Unit 2 - Task 1

P1/P2

Roles of a sports coach

 

Leader- One role of a sports coach is being able to lead groups. The key characteristics of being a leader include being organised and knowledgeable. If the sports coach possesses these two characteristics then should be able to set up high quality coaching sessions. As a leader the sports coach must have good communication skills. This allows them to successfully transfer their ideas over to the performers and deliver their high quality sessions. Another part of being a leader would be a role model to the performers. This ensures that the performers show the sports coach respect and engage fully in their sessions.

Motivator- A large part of being a sports coach is being able to motivate the group of performers you are coaching. To be a motivator the coach must first be passionate himself about coaching individuals. Two characteristics of being a motivator are being supportive and encouraging. These two characteristics will motivate the performers to develop and participate in the coaching sessions. As a motivator the coach should be able to inspire his performers. This will increase their intrinsic motivation and they will try harder to develop their skills.

Teacher- Being a coach also means you need to teach new skills and techniques. This means the coach must be knowledgeable to know and understand complex skills and techniques. The coach while teaching must be authoritative. Meaning they can control their group and ensure everyone is paying attention and benefiting from the session. The coach must be organised and ensure they have a detailed coaching sessions ready to teach the performers. Also they must be qualified; this allows them to teach their sessions in a variety of situations to different levels of groups.

Manager- The coach must also be able to manage his group and individual performers. Being a manager means you must be able to communicate with the group/team you are managing. The manager must be a role model to the group so they show respect to the coach. Important part of being a manager is being able to control a full group and also be able to communicate with individuals. Another characteristic of being a manager is being organised. The team/group is dependant on you so the coach has to deliver.

 

Responsibilities of a coach

 

Updating knowledge- As a coach it is a responsibility to provide the performers with the best possible coaching. A coach should never stop learning and keeping up to date with the latest and most effective coaching techniques will only benefit his performers and make him/her more successful as a coach. Knowledge can be gathered from all different areas. Learning from the best and most successful coaches is one place valuable knowledge can be gathered from.

Management and Planning- It is a responsibility of a coach to deliver high quality, beneficial sessions to their performers. Sessions of such quality can’t be made up instantly on the spot. The coach must give up their own time to plan in detail their coaching sessions. The more detailed the planning is the likelihood that the coaching session will be better.

Skill Development- As the coach gains experience they must also develop within themselves. Improving all of the skills associated with being a coach and being able to improve different types of performer. This can come from learning from the top coaches and developing from there.

Safety and Security- The highest priority for a coach is to ensure the coaching session is safe for the performer. Especially when working with large groups of young children. The coach must have sufficient knowledge and how to make a session safe for all participants. If a session is unsafe then the coach must be able to adapt the rules of the games or do what is necessary to ensure that the session is safe for the performers.

 

Skills of a coach

 

Communication- This is a vital skill for a coach. The coach must be able to firstly control the behaviour of the group using communication. This can be difficult with larger groups or younger children. Secondly communication is important so the coach can transfer his knowledge to the performers through verbal communication, aiding the development of the performer.

Organisation- The more organised and prepared a coach is the higher quality their coaching sessions will be. A lot of planning goes into coaching and when delivering a session the coach must have the correct equipment to carry out what he intends to. An organised coach will also keep records of his coaching sessions; this can be used to develop coaching drills that didn’t work as effectively as planned. Also this allows the coach to see which drills are effective and continue to use them.

Adaptability- Being adaptable is very important as a coach. Not every session that the coach plans will run accordingly. This can be for a variety of reasons including lack of performers or lack of equipment. The best coaches can remain calm in these difficult situations and adapt their coaching drills so they performer benefits from the session.