This term I have had the pleasure of witnessing some remarkable teams compete in a variety of activities. I have watched all levels of Tennis players from our new Year 7 teams to the seniors, who will also be representing Queenwood at the annual Tildesley Tennis Tournament this week, as well as a range of Water polo teams. I visited the Junior School Cross Country and Swimming Carnivals and watched with delight the joy experienced by the girls as they competed with and against their friends and on Sunday was among the few spectators permitted to cheer on our rowers at The Head of the River. All these experiences require our girls and coaches to set, evaluate and re-set goals.
Research into theories of motivation tells us that goal setting is essential to performance, and that the best goals take feedback and early results into account, while focusing on learning rather than performance (Lunenberg, 2011). For our girls, setting a goal to master new skills is more productive, and has more comprehensive and far-reaching benefits, than aiming to win. Skill-based goal setting encourages proactive effort in areas that girls can influence, rather than tying achievement to the outcome of a contest in a highly variable, unpredictable competition environment. What’s more, the learning goal orientation sets students up for success in academic and professional realms, both of which require individuals to be proactive, problem solve, be creative and open to new ideas, and adapt to new and changing situations (Luthans, 2011). Results are far from everything.
What has also been evident this term is that belonging to a team or group ensures our girls can navigate and develop trusting relationships. According to Andrew Zolli and Ann Marie Healy in Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back, resilience is predicated on trust in a system, allowing potential adversaries to move seamlessly into cooperative mode — and quickly, during the moments when it counts the most. In a team-based setting, trust can be unpredictable; the benefits of promoting, developing and harnessing that trust can be extraordinary. Like any skill, these can be learnt and practised. Perhaps there is no better way for young women to practise these skills than by engaging in team activity.
Along with opportunities to build trust systems and resilience, team activities also offer the chance to practise leadership. It was obvious from observing the girls at the Head of the River that our Senior Rowing crews have embraced their roles this season, guiding, supporting, encouraging, collaborating and instilling confidence in their teams. They have developed their own appreciation of what leadership is and how to model it and the communication between staff, coaches and the students ensured that there was a culture of inclusivity and trust that empowered the teams to perform to the best of their ability.
Feedback plays a very important role in developing trust and coaching for success. Most people naturally look for feedback only when they think they’ve done a great job. If a performance has been mediocre, or worse, they tend to avoid it. Criticism can be hard to swallow, but girls who understand Dweck’s principle of a ‘growth mindset’, where individuals believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies and input from others, view every opportunity for feedback as a chance to learn and grow. The challenge as a coach is providing useful, positive feedback to both individuals and the team in a way that builds confidence, develops skills and improves performance. Watching our girls compete this term would suggest that they our prepared for feedback and our coaches and staff have the experience and knowledge to provide it.
Mrs Belinda Moore
Deputy Principal Operations