Good coaching is a never-ending process of learning and personal development. The moment a coach has “arrived” is the moment they begin declining.
Often a newer coach (sub coach for Teacher/Mentor/Friend/Parent/Speaker/Leader etc…) that has information to share will have a tendency to want to unload all their new-found knowledge on their student. The desire to share information can actually overwhelm the effectiveness of the communication. Even sponges can only absorb so much!
One of the teaching skills that is developed in good coaches is the concept of “one fault – one correction”. The idea is to take the most important correction needed and just focus on that one thing. Attack it from different angles if needed, but be tenacious on correcting the biggest fault only. Once that has been achieved, the Coach and Athlete can move on to the next biggest fault, then the next and so on, in a never ending journey toward excellence.
Choosing one correction at a time has many benefits over the shotgun approach.
More effective communication.
Taking the time to focus in on one thing gives both parties the opportunity to express their perspectives and demonstrate understanding of one another. The problem can be articulated in different ways until it is fully understood. Keep in mind this is a two-way process where the Coach can learn as much from the Athlete.
Focus.
In a world of ever increasing complexity, I cannot overstate the value of focus. Drawing your attention in to one thing and avoiding all other distractions is a skill that can be honed with practice and the development of that skill can put you at a tremendous advantage over the challenge at hand.
Memory.
You make a grocery list because you are trying to avoid forgetting one or two things that the shopping experience might distract you from. But if you are only driving to one store, chances are you don’t forget what the store is called on your way there. The fact that it is easier to remember one thing vs. many things is sort of a no-brainer. If you are trying to improve on a problem, doesn’t it make sense that the improvement will stick with you better if you only have one thing to retain?
Stress.
There is a plethora of information being shared on the negative effects of stress so I won’t go into all that here. But focusing in on one thing to achieve can be a great way to manage stress. Focus on one task helps to eliminate distractions and reduce the mental fatigue of the “noise” in our brains. Meditation has been used to manage stress for hundreds of years. Focus on one thing at a time is a form of meditation.
Success!
Looking at a huge to-do list can be overwhelming. Even as you make progress, if the list is too long, even progress can be discouraging if it’s not “fast enough”. Honing in on one challenge and overcoming it can give you a tremendous feeling of success that can help create belief in your ability to overcome other obstacles. Self confidence can be a learned skill as well!
I’m sure I could go on to find other benefits of the one fault – one correction principle but hopefully you are already convinced of it’s usefulness.
 Now, what can you apply this principle to outside of the gym? What is your biggest most obvoius fault in your life right now? Think about it, I’ll wait…
Now ATTACK! Take that one problem and wring it’s neck! Begin now to work on creative ways of approaching the obstacle at hand.Â
Keep your focus on the solution- not the problem.
Visualize the correction.
Practice.
Overcome.
Move past it.
Succeed.
WOD:
“Angie”
Complete for time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
Complete all of one exercise before moving on to the next. Post times to comments.
4 comments
Dan says:
October 27, 2010 at 9:41 am (UTC -7 )
WoD: 20:12. That’s a 9:30 PR from last time.
J.D. says:
October 27, 2010 at 1:09 pm (UTC -7 )
I finished in 27:45, but it sucked. I did 100 on all exercises, blatantly violating Erica’s request that I only do 75. Sorry, Erica. I did 20 pull-ups using bands, but the rest were (lousy) ring rows. I did 25 normal push-ups, but the rest were from my knees (and the last few were awful). Sit-ups and squats were RX’d.
In other news, Crossfit got an indirect endorsement from my massage therapist today. Today she said, “J.D., your body is strong. It’s been an amazing transformation.”
Those were very kind words. I told her after the session that I was still hoping to lose ten or fifteen pounds. “I’ll be surprised if you lose fifteen pounds,” she said. “You look fit now.”
That’s a testament to Crossfit from an impartial third party. (I still think I have ten or fifteen pounds to lose, though, and I’m nowhere near as strong as Dan. Not even close.)
J.D. says:
October 27, 2010 at 1:16 pm (UTC -7 )
By the way, this blog post is awesome, Cody. I think it’s the best post I’ve seen in the seven months I’ve been reading you.
Dan says:
October 27, 2010 at 2:22 pm (UTC -7 )
Agreed, I was really happy to have some coaching tips from the master himself.