Katheryn+N’s+2016+OpEd+Article



A sport should be something that you find passion in. It should be something that you fall in love with and continue to aspire to do better in. For me, I found this love in colorguard. I used to love to learn new tosses on flag and constantly get harder work. Then when I learned rifle, and eventually sabre, I had the same passion for learning new tricks and being able to push my skills higher and higher. Colorguard has two aspects- the technical competitive side, and the super pretty graceful fun side. A lot of guards aim to find the balance between a stunningly amazing show that is also well executed with great technique. And when these two sides blend together, it makes it fun to learn in hopes that you can make your show better.

But there are some shows, like the one I am currently spinning in, that focuses too much on one side. Our coaches this season have been so concentrated on technique that not a lot of emphasis is put on the actual show itself.

Technique is always a good thing… to an extent. It is so important to know angles and release hands and breathing points and endless other technical features that tie a show together. But beating this technique into a team over and over again makes you unmotivated to learn, process, and practice the new information. I think there's a fine line between getting in a technique block and reviewing counts until a team fully understands, and getting in a room and having someone yell at you until you look perfect. If a coach puts me in a technique block for rifle tosses and yells at me over and over again, trying to make me look flawless, I’m not going to want to work harder. My instinct is to do whatever it takes to get the toss out. A lot of times that means using my body to push, having really bad hands, and moving around under tosses just in an effort to catch something. To me it’s counterproductive; yelling just makes the technique worse. And I think a lot of times, coaches fail to realize this. They get angry and yell and tell us we’re embarrassing to make us work harder, but it doesn’t help at all.

Coaches can make or break a team. I think over anything, learning to motivate your team instead of constantly tearing them down is the most important factor in a leader.