Coaching Skills For Teachers

Coaching Skills For Teachers
By guest author: Dot Struthers

Coaching is now a well regarded tool for teachers to develop themselves both personally and professionally and is growing in popularity because its short, sharp and effective.

Getting coaching for yourself is one thing but developing your skills to coach others is another and requires self awareness, understanding and practice.

Coaching should be a non-judgemental and stimulating process which gives the other person time to think and share their feelings. Your job as the coach is to challenge their attitude, offer inspiration and get them to a place of action.

Here are five key principles that will help you to be an effective coach:-

1. Play to a person's strengths
We all know what we are not good at and there is no point in trying to solve a problem from a place of weakness. If you are an introvert you can't suddenly become an extrovert, it would be unnatural. When you focus on a person's strengths and uniqueness, you build their confidence.

2. Create time to think
The only way to see the wood from the trees is to step back and create some space and time. Helping people to see the bigger picture allows them to gain perspective but also to focus on their specific issue more clearly. By encouraging reflection, you are able to create more self awareness.

3. Solutions are within
So often we think the answers are outside of us but the truth is that we are good at getting in the way of our own solutions. Helping someone to explore options, ideas or thoughts has a magical quality which allows us to connect with our inner wisdom and create those "aha" moments.

4. Being Present
So often we are distracted by either reminiscing the past where our memories live or the getting lost in our dreams in the future. Helping someone to stay present in the current moment "now" will help them to stay focused and bring about the changes and improvements they want.

5. Personal Responsibility
It can be so easy to judge others and tell them what they are doing wrong or what they should be doing but in fact you are only holding them back and could be creating a rod for your own back. When you insist on another person taking responsibility for their actions and behaviours you are giving them the control and authority they need to take ownership.

Coaching skills are life skills and worth investing in. They are particularly helpful in times of stress, conflict and change and after a while it becomes a way of doing things rather than a set of techniques.

Dot Struthers works with school leaders wanting to develop their leadership and management skills. including personal coaching, HR consultancy and management skills training. For more information go to http://www.merechats.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dot_Struthers

===================
Thanks to our sponsors:

===Advertisement from our sponsor:=====
Baseball2u.com/CoachesBest.com is the ultimate online baseball training and coaching store. With over 1400 products organized into categories Baseball2u.com makes finding that baseball training product easy and simple. Order securely online or by phone. Baseball2u.com is a fully licensed company and has a full time staff available from 8:00 to 5:00 CST. Their toll free customer service number is 1-877-431-4487.

The Categories they have are: BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

Baseball Exercises

Baseball Exercises
By guest author: Jim Bain

The thought of baseball exercises being important to young baseball players doesn't always get the proper amount of attention from coaches and parents that it should. It's somewhat understandable, as one equates youth with unlimited energy and abilities, but training should begin as early in a player's career as possible.

Ahhh, did you catch the word training instead of exercises? The difference in words, although they are interchangeable, shines a different light on the subject.

Players are never too young to begin a strengthening and conditioning program. In fact you are doing a disservice to the player waiting until he/she is 11 or 12 years old, because proper strength and muscle building requires time to develop and the longer you wait...the longer it takes for the player to catch up.

Let's look at some exercises through the terminology of training and Baseball specific.

Wind Sprints are a tried and true method of developing endurance as well as speed. Endurance is required to not only play 7 innings of baseball, but to be able to play 7 innings at peak performance level. Does an inside the park home run count for less in the 6th inning than the 1st? With a 0-0 score it is of equal importance, but if the level of performance has shriveled due to fatigue, the 6th inning run may not score.

Sprints in sets of 10, 30 to 40 yards in length will have the player(s) embarking on a quality endurance program. Having the players run the drills as a unit, such as pitchers together, catchers, infielders, etc. will also build a team unity which is invaluable during the course of a long season.

Squeezing racquetballs or tennis balls, is an excellent exercise for developing wrist, forearm and finger strength. The drill can be performed by the player anywhere at anytime without the need for a partner or any special weather conditions.

One may not realize, but strong fingers are a huge part of swinging a baseball bat. Think about it. You don't hold the bat in the palm of your hand, at least you better not, where there is no strength. You firmly clasp the bat in the fingers using the palms to merely keep the bat from falling out of your hand.

Strong wrist and forearms, which operate in conjunction with the hands, are the strength mechanisms which yield the snap and power of the wrist when swinging a bat or throwing a baseball.

These are but two exercises, or rather training exercises, which a young player needs to begin as soon as possible. Strength, endurance, team building and much more are accomplished through drills, exercises and training which is started young, with the intensity level increased as the player develops.

Jim ( Coach ) Bain is a former Minor League Player and Coach of Youth Baseball for over a decade. He has drawn from fellow successful coaches' experiences and combined them with his own extensive experience to create a Baseball Teaching Website. The site is packed with 100s of tips, drills, history and instruction on how to play and coach the game of baseball.

http://www.Learn-Youth-Baseball-Coaching.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Bain

==================
Thanks to our sponsors:

The 4 Best Batting Tees in Baseball:
Advanced Skills Tee
Stay Back Tee
Hands Back Hitter
5 Position Batting Tee