I think the idea of a gathering hosted by an area school with veteran teams
would be hugely helpful. I'm a rookie coach with a rookie team this year and
there were times when things seemed really hopeless. My team isn't
affiliated with a school so we started without any infrastructure support
and neither my assistant coach or I have any formal teaching background. On
the bright side, I met Sally Sylvester and a few other folks at the State
Fair and they gave me some great advice and encouragement that carried me
through. My team had a great time and we actually qualified for the State
Tournament.
Rob Panten (rookie Div 1 coach VRS RoboStars -- RoboGuardians of Climate)
Henrico, VA
-----Original Message-----
From: First Lego League Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of David Levy
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 2:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] Mentoring rookie coaches
Michael,
"This would be best done right at the start of the season, to make sure
the rookie gets hooked up to the relevant web sites, listserv and other
resources, and gets some tips on how to organize the work, set realistic
goals, create appropriate ground-rules, understand the role of the coach
in FLL, and pace out the short season."
Count me in! I think even veteran coaches could benefit from what you
are suggesting. I personally think that the best time to start is a
week or two before the challenge is announced. It would also be good
if some schools ( with rookie or veterans teams) could host small
gatherings.
David Levy (third year Div1 coach)
Michael Blanpied wrote:
> Thoughts on the mentoring of rookie coaches...
>
> Being a rookie coach is hard work. There is a lot to learn about FLL,
> a lot of kid-management and kid-guidance to be done, the challenge of
> a short season. Success at a regional tournament involves a lot of
> planning and insight that may be elusive even for those who read the
> coaching manual and read the listserv, and it may not be apparent to
> some rookie coaches that there are books, guides, conference calls and
> whatnot available to them.
>
> This season (my third) I had the opportunity to provide some help and
> mentoring to a school librarian coaching a young rookie team at a
> school in a nearby county. Although we never met in person, we
> corresponded a number of times and talked on the phone a time or two,
> which gave her the opportunity to ask for guidance (from "where is the
> regional tournament?" to "what's really expected in the research
> project?" to "how can I know what the judges will ask?" to any number
> of questions about the intricate robot-match rules), and for me to
> offer advice that she may not have even known she needs. Although
> there were still a lot of aspects of the tournament that she found
> eye-opening, I think it was helpful.
>
> I wonder if VADCFLL ought to consider formalizing such an arrangement
> for all new coaches. The idea would be to pair up each new coach with
> one (or maybe two) experienced coaches. This would be best done right
> at the start of the season, to make sure the rookie gets hooked up to
> the relevant web sites, listserv and other resources, and gets some
> tips on how to organize the work, set realistic goals, create
> appropriate ground-rules, understand the role of the coach in FLL, and
> pace out the short season. Ideally the experienced coach (or maybe his
> or her whole team, if experienced) would meet with the rookie group
> early in the season, but that would be above-and-beyond. As tournament
> date approaches, the mentor coach could provide guidance on creating a
> suitable presentation, interpreting the Q&A's, and how to get the
> kids, families and materials organized.
>
> Thoughts?
>
______________________________________________________________
To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE YOUR SETTINGS, please visit
https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave
the list".
If you want to join the VADCFLL-ADMIN-L mailing list - to which FLL
administrative announcements will be distributed - visit
https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-admin-l.html and select "Join or
leave the list".
______________________________________________________________
To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE YOUR SETTINGS, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave the list".
If you want to join the VADCFLL-ADMIN-L mailing list - to which FLL administrative announcements will be distributed - visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-admin-l.html and select "Join or leave the list".
|
