Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content
(1) My Essential Question is how can a U-16 Soccer best help his team have a winning season? My answer 1 is, A U-16 soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by having a vision that is consistently reinforced and applied. My second answer is, A U-16 soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by identifying each players strengths and weaknesses through the use of drills. My third answer is, A U-16 Soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by having an assistant coach on whom they can rely on to run practices, make team decisions, and provide useful input on how to better the team. My best answer is my first answer which is having a vision that is consistently reinforced and applied. The first answer that I have is better than the other answers because it provides a wide range of discussion, while the other two answers are very specific and do not have as much information to discuss on as the first answer. My first answer is worthy of being the best answer because it clearly demonstrates what a coach should want in his team, and it could not only apply to soccer but to all sports, and a persons life.

(2) When I came to my first answer I was reading Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman for my research checks. It talked about having goals and how a team should follow goals set by the coach. I felt that having a goal wasn't enough so I looked up different types of goals and what it meant to have a goal. I then found an article that was an excerpt from Phil Jackson's book on coaching. It talked about how having a team vision can lead a team to success. As I started my independent component 1 I wanted to understand what a coach is thinking of during games and how to run practices. This is when I realized that it would be a good time to use my first answer in a real life situation. I asked my mentor Ron Martinez what he thought about a team having a vision and he agreed that it is very important to having a successful team because it provides teams with a focus and a principle to follow. I then came up with a vision for the team to use, the vision was the team needs to make the 2nd round of the playoffs. Throughout my independent component and beyond that leading into mentorship I reminded the team of the vision and they followed it. They were able to make it to the playoffs but loss in the first round. After seeing my answer in action I was able to determine that it was my best answer. In order to further my belief that it was my best answer I focused my ESA on my first answer and I found that in a study done by the Auburn sports Psychology department 54.55% of athletes agreed withe the expectations and goals set forth by the coach. This led me to believe that it was my best answer because I had enough evidence and information tio show that having a vision can help a team be successful.

(3) One of the problems that I have faced during my senior project has been finding quality research. From the start of the year I was unable to find quality research and I was worried I would be unable to find the sources I needed to create answers. I then asked my mentor Ron Martinez what I should do, and he suggested that I look for a book that focused on coaching. That is when i found Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman. The book was able to help me find answers and give me great background info on the answers. Another problem that I faced during my senior project was finding something to do my second independent component on. In order to complete 30 hours I wanted to make sure that I was doing something that could help me solidify my answers. I then thought about taking a coaching class but I did not meet the age requirement so I was able to sit in on a class that new coaches were taking. After taking the class I was unable to find background info on my answers so I then talked to my interviewer for my 3rd interview Robin Cruz. He suggested since I couldn't take a class in person that I should take an online class. This helped me out very much because it provided me with alot of background info and I was able to learn info that coaches learn when they first begin.

(4) The first significant source that I used to answer my essential question was the book Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman. This was a significant source because it not only provided me with my best answer but it gave me background info on other answers. It also provided me with examples on how professional coaches have handled situations and what we can do to be better coaches. Another significant source is my mentorship with Ron Martinez. My mentor has been coaching at AYSO for over 12 years and has won multiple championships. This was an important source because I was able to use my answers in a real life situation. i was able to coach a team during practices, and scrimmages. this was important because I got to see a great coach do what he knows and I was able to get hands on experience.