I've seen some of your vids. How do you manage the need to provide new content with the need to be consistent in your teaching?
Obviously, new technology and new data are going to influence; but how long do you leave an idea in the oven before you film? Is there a core of ideas that exist inside a basic backhand swing that are not subject to the "maybe this will work for you" caveat?
There are so many concepts that I don't feel a need to get a specific video out as fast as possible. I've got a whole list of videos that need to hit the channel and not enough time to film them.
Generally, by the time a concept finds its way into a YouTube video it's already been fleshed out and tested in a fair amount of private lessons. So, with the rare exception, I'm pretty confident that what I'm saying in the video works.
Take the "arm the disc" video for example. That's a concept and video that came about through hours of conversation with Chris, even more time experimenting with it myself, and then even more time working with students struggling to not collapse their pocket to find the terminology that helped.
There are problems that arise from this though:
1. I have to characterize what works for SOME students and construct a concept in a way that is coherent for a YouTube audience. So I'm talking to people who may or may not even have the problem and assuming that this is the way I need to explain the concept to them for best understanding. This can very easily be square peg, round hole situation and I'm assuming it will be for some of the audience.
2.
Consistency in teaching. One video I'm talking to square pegs and in the video following I'm talking to round ones. I'm going to emphasize corners, rigidity, and positional form with the squares and I'm going to talk about rolling, smoothness, and swing with the round peg. As a coach I know that the process of getting the peg in the hole is very much similar regardless of the shape; grip it on top, target acquisition, correct orientation, put it in the bucket. The art of coaching is in figuring out what shape the peg you're working with actually is so you can iron out the details and communicate in a way that they understand. That's even tougher to do on YouTube where you can't see or feel the peg.
All that to say, the overall process might not be that different but if you're a round peg watching me talk to squares you're going to think I've lost my mind because the instruction that works for them is seemingly opposite of what worked for you.
Most things are on a continuum in disc golf.
With that being said I've spent a lot of time feeling out the ends of the spectrum very publicly and have actually changed my stance on things here and there.
Is this a problem? Should you be teaching if your views aren't already solidified?
These are questions I've asked myself a lot and I think others have as well.
"If you wait until you're ready you'll never start."
Coaching as a skill is not different from other skills in how it is developed. If you read all the books and understand all the biomechanics, but don't actually coach someone you will be physiological expert and crap coach. The way to get better at coaching is by coaching.
The skill cluster that makes a good coach seems to contain two parts: technical knowledge and communication. I started with more of the later and have been increasing the earlier throughout my journey.
I think people tend to poo poo that progression over the inverse, but the reality is that people will become better coaches more quickly that way. It's like working in restaurants for 4 years and then going to culinary school. When you have experience to filter incoming knowledge through you can sift through that information much more efficiently and make knowledge gains faster than your peers.
The mistake that people who went to school first would make would tend towards over explaining concepts to students and vomiting irrelevant (and hurtful) details that lend to analysis paralysis.
That was a long answer for your short question but I wanted to flesh out what I felt somewhere on the internet because I think the current disc golf climate could use a little more practical coaching and a little less academia in some places.
I know my weakness is on the knowledge side so I try to make friends with the data guys. I want my coaching to be backed by the data but communicated practically.
