Turning point and efforts released from the pressure of “not losing” as a coach:

Using the idea of “YOSYUKU (preliminary celebration)” as a clue

Abstract

　The author has been coaching the women's basketball club in high school for 11 years. In this study, we report on my efforts to relieve myself from the pressure of “not losing”, which was a turning point for me as a coach. It happened in the fourth year when I became the head coach of the high school in M prefecture that have made it to the national tournament many times and have won national championships. I was almost overwhelmed by the pressure of “what if I could not lead the team to the national tournament” before the prefectural tournament. At that time, I came across a book “MAEIWAI NO HOUSOKU” and I started “YOSYUKU (Preliminary celebration)”. “YOSYUKU” is to have a concrete image of “when and after winning” before heading to the match, and to enjoy the mood. As a result, the goal of the coaching was no longer a vague “winning the national championship” but a clear and feasible goal “I want to experience the happiness of myself and the people around me after achieving the goal of winning the national championship. Therefore, my approach of coaching changed from “traditional inheritance and coach-centered” coaching to “player-centered” coaching. I did not think about “when I lost” and I was not afraid to lose. Through such efforts, the vague goal of both the author and the members was “I am dying to achieve”, and the practice and games became “fun”. As a result, the team's performance improved.