Sports Coaching

What are the roles of the coach?

Analyst

Advisor

Friend and Mentor

Fund raiser

Public relationsofficer

Organiser and

Manager

Disciplinarian

Motivator

Trainer

Teacher

THE COACH

Skills of the Coach

Organise

Observe

Analyse

Adapt

Communicate

Improve performance

Coaching Philosophy

Develop a set of personal guidelines on how you will operate as a coach, including:

How you will communicate Level of participant responsibility Dealing with behavioural issues Coaching for all, irrespective of ability or

background Dealing with winning, losing and cheating Respect for others

Qualities of a good coachBe enthusiastic and show enjoyment of coachingBe self confident, consistent, friendly, and fairHave a sense of humour and make things fun!Dress appropriately Be a good role model for the participantsMaintain discipline throughout the sessionBe well organisedInclude all participants, regardless of ability, disability, age, gender, and ethnic background.

Qualities of a Coach

Coaches should maintain high moral and ethical values.

Coaches must be completely honest with all those with whom their deals.

Coaches must maintain a true and lasting concern for all the athletes with whom their deals.

Coaching Styles

Authoritarian or autocratic very strict, punish frequently

Business-like not people-oriented

Democratic or cooperative get along well with athletes, can be taken

advantage of

Intense focused on quality, uptight attitude

Easy-going and Casual casual, submissive, not serious

Other Coaching Styles

Command - dictating how and what will be done!!!

Reciprocal – athletes taking responsibility for their development, with coach monitoring.

Problem Solving – athletes solve problems as set by coach.

Guided Discovery – coaches sets options for the athletes to explore and decide upon.

Coaching children and adolescences

Children and adolescences play sport to:Have funMake friendsLearn new skills and increase

confidenceBe challengedBe actively involved and successful

Coaching children and adolescences

Why do children drop out of sport? Not receiving ample game time Coach or parents having an over-emphasis on

winning Being yelled at by coaches and parents Being injured Lacking success Not playing with friends Game is no longer fun Other interests

Coaches must earn the respect of their athletes, the school staff and the community.

Coaches must be able to motivate their athletes as well as other school and community.

Coaches must be dedicated to their athletes, to the school, and to the community.

Qualities of a Coach

Coaches must be a strong disciplinarian.

Coaches must have obvious enthusiasm.

Coaches should possess a strong desire to win.

Coaches needs to be a good evaluator of talent.

Qualities of a Coach

Coaches must be knowledgeable about their sports.

Coaches should have a good sense of humor.

Coaches must be willing to work long hours.

Coaches must have a working knowledge of their sport.

Qualities of a Coach

Leadership in Coaching

Leaders provide direction; they set goals by having a vision of the future.

Leaders build a psychological and social environment that is conducive to achieving the team’s goal.

Leaders instill values, in part by sharing their philosophy of life.

Leaders motivate members of their group to pursue the goals of the group.

Leaders confront members of the organization when problems arise, and they resolve conflicts.

Leaders communicate.

Leadership in Coaching

Giving FeedbackFeedback should be:

positive, constructive and corrective clear and concise delivered as soon as possible after

the action for which it is being provided

Use the ‘feedback sandwich’ approach:

Positive feedback (what they are doing well)

Corrective feedback

Positive feedback (actions for improvement)

Active Listening

Stop – Pay attention and don’t interruptLook – Make eye contact and get onto the same level as the personListen – Focus on what the person is sayingRespond – Restate what has been said and use open questions to prompt for further information

Communication BarriersDifferent perceptions of words and actionsOnly hearing what you want to hearUsing jargonNot responding to questions Judging too quickly Looking for personal agendasAllowing emotions to blur the messageAssuming ‘I’m right’ and not being open to other views Asking antagonising questions

Coaching communication

Coaching is a two-way process (coach-athlete, athlete-coach)Clear and consistent messages avoid miscommunicationOpen questions will glean more information (eg. What do you think about the team’s new attack move?)Good feedback (positive and corrective)Active listening shows interest and gains additional information from your athleteNon-verbal communication eg. Voice expression, is as important as verbal communication

Non-verbal communication

S- Squarely face the athleteO- Open postureL- Lean slightly forwardV- Verbal comments are relevantE- Eye contactR- Relax

Effective ways to use non-verbalcommunication in a positive manner

                                           

Including Everyone

Environment Can all the participants see and hear you? Are there any distractions in the background?

