Small steps, Huge gains

A recent article in the New York Times quoted a Brookings Institution survey of over 66,000 young people with the following tragedy: “In third grade, 74 percent of kids say they love school. By 10th grade, it’s 26 percent.”

The article by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop entitled, “Giving Kids Some Autonomy Has Surprising Results”   follows the spiral of students as they are given less and less opportunities to think and act for themselves as they move further up the educational ladder. The result is disengagement and a lack of social and work skills needed for their future.

Quoting Anderson and Winthrop, “There’s a reason the system isn’t serving people well, and it goes beyond the usual culprits of social media and Covid. Many recent graduates aren’t able to set targets, take initiative, figure things out and deal with setbacks — because in school and at home they were too rarely afforded any agency.”

This isn’t a new phenomenon. In their oft cited and groundbreaking study, Gabriele Wulf and Rebecca Lewthwaite talked about autonomy in their 2016 OPTIMAL theory of sportdevelopment. “Allowing individuals to exercise control over the environment may not only satisfy a basic psychological need but may be a biological necessity. Studies with both humans and other animals have shown that both prefer an option leading to a choice than an option that does not, even if this option results in greater effort or work— suggesting the existence of an inherent reward with the exercise of control.”

What does this have to do with your dozen 15-year-olds coming to practice tonight? Great teachers who are in turn great coaches understand this idea and apply it during their training periods.

What it doesn’t mean is turning the asylum over to the inmates. Anderson and Winthrop conclude, “Giving kids agency doesn’t mean letting them do whatever they want. It doesn’t mean lowering expectations, turning education into entertainment or allowing children to choose their own adventure. It means requiring them to identify and pursue some of their own goals, helping them build strategies to reach those goals, assessing their progress and guiding them to course-correct when they fall short.”

As coaches, this should be our blueprint. Telling an athlete what you expect out of them while never consulting or asking them is a great way to lose credibility with them. Have that conversation. Meet them where they are but always push a little further, let them know your expectations but in the same conversation creating a scenario you BOTH workshop as a way to get there.

In practice, coaches follow their practice plan, careful to make sure everything is completed. In that plan is there any room for the athletes to make some choices?

For example, if your team plays the first 10-15 minutes of practice, can the team pick the game? If you are playing half court or short court, how about letting the athletes pick a constraint for that game? Maybe let them choose the boundaries of the court? Can they choose the final drill or game of practice from a list of three you have given them?

These are small dents in a greater plan, and they don’t cost you anything. The athletes are still getting touches, still competing and since they are playing, probably engaged. The benefits are enormous.

When you can, in the coming weeks, make a note in your practice plans with a star in those points in practice where your team can make some choices. It’s a small step to greater gains.