Coaches, Gear Up!

For educators on a traditional calendar, summertime can be a rejuvenating change of pace. For coaches, it can also be a time to consider personal attributes that could have benefits both now and in your future coaching work. Today’s post is the third in a series about such attributes (if you haven’t read “Be Where You Are,” and “Lighten Up” you might want to check them out).
 
Last week’s post talked about facing a challenge with playfulness. In that post, I suggested that you think of a summertime goal that you could be playful with.  
But challenge that leads to growth will always include some discomfort – that’s what makes it a challenge!
 
I like the sports analogy I heard recently about being prepared to face a goal. In soccer, we make sure our kids have shin guards on before heading into the game. Hockey players have all kinds of padding, plus a helmet, before skating toward the goal. We can face challenges with grace and persistence if we are geared up.
 
We are geared up if we have the necessary tools for working toward our goal. This includes both materials and ideas or psychological tools. Let’s think about this from the perspective of one of your personal summertime goals. If you want to reorganize your kitchen cupboards, you might buy some trays and baskets. You might need to be willing to purge some expired canned goods. You probably have to carve out some dedicated time for getting the job done. You might need a plan for organization.
 
If a healthier body is a summertime goal for you, you might want to get an exercise buddy who will run with you; you might want to sign up for a class at the gym. You might throw away your tempting stash of Girl Scout cookies and restock the vegetable bin in your fridge. You’ll need confidence that carries you through the ups and downs of the process as you move toward your goal. You may need to try something and fail, and playfully say, “Well, that didn’t work. What will I try next?” You might even want a health coach! All of these materials and attitudes serve as a protective later.
 
When you fail while working toward a goal, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure. Don’t take it personally. If you are geared up, you can take the ball to the goal, knowing that if the goalie hits the puck back, you have your pads and helmet. If you’re up against a defender, you have your shin guards on. You’re okay with not getting the soccer ball in the net the first time. It doesn’t mean anything about yourself as a player – that’s just part of the game. You are ready to try again.
 
If you’re working on your own summertime goal and you don’t get there right away, it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to figure it out – it just means you didn’t get a goal yet, so you’re going to try another approach. Be proud of yourself for trying! 
 
If you don’t have that protective layer in some area of your life, you can work on it. But also, if you’re not protected, don’t run up and get kicked in the shins or take a hockey puck to the chest. Rushing in without your protective gear on could do more harm than good. The goal isn’t worth it if you’re going to have serious injury in the process. If working toward the goal feels overly emotional, or you notice you’re being hard on yourself, you’re probably not geared up. If you take care of yourself first, you’ll be ready to push toward the goal later. You can remind yourself that achieving a goal is just part of the game, and you want to have fun in the process! 
 
As you think about next year’s coaching work, what do you want to add to your protective layer? What gear do you need to face the challenges that are part of working toward any worthy goal? Would a principal-coach agreement give you more confidence? Would creating a schedule that prioritized time with teachers make you more effective? (The research suggests it would.) Are their coaching skills you could drill on now?
 
Think about the teachers you’ll be working with. What gear would help them move more successfully toward their goals? Are their materials that are lacking? Does the daily school schedule allocate time in ways the support the hoped-for progress? When something doesn’t work, is there a lightness that allows teachers to move forward and try again? What would add to their protective layer and their confidence?
 
The habit of gearing up that you develop as you work toward summertime goals can be carried into your coaching work. You can make sure your protective gear is in place and help teachers gear up, too.
 
Goals are meant to be challenging. It wouldn’t be a challenge if there were no opponents – barriers on the path to the goal are expected. There will be defenders all around the goal!  But if we are geared up, we can confidently take another shot – and another! We are designed to keep trying, to see what we can do, to strive for the next thing. But don’t forget the water breaks, the timeouts, the play on the field, and the celebration after a goal. Don’t forget the protective layer! When you are geared up with materials and mental tools, you are ready to shoot for the goal!
 
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Treat YOURSELF to PD for coaches! Come spend 2 days (Aug. 1 & 2) in Northwest Arkansas with Jim Knight, Vicki Collet, September Gerety, Afton Schleiff and a host of other coaches at the NWA Instructional Coaching Conference. Be:

Ignited. Illuminated. Inspired.

For the cost of the included lunches ($35), you can take your coaching to the next level!
 
As a coach, I know how hard it is to find PD that is just for you. Well, this is it!  I'm excited to have received a grant to sponsor the conference, and I hope you'll join us! Register here:
 
https://tinyurl.com/CoachingConf2023
 
Check out this flier for details and reach out to me (collet@uark.edu) with questions and suggestions.
 
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This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
Useful data collected from the rocking chair:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/data-that-matters/
 
 
This podcast with Jim Knight about the humanizing potential of instructional coaching:
 
https://www.ascd.org/podcasts/jim-knight-on-the-humanizing-potential-of-instructional-coaching
 
Resources to support independent writing (short video):
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/free-videos/
 
 
How graphic novels become audio books:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co7ZcherXF4
 
 
Why music is a universal language:
 
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-why-music-is-a-universal-language/2016/01
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
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My book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner is available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: JUN2023 for 15% off plus FREE SHIPPING. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!