thedevelopmentinnings

WHAT HAT REPRESENTS YOU!

I always get asked the same question when working in sports, “SO WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ACTUALLY DO”?

Whilst this could be taken in the wrong way, with many people becoming defensive at this question, for me it gives me a chance to explain the amazing life I live and the many hats that we have to wear.

Usually, this explanation results in follow up questions about working all the time and working unsociable hours. However, it also allows us to explain why this industry challenges us to be the best person in whatever we are tasked to do.

THE ATHLETE HAT

As everyone works their way into sport, the majority of us begin our careers wearing our athlete hat. For me, this began as early as 3 years old when I first picked up a cricket bat, a mini signature bat that I could whack a sponge ball around the front room with.

However, this hat has provided me with more than simply technical skill.

– It provided me with tactical awareness, allowing me to understand the intricacies of the game.

– It provided me with an understanding of respect and fair play, showing me right and wrong and how to play the game I love in a competitive but fair way. It’s shown me right and wrong!

– It provided me with the appreciation of teamwork, giving me the opportunity to achieve as a team!

AND MUCH MORE. But from this, a love for sport was developed and before I knew it, I was playing sport, watching sport, mimicking sport and living sport.

THE COACHING HAT

As my love for sport grew, it was evident that my life would revolve around the sports industry and for me, this career started in coaching. From being involved in sport from the playing side, I started to work on the other side of the boundary as a volunteer coach.

From using my knowledge to try and win games of cricket, I found myself using my knowledge to help others achieve their potential. I started to develop an appreciation for helping individuals, providing fun training environments that were developing a love for the game.

As my love for coaching grew, so did my opportunities to coach different groups, youngsters, teens, adults, county cricketers and academy cricketers. All requiring very different skills including the ability to challenge, the ability to include everyone, the ability the improve and the ability to help learning. As my experience increased,more qualifications became available to me and it was apparent that more hats were slowly becoming visible.

THE LEARNER HAT

This hat is inevitable in everyone’s lives as we all live the life of a student however, it’s what you do with it that makes or breaks you! For me, education has never stopped and this hat is always on my head.

From GCSE when I first picked PE to the completion of my masters degree in 2022, I have always prided myself to develop my own pathway through what I have interacted with.

Up to now the list is extensive, Level 3 cricket coach, Level 2 Umpire, PGCE in Post-compulsory education, cricket coach developer, umpire tutor and hopefully in the next few weeks, a fellow in higher education on the completion of my PGCCert.

This is not just a badge collecting task, this is a personal challenge to keep this hat on and to continue to develop to help not only myself, but everyone else around me. By using this hat, I hope I am becoming the best me!

THE EDUCATION HAT

Some will say that this hat is too similar to coaching, but this hat has provided me with an alternative viewpoint of coaching environments and allowed me to take another path into development! Instead of focusing on individual skill improvement, my education hat included an appreciation of learning theory and a better understanding of how people learn.

I began to understand the reason why we coach the way we do and how the coach can provide an even better learning environment that resonates with the person you are working with. Once I understood this, I realised that coaching isn’t my only passion, it’s also having the opportunity to help someone achieve their potential. For me, this is where my journey sits, where I am a coach, a tutor and a lecturer in higher eduction, providing an opportunity for others to achieve their potential.

SO WHAT IS THE POINT?

This is not just an opportunity to share my successes, it is an opportunity to highlight what an amazing opportunity we have in sport, and the hats we have in our wardrobe are our identity!

How we use our hats is what gives us our passion and our drive in the industry. Think about what hat you are wearing, are you an athlete that is driving to achieve on the pitch? Are you a coach that is trying to help that athlete achieve their potential?

Are you an educator that is helping people learn and develop? Work out what your hat is? BUT REMEMBER, your chosen hat is only as a good as make it in thatenvironment! How can you make sure the hat you wear represents you and your passion and as a result, how much do you push yourself to continue to develop your abilities.

How can you make sure that others understand what your hats are and how they represent you at any given moment. There is always an opportunity to use multiple hats at any one time, but we must understand how to use these hats effectively to improve the industry we love.

Reflecting on my life, I am finally starting to understand this and realising my main hats to wear, but I am still developing and for me, this is the exciting part! My roles as a coach and an educator have highlighted where my hats lie!

OVER TO YOU…….

So what do you think? Where is your hat? Or have you not quite worked out which is your main hat? Let’s work on this together to understand your identity!