Blog 4

English Title Belt Series - 18 Feb 2017

Our last show was in Rotherham, we had 5 boxers boxing. This was part of the English Title Series so a very good standard of opponent.

Our boxers were on after each other so no time to reflect on any of the bouts. Because of this I used the Rolfe 2001 reflection model to make quick decisions as the bouts were happening.

I had 5 boxers on and the opportunity to win 3 English Titles and 1 Southern Area belt. The other bout we had was an eliminator for the English Title.

The 1st bout on was the Eliminator bout and after a close 1st round the decision was to increase the tempo and take the fight to the opponent, unfortunately after the 2nd round we felt we were down in the bout, during the minute interval I spent the time trying to convince the boxer he needed a big round, not hold back and be confident in upping his work rate. The boxer did do better but we lost the bout, we agreed that are lack of tempo in the earlier rounds was the reason and this is what we would work on in training.

The 2nd bout was at heavy weight and boxing for the Southern Area title, we had lost this same bout 2 weeks ago so had worked on a number of drills and communication points to make sure where we went wrong previously didn't happen again. During the rounds we confirmed between us what was happening and anything picked during the round was highlighted and communicated. Both boxer and coach were in agreement and the result of the bout was positive.

The 3rd bout saw another heavy weight contest this time boxing for the English title, we communicated and agreed on tactics but in the end this was a bout where the boxer was unable to execute the information given, on a de-brief and reflection later it was down to a personal issue that prevented the boxer being in the correct frame of mind and hampered his ability to perform to his potential.

The 4th bout was another closely contested affair, I have a very good relationship with this boxer and there is trust and mutual respect, he trusts me as a coach and will try and deliver on the information given. At the end prior to the decision I was honest and told him I wasn't overly confident of the result and it was literally down to the opinion of the judges. We were victorious and on reflection the decision was correct and maybe sitting on the fence was the wrong thing to do but we were not in control of the result at that time.

The 5th bout was rematch from 18 months ago, a bout that we had won so we knew our tactics and plan would need to be executed well as our opponent had been boxing for England, was the current belt holder and had been training up at GB. Prior to this bout we had sat and talked through how we would win and put emphasis on trust and how we would communicate during the bout and how I would require the feedback so I knew he was aware of the task. As a team in this bout we worked very well giving and gaining feedback to make changes during the rounds. A great bout that again we were victorious.

During this Blogg I have learnt how to use the reflective models to help the boxer and most importantly myself to understand what is needed at critical times in bouts and then how to constructively analyse the post bout information to be able to use for training and the next bouts.

                                          ABT - Listening, learning, delivering!

Blog 3

Boxing competition at Hoddesdon - 4 Feb 17

After a good weeks preparation with the boxers and coaches we travelled to Hoddesdon to box against an Italian select team. 2 of my boxers were boxing Italians and 1 other was boxing a home boxer from Hoddesdon.

Prior to this show the coaches had sat down and discussed the tactics that were going to be deployed and how the corner work would happen and how we would best communicate to each other and the boxers the instructions. We had 3 boxers on so there would be learning and action during and after the bouts, I looked at the Donald Schön - Reflection-in-action/Reflection-on-action model to make sure the we could look at a situation, act on it and make the correct decision and therefor give our boxers the best chance of winning.

The first bout was a tough bout for our boxer as we were up against a GB kid on his home show, we had done our homework and knew the game plan of the opposing boxer, although our strategy was understood by the boxer and coaches we were unable to get the result and lost this bout. On reflection and feedback from the boxer we had done what we had planned and the plan was what we were after but we were beaten by the better boxer on the night.

The second bout was against a tricky Italian and this had the added prize of the Southern Area Title Belt. Again the game plan was to keep distance, the boxer and coach was aware of these tactics and were in agreement that this would win the bout if the boxer stuck to the game plan.
During the 1st round all was good and the I was able to communicate to the boxer when slight changes were needed. There was good feedback from the boxer as he was able to act on the instructions, then was able to give feedback during the round.
The result did go our way and gave a positive discussion post bout for how we would go about the final bout.

The final bout was a female bout, my girl had been out of boxing for 18 months and this was also her first as a senior. She was boxing an experienced Italian girl and was understandably nervous due to the time out of competition. For this bout especially it was very important gain the trust of the boxer as this would also be her 1st bout for me and working with myself in the corner.
The bout went well with our boxer working at a high tempo following the instructions given. There did seem to be some confidence issues in the breaks where she was not confident in her performance but I knew she was boxing well and ahead in the bout. At the end of the bout we were confident she had won but she did not feel she had done enough, the decision went our way and so it should have as the performance from my boxer was very good. Before the decision she was still very negative although I was telling her how well she had competed. Post bout this was addressed and we will be doing some more bonding, earning the trust and confidence from coach to boxer and boxer to coach.
I learnt that although I may be confident and precise in what we are trying to do, the boxer may be thinking differently, this may be due to a number of reasons, points that need to be addressed prior to her next bout;
1. Trust
2. Confidence
3. 2 way communication
4. Positive feedback.

Looking forward to the next competitions this weekend, I feel that I am learning a lot from reflecting during and after the bouts, only good results can come from using the reflection models.