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The Citizen, 1995-08-23, Page 10SYMPTOMS OF MIGRAINE: • pulsating or throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head • duration of symptoms can be from 4 hours to three days • moderate to severe pain • pain is aggravated by normal movement • a sensitivity to light and/or sound • nausea and/or vomiting Migraine can be very debilitating and often makes it difficult or impossible for sufferers to get through a normal day. SYMPTOMS OF TENSION HEADACHE: • a dull, pressing "band-like" pain on both sides of the head • duration of symptoms can be from 30 minutes to 7 days • mild or moderate pain • pain is unaffected by normal movement • may be a sensitivity to_light or sound, but not both Generally, sufferers of tension headaches will not experience nausea or vomiting and they are usually able to carry on with their normal day. If you have any or all of the symptoms associated with migraine, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss your attacks and a treatment strategy. If you would like more information about the Migraine Foundation, write to 120 Carlton Street, Suite 210, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 4K2, or call The Foundation at 1-800-663-3557. NC More than three million Canadians are known migraineurs, and it is suspected that thousands of others in the country suffer from migraine, but remain undiagnosed 111 THE MIGRAINE FOUNDATION r* rN?" Don't let bedwetting make make your child miss out on anything. 71" Bedwetting is a problem that affects more than 200,000 Canadian children. Yet in most cases, it can be safely and effectively treated by a physician. Why not make their lives a little easier; speak to your doctor. Or for more information, write to: 40 Holly Street, 6th Floor Toronto, ON M4S 3C3 PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1995. Communication sparks success for coaches, athletes COMMUNICATING WITH ATHLETES The success and enjoyment you receive from coaching will be in- fluenced by your ability to communi- cate with your athletes. How you speak to athletes (especially younger ones) is just as important as what you have to say. Gestures, facial expressions of joy or anger, intimidation and kind behaviour are all forms of non-verbal communication that greatly influence the message- you deliver. The most effective way of improving communi- cation between coaches and athletes is the positive approach. Communicate positively by: • emphasizing those things ath- letes do correctly instead of constantly providing feedback of what went wrong • looking for ways to allow ath- letes to feel good about themselves, e.g., compliment the way the athletes look in their uniforms • appearing cheerful and enthusi- astic while coaching, thus creating a feeling of being involved in something • encouraging athletes to express their likes or dislikes. Wise coaches can learn by listening to athletes' expectations. The positive approach is com- municated both in verbal and non- verbal messages. If a positive ap- proach is used consistently, athletes will develop a greater level of- confi- dence and trust. This will make your job as coach much more rewarding and fun. Communicate and have fun. COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS The type of relationship between the coach and parents strongly in— fluences the amount of enjoyment an athlete will derive from participating in sport. The following checklist has been developed for coaches interested in improving coach-parent relations. Meet with parents to discuss: • your coaching philosophy, e.g.,learning the skills of the sport and having fun are more important than winning in children's sport • objectives and goals of the team • the type of player behaviour that will be reinforced, i.e., good effort, team play, good sportsmanship • the behaviour of parents, i.e., being supportive and respectful of other teams, officials, your coaching • the technical expertise that some parents may have, e.g., have parents assist with running a practice. Poor parent-coach relationship is usually the result of inadequate com- munication. Coach and parents should be working together to ensure the players have fun and develop skills. Supportive, honest and open com- munication with parents will allow everyone to learn and have fun. Keys for Planning a Practice Practices should be fun, safe and well organized. The following six steps provide a good guide for planning: 1. Set an overall goal based on: • the skills you would like to teach • previous practice evaluations 2. Conduct a warm-up to: • prepare the body for the activity • work on sport specific flexibility exercises • provide a link to organization for skill instruction 3. Skill instruction: • teach skills early in the session while athletes are most ready for learning • monitor drills to correct error and provide positive feedback • plan for maximum activity by considering number of players, equipment and space. Group for ease of progression both in difficulty and organization e.g. 2's, 4's and 8's. 4. Skill practice: • design "game-like" drills that challenge the athlete to use the skills introduced • provide feedback COACHING TIPS 5. Fun/fitness: • include several "fun" drills/activities in every practice • introduce relays, tag and modified games to develop fitness finish on a positive note 6. Evaluation: • review is essential—what happened? What drills were used? How did athletes respond? Was the time allotment sufficient? • evaluation provides a basis for the next practice Perfect practice makes perfect. This applies to planning a practice too. If you fail to plan you plan to fail. better"), parental pressure? Second, work with your athletes on goal set- ting, one of the most effective means of