- Over the past few months, we have given lots of advice on how to become a ConnectedCoach. Here we try to put everything in one place and give you a one-stop-shop for curating the perfect ConnectedCoaching Session.
- A ConnectedCoaching session should include 2 recap videos, before and after technical video or image comparison to highlight progress, and a concise written practice plan.
- To implement this correctly, be sure to post these resources within your athlete’s space during your practice session. Your athlete should have everything they need before they go home.
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At this point, you get it… At CoachNow, we are sold on this concept of #ConnectedCoaching.
In past posts, we’ve covered the basics of the concept, as well as integral components of ConnectedCoaching, including Thinking Like an Entrepreneur, The Importance of Asynchronous Communication, and Video Recaps, to name a few.
But what we haven't done is give you a one-stop-shop for the 3 key ingredients that comprise a successful ConnectedCoaching Session.
So, you guessed it, that’s what we’re gonna do here.
Here are the top 3 ingredients to a successful ConnectedCoaching session. 👊
1. Coach and Athlete Video Recaps
Here’s a coaching fact I’m sure you already know: not all live coaching sessions warrant tons of technical breakdown or drills.
I’m sure some of your live sessions are focused entirely on strategy, mindset, or goal reflection.
BUT, no matter the type of live session you are running, there is ALWAYS one ingredient that is vitally important to include: video recaps.
Recaps are 1-3 minute videos taken at the end of EVERY coaching session that summarizes key learnings, including WHAT your athlete should practice and WHY.
And, ideally, you should always film two recaps before you call it a day.
Video Recap #1
In the first recap, record a video of your athlete/client within their CoachNow Space, explaining their biggest takeaways from that session.
As they speak, elaborate upon any points that they make, and clarify any misunderstandings that may have arisen. Make sure to succinctly explain WHAT the practice plan is going forward and most importantly, WHY it's paramount for their improvement.
The goal here is to give your athlete the chance to show what they've retained, ask clarifying questions and give you as coach the opportunity to fill in the gaps… all in 1-3 minutes.
After they finish, simply hit post in their Space. Done! Now its time to trade places.
Video Recap #2
From within your Athlete’s Space, hand over your phone/device and ask your athlete to take a video of you providing a brief summary of the key takeaways for that day and WHY they’re important.
Be sure to highlight any mistakes you corrected and the advice you gave for how to fix them. Give a simple, yet thorough explanation of what is expected of them moving forward to achieve their goals.
Do NOT ramble on and on.
This should be 2-5 total minutes of video MAXIMUM. Making it any longer will make it less likely that the athlete will go back, review, and gain value from the recap again on their own.
There’s a reason video recaps are at the top of this list – I have found them to be a total gamechanger and invaluable to the repertoire of any ConnectedCoach.
For more on Video Recaps, including an example I filmed in one of my own sessions, you can see our dedicated blog post on the topic.
2. Video and/or Image Analysis of Technical Movement(s)
A key component of ConnectedCoaching involves making iterative improvements via asynchronous communication.
But what should you do when you’re in person with your clients?
I recommend using this time to go over any vital technical aspects and fine motor skills required for the sport you coach.
I.e. use part of your in person time to focus on form. Be it a movement, strength-building exercise, swing, throw, etc.
Ideally, you’ll want to record the technical move toward the beginning of the session to establish their baseline before you provide feedback and tools for improvement
Then film another video or take another image at the end of the session.
I’m not talking about filming a long-form explanation like you would for a recap. I’m talking about a video that simply captures the technical movement in a matter of seconds, certainly no more than 1 minute.
I highly recommend using CoachNow’s comparison feature and voiceover feature when filming these before and after videos.
If you haven’t yet tried voice over in our video/image analysis suite, you gotta give it a try! I use it constantly to talk through the technical improvements that I covered during the time with my athletes.
I find it really helps highlight progression and helps them “lock in” correct form when they can visualize what’s right vs. wrong side-by-side.
The purpose of everything here is simple: seeing progress in just a one-hour session will help IMMENSELY with their confidence. Plus, they will leave with a much clearer understanding of WHAT they need to work on and WHY.
Getting these before and after videos dialed in will really level up your game and deliver immense value to your athletes. Give it a try!
3. Post a Practice Plan with CLEAR GOALS For Your Next Live Session.
It's time to wrap up your ConnectedCoaching session… Now what?
In addition to your video recaps, and progress tracking of technical move(s), now it's time to identify and post a practice plan.
In my experience, the best practice plans are done in writing as their OWN written text posts. This makes them easily searchable and helps create a clear break in your CoachNow Feed between all the videos you post during the session.
And when building these plans, I highly recommend sticking to LISTS – whenever they are ready to do some practicing, they should have a CRYSTAL CLEAR idea of what they should do and WHY.
Overall, I find that weekly practicing plans tend to fall into two camps:
(1) a REP COUNT of specific exercises you want them to do at a specific frequency.
OR
(2) a GOAL for them to bring to the next session.
E.g. for (1) These reps could be without a completion target (do 10 deadlifts) or include one (make 8-10 free throws before leaving)
Alternatively, type (2) plans offer more freedom and include expectations for them to bring to the next session. E.g. Write out your tournament schedule or watch this video and report back what you learned.
Trust me, athletes operate well when given clear goals and due dates.
Having them in writing will help them practice more efficiently and keep them accountable. No more excuses about forgetting what they were supposed to do! 👊
One more important note before I close out: be sure to do all of this within your athlete’s space DURING YOUR COACHING SESSION.
Everything I recommend here should be saving you time. Doing the above steps while you are together saves you a task for later and helps add predictable structure to the sessions.
In short, your athlete should have everything they need BEFORE they leave your session together.
Alright, that’s all from me for this week!
In summary, a ConnectedCoaching session should include 2 recap videos, before and after technical video or image comparison to highlight progress, and a concise written practice plan.
During the week, keep an eye on their space and encourage asynchronous communication and offer Micro Touch Points to ensure they stay on track.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
Here’s to delivering value while saving time!
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