Pedagogy. What?

Pedagogy. It's a word not often heard in modern society, seemingly placed behind other words due to their simpler understanding and common acceptance. I must admit that upon reading the words 'Sport Coaching Pedagogy', a certain level of confusion came over me. To discover further, a simple press of F4 on my Mac and a dictionary search will tell you that pedagogy is defined as "the method and practice of teaching, esp. as an academic subject or theoretical concept'. From this, I understand that we are to be taught how to coach. Pretty simple right? Open up a text book and flip to page 1. Go.

Not entirely.

The unit, so far, has been taught entirely through experiencing. This is much different to learning. Keith, our fearless lecturer, has provided an experience that allows the opportunity for a deeper learning and understanding of what is actually being taught. You just have to work a little harder, dig a little deeper to distinguish what is actually being acted out in front of you, and what you can learn from it. It's not laid out in front of you to be digested in text form, it's weaved out in front of you in a game of basketball, and how the coach has brought 30 strangers to be intimate team mates in a matter of minutes.

This has opened my eyes much further in how to coach. It's not simply about instruction, leading, dictating and writing a session. It's about creating an environment to get the best from your athletes, with whatever you have in front of you. It's planning ahead for unforeseen circumstances. It's about developing relationships with them, via any means available. It's about caring for them, even if you've only known them for 2 hours. It is not your distinct job to tell people what to do and how to do it. Sure, this is part of it, the part the people see from the outside. The people from the inside looking out know that there is much more to the art of being a coach. A pedagogic understands.