As learning coaches, we are encouraged to reflect and review on our delivery, but how well do we remember?
Picture the scene: a windswept and rainy evening, 90 minutes’ worth of coaching, including some technical input and small-sided game play – a busy session for you as the coach, plenty of questioning and feedback, interaction with the players, discussions and decisions. You wrap up with a summary and review then leave to reflect at a later stage, maybe on the journey home, maybe later that evening, perhaps the next day.
At any of these points, the important question would be: how accurate and detailed would your recall of events be? Could you remember what questions you asked, when, to whom and what the answers were? What specific feedback did you give to which players, what was their response? Or what were your (and their) reactions to each success or failure, problem solved, or challenge raised?
How much information can we recall?
Research suggests that most coaches can generally only accurately recall 30–50% of key performance events of their athletes/players. Might this figure be similar with their own behaviours and actions?