alanewing

Coaches spend a lot of time reviewing their players. How often do they review themselves? Your communication. Your decisions. Your response to mistakes. The energy you bring when a session becomes difficult. These deserve your attention too. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988, offers six stages to help you learn from experience. Here’s how you can apply them to your coaching. 1. Description: What happened? Choose a specific moment from your day. Perhaps a practice broke down or a conversation with a player became difficult. Describe what you observed before drawing conclusions. 2. Thoughts and feelings: What did you experience? Were you frustrated, anxious, confident, or impatient? What were you saying to yourself? Consider how this influenced your tone, body language, and decisions. 3. Evaluation: What went well and what didn’t? Recognise effective coaching as well as areas for improvement. Perhaps your explanation lacked clarity, but you listened well when a player questioned it. 4. Analysis: Why might this have happened? Look beyond your first interpretation. Were your instructions too complex? Did the task suit the players? What evidence supports your explanation—and what might you need to ask them? 5. Conclusion: What have you learnt? Identify what you would retain and what you could have done differently. Could you have demonstrated the task, asked a question, or allowed more time? 6. Action plan: What will you do next time? Make one clear commitment: “Before restarting the practice, I’ll ask a player to explain the task in their own words.” Try spending five minutes on one meaningful moment after your next coaching day. Then revisit your action plan after the next session. Bring the same curiosity to your coaching that you want your players to bring to their development.