Life as an Intern: 3 things learnt, 3 surprise and 3 goals

Posted On Wednesday, 18th July 2012 at 07:32

Duncan Buckmaster has been working with James during his internship at Millfield School under James’ guidance and has learnt many lessons, he shares his some of his thoughts with us here.

I have learnt in different ways talking to sports coaches, talking with James, learning from the athletes or making mistakes.

3 important lessons learnt

1. You need a plan: As an inexperienced coach I was more confident going into a session that had been planned, this does not mean you have to stick to it though.
2. Networks: I worked as part of a large coaching team at Millfield, maintaining relationships and methods of communication was vital.
3. Gain trust: This is vital with coaches but I feel more important with athletes, especially young athletes. Building trust is important it can take time or be immediate but until you have gained their trust the athlete will not train to their full potential. They can be put off by rigorous testing and confusing plans, to start just get them training and learning the basics.

3 Surprises

1. Resistance: This came from athletes and coaches and was generally a result of being asked to try something new.
2. Cues: Working with a large number athletes meant coming up with imaginative coaching cues to get them working correctly, sometimes these came from the athletes themselves.
3. Accumulation: Something all coaches should think about, young athletes are likely to be playing several sports leading them to train more than professional athletes, this can result in fatigue, stress and injuries.

3 things to work on

1. Challenges: I need to work outside my comfort zone to improve as a coach, this will mean working with different sports, ages and abilities so that I can learn from the challenges I face.
2. ABC’s: This has 2 meanings, improving my knowledge of anatomy & physiology in order to pass my UKSCA accreditation. Also, I need to constantly think about the basics and strip things back to be as simple as possible in order to coach effectively.
3. Business Savvy: I went into my internship thinking I would learn about coaching, I have learnt a lot, but many conversations ended up talking about business. This coincides with challenges, but nothing is guaranteed so despite being fortunate to have a part time position I’m not going to rest on my laurels.