In my experience as a chess player and student, I have observed and encountered many things that concern me. I understand coaches have a lot of pressure to produce champions and great players, but I have noticed several coaching styles that harm and impede students from growing. Here are some tips and advice I would like to give coaches:
1. Understand your students and get to know them. It is simple to start teaching someone, but when you get to know who your student is and how he/she plays, you and your student will grow. Look at their qualities and who they are. Get to know them off the board, because this is how they usually are on the board.
There are several exercises on and off the board that will help you understand them. For example, an interactive exercise could be to bake cookies with them. If they get out all the ingredients before baking them, they will most likely develop their pieces and set up before they attack. Also understanding your student will help you teach them the right openings and defenses. It will teach you how to teach them.
2. As a coach, it is important to not only understand your player but to help them succeed. Many coaches like to impose their style and way of playing on their students. I have seen many aggressive players being taught by a passive coach. The passive coach imposes his style on the aggressive player, which in turn limits the player from breaking out of his shell.
Therefore, do not impose your style as a coach on your student who is a different type of player. My coach is a very aggressive player. He plays very distinctive lines from me. He always looks for openings and defenses that best suit me.
3. Last but not least, I would encourage every coach to help students understand the game. If I had a dollar for each player who shared with me that their coach simply answers, "Just move to that square because I told you so" when unsure about a move, I would be a millionaire! As a coach, it is important to teach your students the concepts and ideas behind each move. Do not tell your student to move "just because." This hurts your student in the long run.
I hope you learn from my experiences and incorporate them to your coaching. Remember chess is an amazing sport so help your student understand it!
See if you can spot my playing style from these two games I played recently on ChessKid.com!