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Unit 6. Assignment 1. Have you got what it takes to become a sport and fitness coach.
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Unit 6. Assignment 1. Have you got what it takes to become a sport and fitness coach?Introduction:
As a coach, I have 6 years' experience of coaching national amateur youth kickboxing and taekwondo
teams. To further progress my abilities as a coach and be able to help more people achieve their
sporting dreams and goals, I would now like to take my coaching to a new level by becoming a
professional coach. Below I have produced a report backed by research which includes the role of a
professional sports coach to portray my understanding of the key roles of a coach and the methods and
equipment that a coach can use to develop the performers in the team.
This report will cover the key components involved in performance and development of athletes.
Additionally, this report will focus on why each component is important and necessary to be included in
enhancing performance and development of athletes. The key components that will be included within
this report are the skills, knowledge, qualities, professional responsibilities, methods, technology and
supporting staff that are all involved in performance and development.
Skills:
For sport and fitness coaches to be successful in the development of performance within their athletes,
they must possess and demonstrate these following skills that I will describe in detail to portray each
skills’ importance for a successful coach.
Organisation:
To enable sports coach to be a successful, they need to ensure that they are organised. These following
aspects are crucial for ensuring that a sports coach is organised: planning, timekeeping, delegation,
managing staff & equipment, and administration.
If a sport and fitness coach want to be successful, he or she must be well-organised. Organisations
allows coaches to determine the coaching session's goal and objective, plan to satisfy the needs of the
participants, arrange for any equipment or facilities that may be required, and determine the outcome
achievements. Athletes are kept engaged and motivated by coaches’ presence of organisation. Athletes
and/or coaches without organisation may lose motivation or lose sight of their dreams and goal, making
development incredibly difficult (Ohio University, 2019). Not only do regular structured routines help to
nurture growth, but they also allow coaches to keep track of athlete development in detail. Athletes can
keep focused by setting attainable daily, individual, and external goals. Coaches, whether they are aware
of it or not, are using their own method of motivation and inspiration when visible progress can be
validated to their athletes through data. A key and crucial benefit of keeping sports teams organised is
that it helps to keep athletes together and reduces competitive nervousness. Athletes who treat game
,play as though it were another day of training are better able to handle difficult conditions. Coaches who
are organised can have a massive impact on their athletes as this ability of reducing stress and
nervousness through organisation is useful in dealing with outside life problems, such as remaining cool
at an interview or minimising tension in a stressful environment.
Planning:
Planning is an important part of a sport and fitness coach's growth because it fosters deep thinking,
raises expectations for both the coach and the athletes, and gives a framework for careful review after
the delivery of each training session (Abraham & Collins, 2011). Coaches can make training sessions
more enjoyable and beneficial for participants by planning sessions ahead of time. They can also make
the most of the time provided. With practise, the coach will be able to swiftly consider the session goals,
identify activities, and choose the necessary equipment for each training session. The productivity and
satisfaction of training sessions can be enhanced by careful session planning. Effective planning ensures
that the coach has all the necessary resources when they are needed, that the environment is safe, that
participation is maximised and that the time available is effectively used, that challenging activities are
provided that allow for progressive skill development in all participants, and that all participants,
regardless of ability, are included (AusCycling, n.d.).
An example of a way for coaches to develop plans for future training sessions can be done using Kolb’s
experimental learning theory. Kolb's experiential learning theory works based on two key components: a
four-stage learning cycle and four distinct learning styles (McLeod, 2017). The first stage of Kolb’s
experimental learning cycle is concrete experiences; this is where a new experience or scenario is
encountered, or an existing experience is reinterpreted. For a coach, this would be the training session
itself. The next stage of Kolb’s experimental learning cycle is the reflective observation of the new
experience. This stage would be where a coach would look to see if there are any contradictions
between their own experience of the training session and the coach’s understanding of how they
expected the session to pan out. The third stage of Kolb’s experimental learning cycle is the abstract
conceptualisation. Abstract conceptualisation gives a coach a new notion or a change of an old abstract
concept that emerges from reflection of their training session they delivered. This is where coaches will
plan their next training session with the necessary amendments to improve future training sessions. By
following these stages, coaches can ensure that they can make their training sessions tailored to each
athlete’s needs to maximise enhancements athletic development. The final stage of Kolb’s experimental
learning cycle is active experimentation. This is where a coach would see if their amendments made
during their session plan was worked to improve the quality of their training sessions (Kolb, 1984).
