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The Philosophy And Philosophy Of Philosophies In Field Hockey

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What is a philosophy and why is it such a controversial topic amongst coaches from all sporting sectors across the globe? A philosophy is “A theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour” (Oxford University Press, 2017). I will personally be analysing the apparent necessity of philosophies in sport, predominantly in field hockey. I have played the sport for over a decade, had my fair share of coaches in which I can safely say no two were remotely similar and I think this is not due to the fact that they had different methods of coaching but in fact due to their own individual philosophies towards coaching. What also became clear to me during long-terms periods with certain individual coaches is that a philosophy is not set …show more content…

I feel as if instead of the players moulding to the coach’s philosophy, they must mould their philosophy to them. Hockey can be an extremely dangerous sport if it is not taught correctly as I have witnessed many horrific injuries which could have been avoided if the player were given clearer guidance which is the responsibility of the coach. In order to coach thoroughly they must not view the team generally but instead view each player on the hockey field as an individual with distinct personalities and various personal lives. The relationship that exists between a player and a coach is vital for the hockey player to excel in their field. For a strong coach-athlete relationship to exist the coach must first understand the athlete and acknowledge that they are not robots and have feelings. They must understand that an athlete may not always be up to taking on the task at hand physically or even mentally and because of this the coach must have a certain level of lenience and compassion towards their athletes as a poor relationship may inhibit the athlete’s performance as well as the coach’s ability to teach (Mageau & Vallerand, 2003). As hockey is such a fast paced sport that players must be able to react to an action within a split second as lot of rapid actions and reactions are involved in hockey. This is something which the coach must allow for in his method or philosophy to allow for improvement in their mental abilities which will positively affect their physical abilities, once again, improving their overall performance on the field. This also cements the idea of coaches having philosophies as this effects the coach’s attitude towards preparing sessions and their relationship with the athlete is an aspect which affects their behaviour meaning it is part of their

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