Physical Do all the participants have good vision and hearing?

Intellectual Can all the participants understand what you are saying? How long can the participants pay attention?

Background Do all the participants speak English? Are there specific cultural considerations?

Difficult People

Try to stay calm and distance yourself personally from the issueKeep your voice quiet and calm, this may encourage the other person to do the sameDon’t argue back or trade insults (no matter how unreasonable they seem)Try to see past the emotions to define the actual problem and work at addressing thisUse active listening skills to address the problem.

Stages of Learning

Beginner or Cognitive Stage

• Parts of the movement are missing, and does not use all the necessary body parts.

• Rhythm, coordination and control are poor.

• Performance is inconsistent.

Intermediate or

Associative Stage

• Learning to detect and correct own errors.

• The movement produces reasonable results, but some parts are performed incorrectly.

• Performance becomes more consistent.

Automatic or Autonomous Stage

• Automatic performance of the skill.

• Can solve more complex problems.

Learning Styles

People have a sensory preference to obtain and remember knowledge. The senses include:

Visual sense Auditory sense Kinaesthetic sense Tactile sense Olfactory sense.

Developing Sports Skills

Select basic techniques, skills and tactics for beginner participants to learnBreak techniques and skills into parts, and providing key coaching/safety pointsAllow adequate time for practise and observing participants’ performanceProgress the activity in a sequential mannerEnsure that the session is fun and provides variety.

Game Sense

Game sense is a coaching method that uses game-like activities as the focus of the session Participants respond to challenges through activity, solve problems and contribute to what is done in a session Traditional coaching sessions have focused on practising techniques. The game sense session focuses on the game and on learning “why” before “how”.

The Coach’s Role in Game Sense

The coach facilitates rather than directs ‘the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage’

Using questions and challenges encourages participants to solve problems

Questions/challenges will generally relate to a particular tactical aspect as follows:

Time: When will you (run, pass, shoot etc)? Why?

Space: Where will you move to? Where will you aim?

Risk: Which option will you take to pass to? Will you run or stay? Will you attack or defend? Why?

How to Modify Activities

Coaching style - eg; demonstrations or use of questions, role models and verbal instructions

How to score/win

Area - eg; size, shape or surface of the playing environment

Number of participants

Game rules- eg; number of bounces or passes

Equipment – eg; softer or larger balls, or lighter, smaller bats/rackets

Inclusion – eg; everyone has to touch the ball before the team can score

Time – eg; “How many … in 30 seconds?”

Game Sense Tips for Coaches

Let them play

Most children find ‘drills’ boring. Play a game – NOW!

Inclusion Use the CHANGE IT options to modify the activity to suit varying ability levels.

Improving skills

Conduct a ‘discrete’ coaching session off to the side on a needs basis.

‘Freeze-frame’ the action using role models to highlight skill and tactical coaching points

It’s notworking!

If it’s not working, have an alternative

Try conducting the same activity in smaller groups

Is the activity too easy/hard?

Group Management

Engage the participant through:Voice and Expression

Eye Contact

Signal for Attention

Asking Questions

Praise and Compliments

Quality Instructions

Notice Board

Formations and Routines

Safety is the main consideration for group formationsUse markersEstablish routines for warm ups and cool downs, as well as ‘set up’ and ‘put away’

GroupingsPlace individuals in groups of similar abilityAssign responsible individuals to help the younger or less able players during training Participants can work at different levels within the same program.

