This assignment will describe and explain roles and responsibilities of sports coaches in different sports as well as skills that are commonly found in successful sports coaches and how these compare and contrast from each other to make a good successful sports coach. The definition of a sports coach is “someone who assists the learning and development of another person or team of people in order to improve their performance in a sport, and who supports the personal development of individuals using sport as a vehicle for change and development”.
Sports coaches are very important to the success of a number of programmes across a wide variety of sports. They are directly linked to the performer’s participation and development. The roles of a coach could include being a manger to a club, being a role model to a performer, a trainer to a team or performer and an innovator to be able to come up with game plans. ROLES OF A COACH Innovator A sports coach has to be a good innovator to have the ability to think through tough problems using his experience and knowledge form his sport to make new ideas and form new approaches. Innovators must try to make training fun and fresh as well as it being effective.
A coach must be brave enough to try new tactics or training regimes in order to get different results in order to be a good innovator. An example of an innovator working would be to introduce a new playing strategy within a hockey team involving all the players being attackers and defenders when appropriate, this is an example of an innovator being tactical and trying to improve the team using different tactics.
Manager A sports coach has to have a managerial influence as it can be related to many things such as team selections, they must select a team that can perform to the best, and who have high morale. A manger is in charge of coaching sessions and the skills they go through and what they have to improve on. A manager has to create training programmes to keeps the players/performers fit. It is also important for the manager to introduce new players and get them ready to play with a new team. An example of this would be an injured player joining a new club, it is up to the manager to put this player through a training programme to help him regain fitness and slowly get him into the team again.
Trainer The coach often has to have the skills of a physical fitness trainer or skills trainer. Coaches must give accurate instructions on training programmes based on scientific criteria. A coach will also have to train other coaches sometimes, this is very important as coaches need to learn the roles of a coach and their training needs to be relevant to the needs of the performers. As a trainer the coach must also make sure the performer can meet the physical and psychological demands of their sport. An example of a coach being a trainer is the coach having an assistant coach, the assistant coach will be learning from the coach at all times to learn new skills and responsibilities as a coach.
Role Model Coaches are usually big role models to the performers especially if the performer is young, as the coach will be their source of inspiration. Younger performers often want to be like their role model therefore the coach has to be a good role model and set a good example. A coach acting as a role model can influence a performer’s development in a number of ways such as: socially, players will learn to play fair, learn to be able to cooperate with in a team therefore having good teamwork.
Personally, life skills can be learnt from a role model such as better self esteem and mannered. Psychologically, role models can help create an environment that helps relax the performer as well as getting control over the performer’s emotions. Health, they can design sessions to include a good amount of physical exercise, good health and good health habits can be made. An example of a coach being a role model would be setting a positive attitude in training so the performers give their best and also having a well behaved social life so the performers think this is the way they should act.
RESPONSIBILTIES OF A COACH Coaches are responsible for teaching the fundamentals of their chosen sport. They coach is meant to guide the athletes as individuals as well as set an example of behaviour for the team to follow. All sports may have different rules; there are fundamentals that all coaches must know. All coaches are expected to abide by the rules of their sport and make sure that the athletes do the same. In all sports there are also unwritten rules such as sportsmanship and ethics, coaches are also expected to enforce these throughout their team. The ethical standards are things such as fair play, the integrity of the team as well as the individual performers. Some of the responsibilities of a coach are: Coaching, Professional conduct, legal obligations and equal opportunities.
Coaching responsibilities The coach’s responsibilities as a coach are to deliver an appropriate session to aid in development. To make the sessions enjoyable as well as rewarding to the performers, a coach has to be able to motivate the performers. They must provide opportunities and set SMART goals to give the performers a reachable goal, Such as training to beat a personal best time in a race.
Health and safety/Legal responsibilities A coach must be able to provide a safe environment to carry out the sport and also know how to use all equipment and facilities needed in a safe manner. A coach must always be aware of emergency procedures in case of a fire or injury. Carrying out risk assessments is an important job for a coach to know if a facility is a safe and suitable environment to train in. Creating an environment free of harassment and bullying is important to stop arguments and build cooperation within a team. They must be able to create a safe environment to by comply with the sport rules to reduce the risk of injury and then be able to deal with injury in a safe manner if it does occur.
Professional Conduct A coach must demonstrate appropriate personal and professional behaviour and conduct. A coach must be licensed and insured to coach the sport and people he is coaching. They must work in accordance to the law and relevant legislation.
Equal Opportunities Discrimination can come in many forms. It is essential that as a coach the approach and attitudes adopted are fair and equal towards all of the participants, especially if working with young and impressionable players. Discrimination can be in the form of the obvious racist, sexist, homophobic and ageist but there are overlooked ones such as ability and background. Better players may adopt an ego and expect preferential treatment over the rest of their team mates; this should not be allowed to happen. The same rules and discipline should be the same for every individual. Amount of game time allowed to each player is also a form of discrimination, if a player is left out every week because they are not as good as the rest or only receive a few minutes this is unfair on them, even greater importance if the player is still young