Depending on available time, successful sport and fitness coaches will repeat this process after each
training session, training week or at least each training month to look at where improvements could be
made to optimise development of athletes.
, (McLeod, 2017)
It is important for coaches to apply Kolb’s experimental learning cycle for developing athletic
performance as effective learning occurs when a person goes through the cycle of four stages: 1.
experiencing a concrete experience, 2. observing and reflecting on that experience, and 3. forming
abstract concepts (analysis) and generalisations (conclusions) that are then applied to future
experiences and 4. utilised to test a hypothesis in future training sessions, resulting in new experiences
(McLeod, 2017).
Timekeeping:
One of the most crucial aspects of coaching is time management and effective time management. Elite
instructors are known for their punctuality. A successful programme relies on being on time, every time,
and having contingencies in place for variables. Coaches can teach time by having a comprehensive
practise plan and sticking to it during practise. Time each drill, keep a running scoreboard, and make
sure everyone in the coaching staff realises that we are always on time. Practice time is always at a
premium for coaches. As a result, time management and keeping on goal during each session are critical
for effective teaching and development. It is always possible to spend too much time on a drill or notion.
The capacity to move on to the next task is critical to ensure that you cover the vast range of abilities
and concepts that athletes require. This does not imply skipping steps, but time management will allow
you to continue to improve in each practise while also making you more effective and succinct in your
instruction (Basketball Australia, 2019).
Delegation:
Delegation is important to sport and fitness coaches because it gives athletes responsibilities that enable
them to make decisions for themselves which is a vital skill to have as athletes may have to rely on their
own decisions in situations where coaching instructions would simply be too time consuming. By
coaches giving responsibilities to their athletes like allowing them to decide on when they train each
, day, codes of conduct, electing their captain through a vote etc, will enable athletes to develop
leadership qualities, and feel far more empowered to make big decisions during event scenarios (Syed,
2016). Delegation is also crucial because it encourages athletes to accept responsibility for their actions
rather than making excuses or blaming the coach when things go wrong. Additionally, when you
delegate responsibility to your athletes, you are implying that they are capable of moderate team
leadership, which shows your athletes that you trust them. The more each athlete in your squad
comprehends the big picture of their sport, the better the results will be (Nykänen, 2017). As a coach,
your primary obligation is to make your athletes feel important and empower them to make decisions.
Delegative leadership is a great approach to get your athletes to learn in a positive way. Your athletes
will learn more as a group if you share and delegate more.
Another crucial reason it is important for successful sport and fitness coaches to delegate is because it
will show your athletes that you, similarly to your athletes, do not know everything which will enable
you as a coach to gain more respect from your athletes. Showing vulnerability in not knowing everything
makes your athletes more likely to respect you because it makes you more relatable to your athletes.
Delegation is linked to expressing your vulnerability and admitting you do not know everything. This is
because delegation will allow you to obtain information on topics from people who are more
knowledgeable about the subject than you, complete more work in less time, and bring in a variety of
viewpoints that challenge your own. This is not to say that your athletes are superior to you, but every
individual is unique, and their own qualities combined can bring teams to their highest level of
performance. Gaining the confidence to ask your athletes for their input on a regular basis might help
you create trust with them rather than them questioning your credibility as a coach (Mallory, 2020).
Delegation allows for success to be achieved in ways that were unknown to coaches due to each athlete
having their own way of overcoming challenges. This will not only make you a better coach, but it will
give your athletes the skills to become better future coaches as they will embrace your teachings of
finding diverse ways to achieve success within their athletes (Green, 2018).
On a final note, it is important that coaches do not delegate too much responsibility to their athletes
because your athletes need to feel that you as the coach is aware of what they do, and that you are still
in control of your athletes’ success. Coaches need to keep track of how well their athletes are making
decisions. Once you have established the different responsibilities of each athlete, you can make a
variety of subtle tweaks to ensure success: if your athlete lacks the necessary expertise to achieve
success, share your knowledge with them and coach them; if they are tired and not thinking optimally,
move some of their decision-making duty onto your shoulders (Nykänen, 2017).
Managing equipment:
Management of equipment is important because as it will ensure that your athletes will have proper
equipment to train with, which is essential for optimising development of performance. Management of
equipment will also ensure that the equipment itself is in suitable enough condition to be used without
posing any risks to your athletes who use it. The use of equipment should only help to benefit athletes’
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