Coaching
A Sports Coach is someone whom is involved in the developing of athlete’s mental, physical and tactical skills, someone who provides instruction, direction, help and guidance at all times. To be a successful coach you must possess many important attributes, it’s not just about teaching, at all levels of sport from school level to international, a coach’s job is to motivate, empower, inspire and encourage their performers as well as provide a positive learning experience. (Becker, 2009).
Coaching expertise and experience take a number of years to grow and a good coach’s reputation will spread through the skills they portray, a great coach is someone with an open mind and is a lifelong learner, they are always seeking new ways to push an athlete to reach their potential to improve both the athlete and also themselves. In this paper we are looking at the skills needed to be a successful coach from novice to elite level.
To be a great coach enthusiasm and motivation are two of the key skills that are vital, if we look at a coach working with an elite athlete, coaching sessions are the coaches main focus and can be made fun, differential and a challenge, this can be done by using different games, different environments, and setting new challenges for the athlete. Many elite coaches have proven successful because of their ability to solve problems whilst making sports fun, they often have strong contact with family, schools and have developed other networks of support such as sports councils, other coaches etc whom will help them with any issues and help to choose the right direction to take for an athlete. (Pankhurst, 2009). A good coach will help the athlete to reach their own personal goals by making things exciting and creative every session rather than encouraging them to focus on winning, this takes pressure off the athlete allowing them to have a heightened enjoyment and achieve the best they can.
A coach that is a great motivator will be able to help an
Coaching expertise and experience take a number of years to grow and a good coach’s reputation will spread through the skills they portray, a great coach is someone with an open mind and is a lifelong learner, they are always seeking new ways to push an athlete to reach their potential to improve both the athlete and also themselves. In this paper we are looking at the skills needed to be a successful coach from novice to elite level.
To be a great coach enthusiasm and motivation are two of the key skills that are vital, if we look at a coach working with an elite athlete, coaching sessions are the coaches main focus and can be made fun, differential and a challenge, this can be done by using different games, different environments, and setting new challenges for the athlete. Many elite coaches have proven successful because of their ability to solve problems whilst making sports fun, they often have strong contact with family, schools and have developed other networks of support such as sports councils, other coaches etc whom will help them with any issues and help to choose the right direction to take for an athlete. (Pankhurst, 2009). A good coach will help the athlete to reach their own personal goals by making things exciting and creative every session rather than encouraging them to focus on winning, this takes pressure off the athlete allowing them to have a heightened enjoyment and achieve the best they can.
A coach that is a great motivator will be able to help an
References: Becker, A., (2009). International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, Vol. 4. Issue 1, p93. Borgreffe, C ., (2008) Sport und Gesellschaft, Vol. 5 Issue 3, p276. Smith, R, Smoll, F., (1997). Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. Vol. 9. Issue 1, p. 114-132. Pankhurst, A., (2009). Olympic Coach Spring, Vol. 21. Issue 2, p4. Burton, D., (2008). Sports Psychology for coaches. Vol 1. Issue 1, p 27 Martindale, R., (2007) Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Vol. 19. Issue 2, p187. Frost, J., (2009) Sport Journal, Vol. 12. Issue 1, p1.