young coaches say too much in order to feel important - the more experience you have, the more you realize how little you say
• Athletes should not need coaches in meets. That coaching should primarily be reserved for practice, in order to do what is necessary to prepare, since meets are basically tests.
• Agree upon one thing to think about during the meet. No more, no less
• Sometimes as a coach you have to stay out of view and just let the athlete compete
• Never try to change things in a meet

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