Technology has really changed how we communicate and interact today.
From social media (Facebook, instagram, YouTube, etc.) to Ipads &
smartphones. It's a different world today than it was even 10 years
ago.
Remember a time when you could sit in a
restaurant and not be bothered by cell phone ringtones and cell phone
conversations? That there was a designated area, right by the
restrooms, where you could make a call you deemed important enough to
get up from the dinner table and go pay for?
I
Posted before on cell phone use in the gym. That was a lighthearted look at how NOT to use cell phones in the gym.
What I'd like to do in this post is to advocate the reasons why cell phones are a useful tool in the gym.
I
don't know what the cellphone policy is like in other gyms. However,
the one I'm at and the one I was at before do not approve of cell
phones. More specifically, they do not allow for taking calls,
answering text messages, sending calls, or checking emails. That is
reasonable. Not only is it a safety issue for a distracted coach, but
it also looks very unprofessional and can turn away clients.
Speaking
for myself, and possibly other coaches, my smartphone is used for so
many things other than as a phone. I believe that, depending on how
the technology is being implemented, that the perception of smartphones
as primarily phones is an archaic concept.
As a team
coach, I do "get away" with having my smartphone out on the floor. I've
never taken a phone call; nor do I have the ringtone on to alert me to
calls. There are only rare instances where I've texted:
- Acknowledging a text message from a team parent letting me know that her athlete was running late to the gym.
- Acknowledge a text message from a fellow coach that he was running late
- Answering a message sent from the front office staff, that required a timely response.
- Sending a message to the front office staff.
At my previous gym, they used to have walkie talkies for birthday
parties so that the staffers could communicate from across the gym.
Today's smartphones are superior to achieving the same purpose. There
are times when something needs to be addressed right away; and rather
than sending an athlete or another coach to fetch the front office
worker, it's easier just to send a text.
In the
event of an emergency, it's quicker to reach into your pocket and dial
911 yourself than it is to run across the gym and pick up the landline;
or shout to the front office.
Better communication makes for greater efficiency.
When
I have my cellphone in my hand, I understand that some parents may
think I am checking personal mail. I am not. I know that from a
business standpoint, it may look bad; however, I think it's a matter of
educating the client base; and people adapting their perception to how
technology is actually being used today.
My team
parents know what I am doing: Checking lesson plan notes; a
conditioning list; using the stopwatch that's built into the phone. Why
use a traditional stopwatch when I already have one on me? Why burden
myself with a notebook and pen? Why carry around an expensive camera
that gymnasts might get chalk all over when I can just use a
cameraphone? The quality is really good today, with many even taking
slow motion videos for technique analysis.
Sometimes
I might run a Google search on something I need to look up, related to
the gymnastics practice at hand. On occasion, there might be a YouTube
video clip that I might want to show my gymnasts so they can see an
example of something I am trying to verbalize.
The
smartphone is a tool, like any other, that can be used or abused. Stop
thinking of them as a traditional phone. Rather than banning them from
the gym coach's arsenal of training tools, take advantage of the virtues
of today's technology. Provide common sense guidelines for how the
privilege can be made appropriate and inappropriate.
With
recreational coaches, I don't think there is a "need" for smartphones
to be out on the floor; however, I think it is definitely a useful
coaching tool when utilized properly.
