As diehard supporters of Belgium and France get ready to support their teams, I can’t help but think of the coaches making the spirited games possible. One wonders what our education would be like if every teacher was as enthusiastic and passionate as these coaches. There are many lessons teachers can pencil in from the instruction styles of these coaches. To start with, great coaches are almost always known as standout communicators, but the tricks of the trade that they use to be effective are not limited to the athletic fields. They deeply understand the power of student-centred models of communication and know that information cannot just flow in one direction. Teachers should not expect great success in the classroom if they are the only source of information. They, like coaches, must constantly analyse not just the content of their message, but the method in which it is delivered. Coaches often connect with their athletes on a personal level; a connection that many students feel is missing from their classrooms. Another great lesson to learn from coaches is teamwork. Teamwork is a concept that perhaps is more often associated with basketball or football teams than with science or language classes. However, many of the same tools and techniques that coaches use to build teams and a sense of community among their players can be put to use in the classroom. One method involves thoughtful and deliberate collaborative learning. The key for effective group work is balance — balance of abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Teachers must then work to help group members understand their individual roles within the groups. Even if group projects are infrequent in a classroom, teachers can still foster a sense of team and individual responsibility by stating their expectations for each student, and developing a sense of shared values for their course. Another thing about coaches is that they make work meaningful. They understand that work, for the sake of work, has almost no value. The idea that activity will lead to achievement in sports is misdirected. Novice coaches often fall in the trap of thinking that additional practice will make their teams better. If one hour of practice and sprints gets a football team ready for a big game, then two hours will get them twice as ready. “Practice makes perfect” is the old saying that is used to support this practice. Good coaches, however, follow the axiom that “practice makes permanent,” and good teachers understand that as well. Busy work does not help students and may actually turn them off from a subject altogether. Finally, coaches often pride themselves in teaching life lessons through sport. Supporters of athletic programmes often say that this outcome is what makes school athletics so valuable. Life lessons like determination, work ethic, honour, and resilience should not only be taught in the pool, on the football field, and on the track. Teachers can offer life lessons in the classroom that students will remember long after historical dates and elements on the periodic table have been forgotten. Teachers can teach life lessons by allowing students to grapple with real-life problems. Students need to learn how to ask the right questions and to innovate in order to succeed in an ever-changing world. Conclusively, there is need for more recognition of coaches as innovators in education and, in many cases, masters of 21st Century teaching pedagogy. They provide new perspectives in the classroom, and could also be an eye-opener for teachers seeking to enhance their practices in the classroom.
