Ask Martin Vol. 15: Finding The Right Cue

What are cues are you using for your technique in training now? -Brian

The cues I use in training mostly relate to the start of my throw. The majority of my problems, and the majority of most throwers’ problems, start at the beginning of the throw. I have some cues I always come back to, but what works for me may not work for you. The more interesting question for me is how someone can find a good cue. Cues are the language of coaching and just as finding the right word separates good from bad writers, finding the right cue separates good from bad coaches.

The first step in finding a cue is to understand the different between what you are trying to accomplish and how you want to accomplish it. This is the difference between effects and causes. “Get a longer orbit on the left side” is not a good cue since this is the result you are aiming for. Instead you have to get to the root of the cause. This is a problem I am frequently working on and I often will use cues like “keep a longer double support on the entry” in order to get that result.


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6 replies
  1. zach
    zach says:

    I have such a hard time with physically impossible cues. I have to shut off the logical part of my brain and just try it when I work with a coach that gives me impossible cues. I’m ok with this practice as long as the coach has the understanding that its impossible.

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

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  2. […] I love reading about how master coaches approach this topic and have written several times about finding the right cue and when to change […]

  3. […] and finding the right way to communicate with an athlete, something I have talked about both last year and this year. Part two, which will be posted later in the week, will dive into a little of the […]

  4. […] each athlete learns somewhat differently. What works for one may not work for another. You have to find the cue that they best respond to, and even that changes with the same athlete as they grow stale to the same inputs. Second, you […]

  5. […] Last month I wrote about the importance of finding the right cue to use to improve technique. Each athlete responds individually to technical cues, so what works for me may not work for you. But the process of coaching technique does not end once you find the right cue. As my friend Derek Evely pointed out, cue staleness is a big issue that coaches fail to deal with. […]

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