Coaching Lessons Learned Through Physical Therapy

I gave in about a month ago and decided to listen to my doctor and seek physical therapy for my nagging knee and shoulder problems. I've always put it off because my thought was that I could rehab my injuries and fix the problems myself. Wrong. I never stretched properly, never worried about my muscles being in balance, and certainly never pushed myself to put in the time. I just compensated for the weakened muscles and frankly never understood or listened to my body. What I needed was physical therapy and a good coach.

The first visit was more of an evaluation (pre-assessment). I performed several strength and agility tasks and my physical therapist, Amy, dutifully jotted notes about my performance. We rounded out the time with some research questions; Where does it hurt most? What level/type of pain? What are your goals? The goal-setting question was interesting to me, Amy wanted me to set some "real" goals so that we could assess the progress at the end. My goal was simple, to be able to play with my children without any real discomfort. Most of all, Amy cared and wanted me to succeed.

The next visit began with an introduction to a few exercises. Amy had a clear plan for the time (using the data). She let me know the time, the materials, and the purpose for the exercises. She instructed me that I'd work through four exercises. She demonstrated each one and explained the purpose and what I should be feeling. As I worked, she voiced over and coached/corrected my movements. Her feedback was direct, yet encouraging. She'd say things like, "push through your heels." Followed by, "perfect, can you feel the difference?" She watched my performance and pushed me based off of what she noticed.

The next few visits were similar to the first with a few exceptions. The pace of each lesson was faster. The expectations were higher. New methods were introduced. Amy coached and provided feedback on my progress. She reminded me of my goals and asked if I was getting closer and could notice a difference. She explained the logic behind the exercises.  We wrapped up the last session with an evaluation of my progress (post-assessment) and some next steps for continued progress.  However, I left with so much more than strength and muscular balance, I left with a deeper understanding of what I look for in my own practice as an instructional coach. I left with these understandings:

1. Care for and get to know each teacher
2. Understand their body of work ahead of time
3. Allow the teacher to set the goals
4. Have a clear plan
5. Be explicit when discussing "how" we'll get the goals
6. Offer meaningful feedback that fosters growth
7. As teachers make progress, celebrate it and push the work to the next level
8. Finally, reflect on the achievement of the goals and discuss next steps

I feel strongly that the physical therapy experience has brought me closer to my "physical" goals, but the real  #eduwin here is that I reassessed my coaching work by learning from someone who clearly cared about my progress, provided timely feedback about my work, and encouraged me to work harder and smarter to achieve my goals. I learned a lot from Amy and can only hope that my teachers feel similarly about how I work with each of them. I care about each teacher's success and I hope that my feedback is getting each of them to "think" differently about their work. Thank you Amy and a big thank you to all of the teachers I work alongside each day!