A Good Sports Coach
Roles, Responsibilities and Skills
Roles
Educator – a coach will need to understand how people learn by observing sessions. This will mean that a coach will be able to assess the participants skill levels and then base what they will be teaching the participants around this. Therefore the coaches session will be more of a success. If the coach educates them well then it means that they will learn more about the sport and would be more likely to play better in the lessons. An example of an educator in sport could be a teacher in a school. This would be due to the fact that they would be teaching the students the core skills needed. An example of this in football would be passing and receiving, this could keep them interested in sport if it is taught well and they enjoy it. An effective coach would be able to do this because they could develop a range of coaching to cater for a variety of learners.
Manager – a coach will have to prepare equipment, pick teams and arrange fixtures. If a coach is able to be a good manager then the participants will be able to have a better time if they have all the correct equipment and can play fixtures regularly. If a coach is a good manager they will be able to motivate their team and they would be more likely to have fun playing the sport. An example of this in sport would be Alex Ferguson, who was one of the most respected managers in football and led Manchester United to many successful titles. This shows that he was a good manager due to the fact that his tactics worked and he won games and players wanted to play for him.
Friend – as a friend the participants should be able to relate to the coach and also be able to share experiences. The coach will also be able to get to know their personality, this will help the coach because then the coach can get closer to the participants and this would mean they would open up more and enjoy the sport more. If the coach is a friend then they will be more likely to discuss problems with the coach and advance in the sport. A friend could be someone such as a coach in tennis, but instead of just teaching them the core skills for tennis, they also get to know the participants on a personal level because it is an individual sport. This would mean that they would be more confident in the sport that they are playing and could perform better because of the friendship between the participant and coach.
Trainer – a coach would have to have a good knowledge of fitness principles as this will mean that if the coach uses the correct principles, the participants will be less likely to be injured and therefore would be able to play the sport for longer and they would get the most out of the selected sport. if the coach was not a good trainer then it would mean that the participants would not enjoy the sport because of the coaches teaching and they could be put off from sport in the future. A trainer in the sport of basketball, would be someone who has an advanced level of knowledge and therefore can progress the team past the core skills and onto the more competitive part of the game. Also, they would be able to design a programme appropriate for athletes needs. They would be able to consider age, ability and experience.
Responsibilities
Duty of care - a good coach would ensure that the participants would not receive any neglect from the coach, the fans or the other players. The coach would make sure that the participants are looked after at all times, whereas a bad coach may not be as thorough, and the participants may come under harm. They could also come up against emotional abuse, such as in football if the parents on the side are saying abuse a participant could be put off from the game. A good coach would ensure this wouldn't happen by controlling the crowd. They would have to protect the participants generally, so they don't come under any harm or any abuse, which would lead to legal action, or it could also lead to the participant leaving the sport because they are unhappy and therefore a good coach would ensure nothing bad happens to the participants.
Insurance - Coaches should have appropriate insurance that covers both public liability and personal accidents. This would mean that if an accident occurred then the coach would not be personally responsible. If a coach did not have any insurance then it would mean that if an accident did occur and the coach doesn't have insurance then the coach is responsible and it would mean that legal action could be taken against them and therefore might have their right to coach taken away. An example of this could be if a player was seriously injured, then if they weren't insured, it would be the coaches fault. Another example would be that they have to be licensed to be able to transport the participants, and therefore it would be illegal for them to transport the participants, and all of this would show how a good coach would need insurance.
Professional conduct - Coaches should have professional conduct at all times because kids look up to them as role models, and therefore if the coach behaves badly, then it will mean that the kids might see this behavior as acceptable and therefore could start to behave like this also. An example of this would be during a football match, and if the coach begins to shout at the officials, then it might lead to the participants also beginning to question decisions made by the officials and therefore, this would mean they would be more likely to get booked or sent off for shouting at the referee and this would mean that they wouldn't enjoy the sport as much. On the other hand, if a coach respects the referees decisions, then it would mean that the participants would do the same and therefore this would be better for the players and also the referee who has volunteered to ref the match.
Skills
Time management - a good coach would need good time management, due to the fact that if they don't, then it will mean that the participants will have less time to do the sport due to the fact that the coach could be late to the lessons, and the participants wouldn't have much time to train and also it would mean that the coach may be taking out the equipment during the lesson, instead of getting the equipment out before the lesson. If they did this then it would mean that they would have all of the lesson to do the sport whereas if they didn't the students would have to wait for the equipment to be set up and therefore because they would be stood around waiting, they could become uninterested in the sport, and therefore may be put off for life. Also a coach would need to be good at juggling coaching with employment and family.
Analysing - a coach would have to have good analysis skills, to see who should play where and when. For example, if a player is not sure where they want to play, a good coach will observe them in training, and whatever the best part of their game is, for example attack or defense, they will try them out in that position in a game. Whereas a bad coach might just put them in a spot in the team which is free because they want to fill up gaps, this might lead to the player not playing well, and therefore might become discouraged and might stop playing the game. A good coach would also have to see who is playing well and cant have any favorites, a bad coach however may play someone who they prefer all the time, instead of rotating the squad so everyone gets a game and the other person who also plays in that position wont get a game and then they could get bored and leave the sport.