Communication strategies: make the game more understandable for your players

            Communication is very important during learning process, the last text in the blog I talked about some strategies that I use during practice, but this theme is bigger and I will keep writing about communication. Something that I Always think and say is that the coach must be clear, every body should understand what you are saying and everyone should talk the same “idiom” our “handball idiom”. I’m very worried about the way I am speaking and how my athletes got my ideas, so I am always looking for tools that I can add to my tool belt, in the last months I m trying to use tree strategies when I m coaching.

             I think a lot how is my body working when I m speaking and that is the first strategie that I will talk over, body language. When I am talking with my player I try always to make eye contact with them, roll my shoulders back, keep my chest open and hold my head up, I believe that posture is very important for confidence, and for my player trust in what I’m saying. Another body language that I improved a lot during my time in Germany due to German isn’t my mother language was the way that I use my hands to explain things. For example when I say for my player that in defense they must be in front of the line player I also use one hand doing a circle passing in front of the other hand that helps to understanding and in games make this feedback fast and clear.

             The second strategie, is something that I really like, for me this tool makes the learning rich, that was something that I discussed a lot with my handball professor in the university in Germany, such strategie is use analogy during practice. For me the use of analogy helps to ensure better learning. For example when I teach standing throw I say that the arm should work as a whip that helps for the player understand how should the arm work. Another analogy that I use is during attack, for me in attack phase players should look for open spaces in the defense and don't go in the direction of the line player, therefore I say that the spaces are like door, with the door is close you can’t go there you should go to the other door, space, that helps to know where you should attack and helps to play with the line player.

               Last but not least, the third strategie is something that I have used it more frequently recent, the strategy board, I believe that the visual is very important to understand what they should do, when you draw actions possible doubts are solved. It’s important that you use this correct, with you are talking about attack the players have to see the board from the attack perspective wherefore the board must be seen from the middle field to the goal, that makes the player look in the Direction that they are in the court. I like to use also to explain exercises, it makes the explanation faster, and the practice more rich.

                However, I am not saying that those strategies are the only tools that a coach can use, and that they are the only things that work. Be a coach is complex, these methods help me during practice and I believe that can help every coach, be creative, look for new strategies, improve that ones that you have and make your players write the game.