Give all participants :Equal opportunity to participate in practice and gamesFeedback, rewards, and leadership opportunitiesA consistent coach attitude.

Self-ManagementDiscuss the effects of poor individual behaviourShow the connection between behaviour and consequencesAcknowledge players who go out of their way to assist othersRotate or share responsibility for captainingEncourage participants to contribute to organisation and planning

Managing BehaviourHelp participants establish team rules with consequences for breaking the rulesFocus on the behaviour, not the individual. Do not publicly insult or embarrass someoneAvoid punishing a group for an individual’s poor behaviourBe firm, fair and consistent Avoid using punishments such as running lapsUse rewards, praise and acknowledgement to reinforce desired behavioursEnsure programs are fun, with variety and high rates of activity.

Sports Psychology

Goal settingA technique to effectively guide

achievement of skills and performance objectives

Help in planning and monitoring the development of skills and abilities.

Focus attention on relevant activities for progress towards desired results

Mental Imagery

•To see success. Many athletes "see" themselves achieving their goals on a regular basis, both performing skills at a high level and seeing the desired performance outcomes •To motivate. Before or during training sessions, calling up images of your goals for that session, or of a past or future competition or competitor can serve a motivational purpose. It can vividly remind you of your objective, which can result in increased intensity in training. •To perfect skills. Mental imagery is often used to facilitate the learning and refinement of skills or skill sequences. The best athletes "see" and "feel" themselves performing perfect skills, programs, routines, or plays on a very regular basis.

Mental Imagery

•To familiarise. Mental imagery can be effectively used to familiarize yourself with all kinds of things, such as a competition site, a race course, a complex play pattern or routine, a pre-competition plan, an event focus plan, a media interview plan, a refocusing plan, or the strategy you plan to follow

•To set the stage for performance. Mental imagery is often an integral part of the pre-competition plan, which helps set the mental stage for a good performance. Athletes do a complete mental run through of the key elements of their performance. This helps draw out their desired pre-competition feelings and focus. It also helps keep negative thoughts from interfering with a positive pre-game focus.

•To refocus. Mental imagery can be useful in helping you to re focus when the need arises. For example, if a warm-up is feeling sluggish, imagery of a previous best performance or previous best event focus can help get things back on track. You can also use imagery as a means of refocusing within the event, by imagining what you should focus on and feeling that focus.

Goal setting

Long-term goalsProvide a blue-print for a season or

certain phases of development eg. Winning a premiership

Short-term goalsDescribe the steps to get to a long-term

goal eg. Increased endurance for the next game

Mental Imagery

The "Quick Set" RoutinePsychologist Jeff Simons developed a routine that would allow an athlete to achieve an appropriate mental arousal in the last 30 seconds before a competition. The "Quick Set" routine, which involves physical, emotional and focus cues, can also be used as a means of refocusing quickly following a distraction.

An example of this routine for a sprinter could be:•Close your eyes, clear your mind and maintain deep rhythmical breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth (physical cue) •Imagine a previous race win, see yourself crossing the line in first place and recreate those emotional feelings of success (emotional cue) •Return your focus to the sprint start, think of blasting off on the 'B' of the bang with the appropriate limb action (focus cue)

Ryan Bailey’s Goals

SMARTER GOALS

SMART or SMARTER•S - goals must be Specific•M - training targets should be Measurable •A - goals should be Accepted •R - goals must be Realistic •T - training targets should be Time based •E - goals should be challenging and Exciting •R - goals should be Recorded

Sports psychology

Arousal and performanceBest illustrated by the inverted U

hypothesisFor optimal performance arousal

must not be too low, yet too highAthletes can develop coping skills

such as physical relaxation, positive thinking and refocusing to deal with pressure situations

Inverted U HypothesisRelationship Between Arousal and Performance

Inverted U HypothesisSport Specific Optimal Levels of Arousal

Individual DifferencesAthlete Specific Optimal Levels of Arousal

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