The Role of a Coach
As a team coach you can influence your player's:
* performance level
* enjoyment of sport
* motivation
* moral and social values
A coach who is knowledgeable, patient and understanding will assist players
to improve their performance. Improvement in performance of the players must be
used to assess the relative value of a coach, but sometimes this is not the whole
story. Coaching often means more than improving a player's performance.
The Coach and Knowledge
Before a coach can begin, the first requirement is knowledge. To ensure planning,
proper organisation, skill analysis and effective feedback, a coach must know about
coaching. This usually comes from learning details either through books or practical
assistance from those who already have the necessary knowledge.
Once knowledge has been obtained, coaches must ensure that they use this knowledge
in the correct manner. Feedback to players in a simple and easily-understood language
will be far more beneficial than complex and detailed instructions.
The Coach and Patience
After the feedback stage, coaches must be patient. It is often forgotten that coaches
must be understanding and aware of player's needs, so that improvement will occur
within the limits of the player's abilities and desires. This aspect is usually the
cause of coaching failure. That is, the coach who tries to impart too much pressure
on average players usually expecting too much in a short time, will take away much
of the pleasure from training or playing.
The Coach and Fun
Coaches should remember that sport is meant to be fun. For most of us sport provides
a form of satisfaction through participation.
The Coach as a Motivator
Coaches of individual performers must be aware of the driving reasons behind the
participant's involvement. Players usually become attached to a sport for one or
more of the following reasons:
Achievement - the desire for improvement
Affiliation - the desire for friendly associations
Sensation - the desire for the stimulating effect
Self-direction - the desire to control one's direction.
As a good motivator, the coach chooses the line between the physical and emotional
needs of the athlete. For team coaches this problem becomes more difficult because
of the varying needs of each of the members in the team.
Coaches must always try to channel both the physical and emotional forces in the
same, desired direction. Some ways in which a coach can assist players to achieve
their needs are:
* The setting of realistic goals
* Identification and praising of individual improvements
* Avoid the mis-matching of players
* Encourage and assist with team outings
* Ensure variety
* Allow players to make individual and group decisions
The Coach and Social Attitudes
Because the coach may have lasting and important influences on players, both in
their social and moral attitudes, effective coaches ensure appropriate team
standards are set and met in on-field and off-field behaviour. Sport in itself will
do much to mould and adjust the character of participants however, a positive and
sportsman-like approach by the coach will usually provide long-term benefits to
the individuals.
Any coach who supports winning at all costs and who offers cheating and often-witnessed
aggressive attitudes as alternatives to "good sports", shows little respect for society
in general and little thought for the character development of players.
Coaches should provide situations where players experience the attitudes expected in
our society. Good sportsmanship and friendly, competitive associations will enhance
performance.
The Coach and The Image
One aspect of coaching which is often overlooked by coaches is the effect the coach
has on individuals concerning:
Politeness
* Dress standards
* Verbal abuse and swearing
* General mis-behaviour
An effective coach should always set the example for the players, particularly for
younger children. Coaches should never try to improve performance through intimidation
or aggressive remarks.
Coaching Assets
Once you have the knowledge of the game, and general coaching methods, the coach must
use these in the practical art of improving performance. Without knowledge, nothing
can be provided to the players. Once a coach has the knowledge, the important thing
is to allow one's natural personality to over-ride the way in which the messages
are passed to the players.
Knowledge can be learnt and lost. It can be re-learned and amended. However, our
personality has been developed over many years and will take just as many to change.
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