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Success stories

PCA Workshops In Japan

02.24.2017

When PCA Founder Jim Thompson was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2004 for his leadership of PCA as a social entrepreneurship – and even after Ashoka Japan brought him in 2014 to Kyoto and Tokyo to address students, coaches and business leaders – nobody envisioned a full-on series of PCA workshops in Japan. 

But that’s exactly what happened in mid-February, when Sacramento-based PCA Trainer Tony Asaro braved the long flight across the international date line (more on that later) to lead six workshops in seven days for parents and coaches, including one session with Olympic and national team coaches.

The PCA-Ashoka Japan partnership continues to evolve, with the possibility of more workshops this year. Meanwhile, among the observations from Asaro’s visit:

Unlike a typical PCA partnership, workshop attendees paid for admission, and about 12-15 percent of the attendees at the coach workshops were not sports coaches, but executives and human resources personnel, there to learn about Positive Coaching as a way to get the best from their employees.

Similarly, about 15-18 percent of the attendees at parent workshops were not parents. “They wanted to prepare for parenthood,” Asaro said. “That’s a reflection on Japanese culture. They want to be prepared, and they have a tendency to have an open mind about how to do things. They want to improve, and they have passion and curiosity.”

Not everything translated immediately. “My mission statement as a coach centers on Culture, Character and Commitment,” Asaro said. “But they did not understand ‘Character’ as a standalone concept. Then I started mentioning caring, kindness, honor and courage as components of character, and then you could see the lightbulbs over their heads.”

The elite coaches were puzzled by the amount of positive feedback Asaro suggested, essentially asking him, “How much abuse is OK?” Explaining research that supported the power of positive to help athletes win more, Asaro said, coaches then showed their willingness to adapt.

“There was one rugby coach the group seemed to accept as a leader or superior, it was explained to me later,” Asaro said. “That rugby coach was the most aggressive in the group, but even he started taking a lot of notes as though, ‘If this helps me win, I’m willing to change my methods.’ ”

Along the way, Asaro experienced more successes, such as this note left on his Facebook page:

Dear Mr. Asaro,

Hello. Thank you for your lesson on 11th of February. I coach 3~12 year old children in Rugby. Each child on my team is talented so I have to lead them with positive coaching. Before I met you and heard positive coaching tools I considered only how to criticize and correct. I thought of only negative criticism. After I met you and the positive coaching, my mind has changed. When I correct the players after they are prepared to learn, that correction can improve the player and the team. Thank you very much. I hope to see you again!
   
   --
Tomoyuki Tsugawa

Overcoming some initial hurdles and ultimately meeting great success in the workshops was not all that filled Asaro’s emotional tank on this trip. “Nana Watanabe, who heads Ashoka Japan, has assembled an amazing group of students to run this project. We often went out for meals after the workshops, and they filled my tank with praise every time I got food into my mouth with chopsticks.”

What struck Asaro the most during his stay? “The workshop attendees were so invested,” he said. The amount of notes they took and the questions they asked showed that they were so hungry and thirsty for this knowledge.”

One other special aspect of Asaro’s trip across the international date line was turning 68 years old on his last day in Japan, and then, upon landing in San Francisco, turning 67 again.