Another important lesson near the end of the MHPC&TL is to use scientific evidence to inform coaching knowledge. In Kin 572 we were introduced to the methods of knowledge:

• Intuition
• Authority
• Rationalism
• Empiricism
• Scientific

Many coaches coach the way they were coached. Which is the method of authority rather than using the scientific method. Which is easier. It’s easy to say “we do things this way because Glenn Hoag or Carl McGown say so” because then it removes the responsibility from the coach and places it on the authority figure. This is the same as “this is what my coach did.”

I was lucky enough to have some pretty awful coaches that made me not want to coach like them. Fortunately I also have some pretty great coaching role models to fall back on as well.

As a coaching community we need to move away from intuition, rationalism, authority, empiricism and towards the scientific method. If we model this then eventually we can have new coaches who coach the way they were coached. Based on science. This is especially true in an academic setting where we are coaching student-athletes. This is a cultural shift in volleyball where the method of authority is omnipresent. Nonetheless, we should model the scientific method in our coaching practice so our athletes have faith in our methods. Not just faith in us as coaches.

As I am finishing up the last part of the MHPC&TL I’m reflecting on the evolution of my coaching practice over the past three years since I began this journey. In many ways I feel that I know less now than I did in April of 2016 when I got accepted into the program. Which makes me think about this satirical graph pertaining the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

This graph, obviously, wasn’t in the study by Kruger & Dunning (1999). However, it seems to be a semi-accurate representation of my development as a coach. The only differences is that after the valley of despair the upward slope towards being more confident is slower. The more I feel that I know, the more I feel like there is so much to learn.

Kin 572 was a great example of this. I started this class right after I finished a summer at the statistician with the national team and I felt pretty good about my knowledge of statistics. Finishing that class I thought “I need to take that class again.” There is so much to learn in that topic area. I definitely need to take more stats classes and keep expanding on my knowledge of research methods.

I believe I’m a better and more competent coach than I was three years ago and I’ve had so many opportunities to develop. However, I am most certainly less confident that I’m using the right methods or teaching the right systems. That said, I’m more confident in my ability to learn and adapt.

I think the most important lesson of the UBC Masters of HPC&TL is that I am just starting on the journey and that I need to continue to search for opportunities to learn and develop as a coach.

So the problem of now being in the valley of despair is solved by looking for more opportunities to develop and being a life long learner.

Reference of original study:

Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1121