4 Stages of Competence

You don't know what you don't know!

I was first exposed to the 4 levels of competence by Don Meyers. I do not believe any other coach impacted my own coaching career as much as Don Meyers did. I traveled one summer to Nashville, Tennessee to attend his

coaching clinic at David Lipscomb. It was well worth the time and money spent. It was a great clinic. The headline clinician was Rick Majerus. What a coaching education to have heard Rick Majerus talk about post play. I attended several other coaching clinics at which Don Meyers spoke and I was always changed, always challenged, and always impressed. Both Coach Meyers and Coach Majerus are deceased. If you can get their dvds and read their books, you will not be disappointed. During one of Coach Meyer's presentations, he introduced me to the 4 Levels of Competence. Not sure what that says about me that I had never heard of them before? (May say something about my own level of competence!) These 4 levels of competence have far reaching implications to/for you as a coach. Here are the 4 levels and a brief definition of each level:

Unconscious & Incompetent

They don't know what they don't know. The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not know they don't know. The individual may deny the usefulness of the skill. Before you can move out of this level, the individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill. Amazing, well maybe not, how many players who

don't know they don't know. Very common in young and inexperienced

players/coaches.

Conscious & Incompetent

They know they don't know. The player now realizes they need a certain skill and they recognize they are not able to perform the skill at a high enough level of achievement. The key revelation is they now know they need it! They are now on the right track to being competent. Patience is a virtue. Peat and repeat are often standard operating procedure for the coach at this time.

Conscious & Competent

They know they know. But the skill requires steps and focus to be executed correctly. They can execute the skill, but it may require breakdown steps and conscious focused thought to improve and develop consistency. Execution is not yet on "automatic pilot." You see the progress your players

are making but their inconsistency may drive you to ......

Unconscious & Competent

They know it so well they don't have to think about it. The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become almost "automatic" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. Unfortunately, some players (and coaches) loss

focus and become bored with what has become routine execution. May be

necessary to challenger your players with increased difficult or overload a

drill so they will be forced to concentrate yet be challenged.

SUMMATION

It's just like the academic classroom. You may have players on your team

at any of the four levels of competency. You may want to design after practice drills for individual players to work on. It is great to have a generic

practice plan for all players to participate in BUT all your players are not at

the same level of competency at the same time.