Observation and Assessment
How you watch matters as much as what you say.
Look for Invariants, Not Errors
The traditional coaching approach: compare what you see to a mental model of "correct" technique and identify deviations to fix. Gray calls this looking through a "filter" of what things should look like.
The problem: this filter makes you see what you expect rather than what's actually happening. You look for errors to correct rather than picking up what's working. You view students as problems to solve rather than individuals discovering solutions.
The ecological dynamics lens: look for what all successful solutions have in common (the invariants) rather than comparing to one ideal. When a student passes guard in an unusual way but it works, ask: what essential features did their pass share with a conventional pass? Probably: they controlled the hip, cleared the knee line, and established a connection. The specific mechanics differed, but the invariants were the same.
This matters because there is no single correct technique. Different body types, leverage profiles, and opponent responses demand different movement solutions. A 130-pound guard player and a 220-pound wrestler will have structurally different passes that share the same invariants.
What to Watch For
Focus on essential variables (outcomes and coordination patterns) rather than elemental variables (specific joint angles and positions):
- Is the student achieving the positional goal?
- Are they maintaining alignment while doing it?
- Are they perceiving and responding to their opponent's movements?
- Is the movement adaptive (changing with context) or rigid (same pattern regardless)?
When something isn't working, resist the urge to prescribe the fix. Instead, design a constraint that makes the current approach fail more obviously and the better approach more discoverable.
Being an Adaptive Coach
Gray distinguishes between adapted coaches (who adjusted to one approach and stay there) and adaptive coaches (who continuously respond to what's emerging).
Adaptive coaching means:
- Being prepared but not rigidly planned. Have a structure for class, but be ready to change direction based on what you observe.
- Recognizing that constraints don't always produce predicted outcomes. Complex systems are non-deterministic. When a game isn't producing the learning you expected, adjust the constraints rather than adding more verbal instruction.
- Developing "knowledge of" coaching through practice, not just "knowledge about" coaching through study. Reading this page gives you knowledge about pedagogy. Running classes and reflecting on what happened gives you knowledge of pedagogy. Both matter, but the second can only come from doing.
Verifying Learning, Not Just Activity
There's a gap between "I ran the drill" and "they got it." Just because students completed an activity doesn't mean they learned what you intended.
Lemov frames this as the difference between "I taught it" and "they learned it." Three practical tools:
Watch the struggling students, not the succeeding ones. When you scan the room, your eye naturally goes to the students doing it well. That tells you nothing about whether the concept is landing. Deliberately watch the students who are struggling. They're the signal.
Use "show me" instead of "did you get that?" Self-report is useless. Students will say yes whether they understand or not. Instead, ask a student to physically demonstrate the movement or decision. "Show me what you'd do if they get the underhook." If they can demonstrate it, they probably understand it. If they can't, you know exactly where the gap is.
Catch misunderstandings early. A student who encodes a wrong pattern in week one and practices it for three more weeks has a much harder correction ahead than one who gets caught on day one. Lemov calls these "expensive snowballs." The cost of checking for understanding now is low. The cost of fixing a bad habit later is high.