Developing skills and understanding

There are a number of ways to develop your marchers' skills and understandings.

In developing skills and understanding:

• Consider the stage of development of your marchers
• Start in a simple way that ensures success, enjoyment and safety
• Gradually modify the activity or drill to make it more challenging.

Sport NZ is encouraging a Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach where the learning occurs in a game or game like activity. This approach is particularly beneficial for young marchers. Attempt the activity on the right.

Contact Marching New Zealand, coach@marching.co.nz , to get suitable games, activities and drills for the marchers that you coach.

When implementing the TGFU approach, a coach’s role is to:

• Set up the activity and its rules
• Decide what questions to ask the marchers so they can learn about a particular aspect of their performance.

The ‘art’ is to:

• Select or design purposeful activities that work on options and situations based on the needs of the marchers
• Appreciate when to stop and problem solve with the marchers and when to just let them continue, so they learn on their own.

A big part of being a good coach is also being an Effective Communicator