This entry is about an intriguing thought that came about from my recent quest to be Ahmad..
So the test is next Monday and now I'm rushing 4 more lessons.. The instructor turned really harsh and should I say impatient whilst teaching me vertical and parallel parking.. So much that he was to the extent of scolding me on every single attempt and mistake I was doing.. I wonder why is he SO frustrated and irritated that there isn't a single word of encouragement that spilt from his non stop nags.
To be fair, he did get tired after 45 mins of telling me off.. And then he caaried on the lesson with intermittent TULAN phrases of "see.. I told you.. Now I don't talk lor you go do yourself lor.", "you see la you see la!?" and "really Kanna sai ar! Now I don't want to talk you go try yourself"..
This made me reflect on what I've been doing as a coach myself.. Today I got a lesson with some intermediate kids (3 with ADHD).. And I actually told one of them off with "see?! You see la! I told you already right?? How Many times already?? What are you thinking???".. With the same kinda unhappy tone my driving instructor used on me.. I have to say I was really patiently telling her for many lessons but usually she just zone out.. And perhaps the only thing i felt i did good was i'm rather generous on my encouragements in every single detail my students can do correctly..
But still, I am very shocked with what tone I used when telling the kids off, knowing how demoralized and depressed I was after being taught that way by my driving instructor yesterday.. I almost wanted to miss today's driving lesson when I finished yesterday's...
It took me half of my 2k swim yesterday to get over it slightly and the rest of the night to find reasons to substantiate his scolding.. Which led me to this reflection.. How bad the kid would feel and how sad swimming can become.. Despite showering loads of encouragement after that i can still c a glimpse of disappointment with herself in her eyes..
No matter who it is that saw me coach before, it is an undeniable fact that I am passionate about swimming and sharing what I know.. I strongly believe that only an efficient stroke can save a life (your own, then others).. Training for a test or specific distance just won't cut it. What a coach need to teach the students in the aspect of a stroke is skill that the student can use with control over effort applied and that is efficient without wastage of precious energy(that is limited) in times of emergency.. that way, the distance a student can swim will be limited(but also Maximized due to efficiency and lack of energy wastage in movements) only to his aerobic capacity.
Having said that, I feel that I really did what I did because of how strongy I feel and care about the kid's development.. But as a coach I think I have to learn to be able to step out of the situation mentally to find what's right to say and what's not productive should not leak.. I dunno what's my instructor's reason for what he did but I sure hope it's not because of lack of sleep (he's fat and it's 9.30 in the morning)...
I pray for the best I can do in my test and hopefully I'll pass to be Ahmad for those I love.. And I pray for more enlightenment in my quest to be a better coach. Amen.
Will update about the open water swim tonight if I have time. been really zonked out by training and coaching. Apologies!!
Cheers
KK
PS - I love iPhone... First time blogging off what I felt and feeling is fresh of my head.. This is quite relieving too.=)
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