The Coach and The iPad

About a year ago, I was observing an Under 12 game in Essex when I first encountered one. A football coach with an iPad!!

This particular chap was reminiscent of Derek Trotter with his Filofax, as for the warm up and first half his proud new acquisition was held aloft for all to see but not actually turned on. This all changed at half time when the said machine was fired into life to deliver to the players a list of the second half substitutions.

  

Twelve months on and I had made the decision to invest in an iPad myself to facilitate my development as a modern thinking soccer coach on and off the field. A few weeks later and I was hooked by its multiplicity of functions and countless Applications (Apps hereafter) to act as visual aids for the players I was due to come into contact with over the coming weeks, months and years.

You will hopefully recall from my previous blog that I am coaching football (soccer) in the U.S. and this carries a high demand for Referees, Officials and Participants due to its growing popularity.

My experience is that the majority of participants tend to be from a higher socio-economic class. Much more so than say in comparison to those that play Basketball, Baseball, American Football, Ice-Hockey etc,

It appears to be similar to say Polo in the UK, for example, where a select minority of what are considered 'privileged' participants partake, where the cost for participation is greater in comparison to say football or rugby.

To put this into context, the players that I have come in to contact with during my time in the U.S. so far (ages 8 - 15) have predominantly come from this privileged background and as a result, many possess modern technology of their own.

They will in the majority of cases, either possess, or at least know how to function a device such as an iPod, smartphone or tablet, and so the initial impact of using my iPad as a visual aid was a great ploy to engage their young brains. Specifically, I used the iPad to stimulate thought provoking answers to my open ended questions about what they saw on screen, all the while heightening their concentration levels.

I have used a range of Apps including Coach’s Eye, Ubersense and Video Delay that allow recording and slow motion playback where a participants technique can also be directly compared and even overlaid onto a ‘perfect model’. These apps are particularly impressive when coaching a very technical sport such as golf or cricket. The latter is a sport where I have used various apps and software very effectively and my favourite app is Cricket Coach Plus HD.

Back to Soccer, and I love an App called iDrills. It really helps me to demonstrate the organisation of drills, games, formations etc whilst using different colour schemes to enhance their learning significantly.  My players are always intrigued to absorb what I have shown them.

Witnessing the enthusiasm for learning from my players, meant that the appearance of the iPad during practice sessions became more frequent. Some would even request that I showed them something on the tablet at the end of each practice, had it not been used during the session. A few of the players had nicknamed this "iPad time" and would often ask me during practice when iPad time would be? 

From a professionalism perspective I have found the iPad a great resource/tool both functionally and in appearance.

I believe it has improved my level of organisation and preparation as a coach both on and off the field, enabling me to store all of my drills, practice sessions, thoughts and ideas in one place, rather than using numerous pieces of paper to record such notes.

Whilst converting thoughts and ideas into drills, activities and small-sided games can sometimes be a lengthy process on the iPad, I believe the long-term benefits will prove invaluable, creating a library of knowledge and practices over forthcoming years. 

Coincidently, I attended a NBA Basketball game just last week (3rd November '12) where I witnessed Avery Johnson, Brooklyn Nets Head Coach, use an iPad during time-out periods and at each quarter interval, as a visual aid to communicate ideas and tactics. Players gathered around Johnson after the first quarter at a deficit of 27-20 and went on to win the game 100-107.  Whilst I am not naive to believe that the iPad can take full credit in this instance, I do believe that it played a part.

Amongst experts, it is widely accepted, that most of us retain approximately:

20% of what we read,

20% of what we hear,

30% of what we see, and 

50% of what we see and hear.

Success and athlete development can therefore be achieved using effective communication and visual reinforcements at both ends of the performance spectrum in whatever sport (from travel team soccer to NBA basketball in this instance). It can be argued that the visual aid provided by the iPad along with Johnson's verbal communication to his players worked simultaneously when facilitating player learning and information retention. It goes to show that an iPad/tablet can be used to develop all athletes, regardless of their age, ability, gender or chosen sport. 

So to conclude, I am sure there are other coaching tools and resources that can provide similar results for athlete development. However, I would encourage all coaches to experience what an iPad has to offer and draw their own conclusions.  I genuinely believe it has continued my own professional development, and that of my players too. 

Take a look at the pictures and screenshots below and thanks for reading.

Mark (Del-Boy)