Not your regular coaching method: Think of yourself as a lifelong student.

9 hours ago

4 min read

The essence of a delicious dish lies not in the cooking method, but in whether its flavor meets the diner’s expectations. That’s how I view teaching.

But, how can we understand diners’ preferences?

That’s why a chef tastes the dish himself before serving it.

On our journey as teachers, we often forget that we, too, “once” were students.

As we progress through our careers, we even begin to take certain aspects of the learning process for granted, and we start to display high standards, an air of superiority, and a certain temper.

There are also times when I forget that I’m “still” a student.

Recently, due to repeated urging from my girlfriend, I started taking salsa dance lessons. Over the past few years, much of my learning has taken place online and has focused on gathering information (from 1 to n), but salsa dance is one of the few things I’ve had to learn from scratch—with absolutely no prior knowledge or understanding (from 0 to 1).

During my very first lesson, it was downright embarrassing. I couldn’t keep the beat, and I lacked both enthusiasm and the will to learn. As I left, I was already thinking, “There’s no way I’m coming back,” and I didn’t even want to think about how awkward I’d looked.

(Remarks: What is Salsa Dance: partner dance that combines Afro-Cuban and Caribbean rhythms with European structure)

I took some time to reflect—on What exactly I was worried about.

When I took a hard look at myself, I realized I was carrying a burden I couldn’t let go of—those expectations of perfect learning progress, those high standards, that attitude, and that mindset.

I couldn’t accept that there were actually things I couldn’t learn, nor could I accept that I had become a student who, in the eyes of others, was making slow progress.

Once I realized I had these thoughts, I finally remembered how I’d made it this far. There’s really nothing surprising about it—I’ve never been the kind of person who “gets it right away,” and in fact, many of my first attempts at new things were pretty awful.

I only remember being pretty good at table tennis, swimming, soccer, basketball, and cycling, but I’d forgotten that before I ever won a single medal, during my very first table tennis experience, I couldn’t even hit the ball over the net. I threw my paddle on the ground in tears and walked away.

And then there was my first competition, where I lost after scoring almost no points.

(1 year later, I won I placed 2nd at my school and 4th in the inter-school competition of Hong Kong. I defeated that old opponent who had kept me from scoring.)

Those Trials and Errors...

I learned to swim to the point of nearly suffocating (I have asthma); my soccer and basketball shooting skills came from realizing I didn’t have the natural talent to outsprint others, so I practiced my shooting accuracy day and night; as for cycling, I still have some leftover scars on the backs of my hands and knees.

It’s worth mentioning of Content Creation: I launched my own YouTube channel as early as age 12. Going back even further, by the time I was 6, I was already sneaking my father’s camera to try filming, recording clips, and editing in the park.

And of course, being laughed for so long. (Look at that picture.)

Looking back on those years, for which I feel no shame, I now feel an added sense of gratitude: gratitude that I was able to undergo these challenges at such a young age.

Before all those achievements, those shining moments, those things I took for granted, and before DAILYCALI shone like a star: I was a student.

Right now, I’m still a student, with so much left to learn and many very awkward “first times” still waiting to happen.

I really don’t need to be afraid of feeling ashamed,

because I’m bound to feel ashamed anyway.

Returning to the Topic of Coaching: What makes for a Good session design?

I believe that, after ensuring there are no mistakes in sports science, we can achieve psychological personalization and pursue what is “right.”

Ask yourself this: If today were Day One, and you were your student facing a brand-new experience for the first time,

(1) how would you use kind words to ease his or her nervousness?

(2) What words or personal stories would you share—the kind you wish someone had shared with you back then?

Finally, if he or she were you,

(3) how much do you think they could take away from the first day? How would you wrap up today’s session?

I’m proud to say that at DAILYCALI, regardless of who the instructor is or which course it is, we’ve incorporated this social work element into everything we do. (Shout out to Jose, Benjamin, Alina, Joanne).

Summary -

This isn’t your typical post sharing coaching & training experiences. That’s because I believe there’s already plenty of high-quality content on sports available for everyone to check out (and you probably know even more than I do).

I hope to offer encouragement from a variety of perspectives, whether you’re a student or a coach.

My second Salsa Dance class has been a complete transformation and is in full swing. I hope your journey goes just as smoothly!