Breakout Session Synopsis | Day 2

Session Synopsis

Coaches working with athletes of all ages need to understand how they learn and find ways to help them learn. An athlete's environment is ever changing and as coaches we have to be aware of this.

Do we coach young performers to learn as they improve or do we coach them with too much structure – knowingly or unknowingly?!
Many athletes respond to challenges, do you set challenges so the Athletes learn from them – how can you challenge them?
Learning styles, are we prepared to accept these or does our ego mean we overcoach players? How has this changed and have we learned from their ever changing learning environment?

As a coach, what do we want? The good worker who doesn't challenge you or coach the naughty child who has talent/flare but may question everything you say?

This session will provide coaches with better sensibilities to help them engage their athletes to learn better.

Session Synopsis

Sprint kayaking is often viewed as an individual sport. However, team boats involving two or four persons are part of the Olympic programme.

To be able to achieve optimal performance in a team boat requires the group of individuals to become a real team.

The Coach plays an important role in the coaching process that guides them towards being a real team.

Come and find out more about sprint kayaking as a team sport and learn about the following:

1. Understand the dynamics of team boat paddling
2. Developing a team culture in a sport which focuses heavily on individual performance
3. Different leadership strategies for different individuals/team boats

Session Synopsis

Basketball is one of the most prominent sports in Singapore. Look around your neighborhood and you are sure to see a basketball court filled with players young and old. The sport is trending in a new direction in Singapore, with increasing popularity among the youths of all races and both boys and girls. The key question is how then do we move the sport in Singapore into the new decade and further grow the game among the new generation?

Session Synopsis

Four years ago, Singapore Gymnastics had a Coach Education framework, however there was one major problem, we just weren't able to get many coaches into the system, attending courses, becoming accredited and staying engaged.

In this session, we take a look at the evolution of our coaching ecosystem then and now, in terms of people, content, technology, culture and strategy.

"How do coaches like to learn? How do they learn best?"

"Is WHAT to coach the main focus? What else is there?"

"Where else can coaches help themselves to learn?"

"Why learn?"

There were many questions asked and to be tackled. Through it all, there is a steady focus to ensure any changes made in coaching development are integrated and connected across the entire organisation because it is this interconnectedness that fuels the sustainability of our framework.

Session Synopsis

This session focuses on building and maintaining a team culture through challenging periods.

Covid has provided many challenges from cancelled events to lockdown, in these times it is the strength of the Group Culture that provides opportunity to achieve the desired outcome.

Shayne will outline how he managed National Teams and a World Tour Cycling Team during these challenging times

Session Synopsis

This session will examine the Moral Role of Pedagogy as the Science and Art of teaching swimming and sport, where we will explore the goals of sport education, to support the whole personality, rather than merely the physical domain.

Julie will lead us to look at how effective coaching as a universal approach can influence a positive outcome for both mind and body. You will discover an array of strategies which can be used in different combinations to improve mental health, learning and performance outcomes.

Coaches, as leaders, need to know themselves first before they can lead well. Reviewing forms of self-evaluation, to ensure coaches are looking after their well-being, to identify their strengths, to achieve valued goals and to motivate children and athletes.

You will learn to apply improved Leadership qualities -Resilience and Reinvention in Turbulent Times to leave you with hints and tips that will empower you to embark on or continue your coaching journey.

Session Synopsis

As the sporting environment becomes more complex and less predictable, the mental capacities that allow a leader to execute their coaching knowledge and skills becomes more important. The purpose of this workshop is to present two frameworks of critical leader capacities/competencies for leadership performance and describe how signature mental skill techniques may be used to develop the leader. These capacities can then be passed on to their teams. To accomplish this objective, first, leadership will be defined as a performance process and models supporting this will be presented. Participants will understand how mental competencies are necessary for leaders to execute in a complex sporting world. The second objective will be to explain how mental skills can be used to develop key leader capacities and stories will be told to bring this to life. Participants will leave the presentation with a framework to design mental skills training for leaders and coaches.

Session Synopsis

The purpose of this workshop is to use an ecological approach to help coaches and coach developers (re)think their assumptions about disability and (re)consider the unique contextual factors in disability sport contexts.

The research has consistently shown that coaches are not confident nor well equipped to manage the unique contextual factors often found in disability sport spaces. While the fundamentals of coaching are the same, there are some key contextual differences that coaches and coach developers must attend to be effective and inclusive.

This workshop will help coaches and coach developers challenge their assumptions about disability and understand how an ecological systems perspective can help them become (and train) more effective coach practitioners.

After the workshop participants will be able to:

• (Re)think their assumptions about disability, sport and society.
• (Re)consider the multiple systems and factors that influence disability sport coaching to develop more effective coaching practices.

Session Synopsis A

This session provides a review on the current gap in local swim coaching’s topic on breath control with reference to a research on the lack of in-depth teaching of breath control.

Before one can swim effectively, they must have a good mastery of the foundation skills - breath control, balance and buoyancy. These lay the fundamental building blocks of a safe and effective swimming competency. Breath control is an action that seem simple but conjugates with complex learning processes and mastery.

A paradigm shift involves the delivery of teaching breath control (Learn to Swim) from the perspective of science. With a better understanding of the science behind the processes of the environment's task characteristics and the phenomenon of human’s learning, the coach would be able to deliver an effective lesson that will result in positive learning outcomes for the learners.

Session Synopsis B

Analysis of biomechanical indicators and behaviors of some evolutionary parameters helps rectify the errors of sportsperson and contribute to control and execution of perfect technique, which help enhance the better performance of athletes. The movement phase of technique of Mae Geri (front kick) in Karate was studied and pre-test and post-test results were compared. The main aim of this review paper is to analyze some biomechanical indicators of Mae Geri kick technique during the preparation.

This session aims to help session participants understand how insights from this study can be translated to better kicking effectiveness beyond karate. Understanding this would enable coaches from other martial arts sports that include kicking to gain an advantage in refining the kicking techniques of their athletes to perform at the highest level.

Session Synopsis C

The Olympic Games are highly valued by governments and athletes around the world. The live performance of the athlete's competitive performance in the arena is affected by many factors which include long term and more immediate considerations. This study focuses on the influence of long-term factors with the intent to inform the preparation of the Olympic Games. Coaches at this presentation can gain insights into important events that have significant influence in the development of athletes in the long run so as to be more intentional in the design of their athlete development plans.

Session Synopsis

Drawing on experiences, the presentation will cover implementing a Positive Pedagogy approach both in youth and elite environments by adopting an athlete-centred approach, with an inquiry-based approach to learning.

The session aims to extend participants' knowledge on the benefits of adopting a Game Sense approach through the application of Positive Pedagogy principles for coaches to provide athletes the best possible learning platform for them to strive in their journey of sporting excellence. Through the development of 'thinking players', which includes the use of technology, athletes would flourish in this positive and safe learning environment set by the coaches. It also seeks to enable participants to be prepared to adapt and review their coaching approaches, whilst embracing the challenges presented in a demanding environment and in the midst of the pandemic restrictions at an elite level.