motivating. Once the needs of the child are known, goal setting allows the coach to create opportunities for athletes to achieve in those areas of sport that have been identified. Goals must be: • specific, hard, and challenging • achievable with effort and diligence • established by both the athletes and coach: discuss what was accom- plished last year, what commitment the athletes have for the coming year, and what realistic improvement can be expected • written and communicated to the athletes in simple terms, e.g., a specific time improvement over a measured distance or the number of foul shots to be completed out of 10 attempts • linked by intermediate or sub-goals • given constant attention and feedback by the coach and athletes The introduction of simple reward systems during progress from sub- goals to end-goals can provide additional incentives for athletes. Goals are easy to develop and provide both coach and athletes with an increased sense of direction and purpose. If athletes are achieving goals their motivation is high. Help them to help themselves. TEACHING SKILLS Athletes receive enjoyment and satisfaction from sport because it provides an opportunity for individual improvement and the mastery of new skills. Coaches must be able to select appropriate skills, teach and provide feedback on performance. 2. Demonstrate and Explain Skill • The coach or an athlete should cor- rectly demonstrate the skill 2-5 times •Explain the key points to be learned. Stress only one point at a time. • Relate the skill to something the athletes have learned previously. 3. Practise the Skill Ensure the athletes are practising the skills correctly. Stop incorrect activity immediately and correct. • You may want to have the athletes perform the skill slowly at first, progressing to normal speed as they learn. • If an athlete cannot perform the whole skill, break it down into smaller parts. 4. Provide Feedback to Correct Errors • Evaluate the performance. Compare what was performed in relation to what should have been done. • Correct one error at a time. First correct the error that will have the greatest impact on improving the skill. • Use a positive approach. Reinforce the things the athlete does well. • Use simple, precise phrases in giving instructions. The ability to teach sport skills effectively is a skill in itself. Perfect practice makes perfect. Work at it. INJURY PREVENTION The old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", is especially true when dealing with athletic injuries. Ensure that care is taken to prepare your athletes and provide them with a safe environment for competition. Here's how! 1. Athlete Examination. Every athlete should begin the season with a medical exam (some sports/recreational associations make this mandatory). 2. Matching Athletes. Whenever possible athletes should be matched on the basis of their size. MOTIVATING BY SETTING GOALS • Why are some children motivated and others not? • What approach should be used to motivate athletes to be the best they can be? Every coach encounters situations Four steps to follow that provoke these two questions. when teaching skills: Understanding what "turns children on", then creating self motivating 1. Introduce the Skill opportunities, is a great challenge. • Get the athletes attention and ar- First, discover why your athletes range them so all can see and hear. are participating. Is it: to be with • Name the skill and give a reason for friends, a desire to achieve ("get learning it. MVCA calls for nominations The public is invited to make nominations for the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority's 1995 Conservation Awards. The awards are designed to recognize the efforts of individuals, groups and businesses in protecting or improving the health of the environment. "A healthy environment is important to everyone," said George Wicke, Maitland Valley Conservation (MVCA) chairman. "These awards are a chance to recognize valuable work that often goes unnoticed." Nominations can be made for any of a number of activities, including tree planting, conserving forests or wetlands, conservation farming practices, and education. This is the ninth year the awards have been presented. There are two levels of awards. Conservation Awards of Distinction are given to those making a long-term, outstanding commitment to conservation. To recognize and encourage shorter- term contributions, Certificates of Appreciation are presented. Last year Conservation Award Certificates were presented to the Maitland Trail Association, Tony and Julie Emond of Elma Township, Glen Warwick of Bluevale, Don Eadie of Tumberry Twp., Martin Pronk of Minto Twp., and the World Watchers Nature Club at the Lucknow Public School. For more information or to nominate an individual or group, contact the MVCA at 335-3557. Nominations will be reviewed by the MVCA Board of Directors. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Sept. 1. The presentation of the awards will take place in October. The Red Cross needs y6ur blood. On Aug. 24, at the Seaforth and District Community Centres, a Blood Donor Clinic will be held from 5 - 8:30 p.m. Here are some of the reasons your help is needed: • Every 20 seconds, someone in Canada needs blood or blood products. • An accident victim can require as many as three body replacements of blood within 24 hours (approximately 15 litres). 3 Burn victims need the component plasma and will need endless transfusions. • Leukemia patients need platelets because their bone marrow can't produce enough and the cancer treatments destroy what few platelets they have. • Organ transplant patients can use 60 units or more of blood cells and components. Please bring two pieces of I.D. to the blood donor clinic. Red Cross needs donors