Coaching for Sports Performance

Timothy Baghurst

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780367221164
• eBook ISBN: 9781000024289
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Education Counseling
• Index: Biological Sciences

Coaching for Sports Performance provides a practical overview of the many disciplines necessary to be an effective coach. Using experts from across the sports science fields, this book teaches readers the core concepts in a practical, easy to understand style, separated into four sections.

Part I explains the fundamentals of effective coaching including the development of coaching philosophies, best practices for coaching effectively, how athletic technique matures, and what coaches can and cannot do in specific health-related situations. Part II provides practical ways to improve athletic performance where readers learn the fundamentals of biomechanics and how to use technology to analyze performance, the physiological functions and adaptations to exercise, how the body can be physically trained and properly fueled, and mental strategies to optimize athletic outcomes. Part III introduces the business side of coaching, the important responsibilities involved in sport management, and practical methods for marketing as well as working with the media. Last, Part IV offers specific strategies for coaching across age and skill levels.

Chapters are split into youth and high school, collegiate, and professional athletes, and the nuances of coaching each level are explained. Being called "Coach" is an honor, but with this title comes the responsibility of being professional, knowledgeable, and effective.

Coaching for Sports Performance provides the platform for becoming a successful coach and assisting athletes in achieving their potential. Coaching for Sports Performance provides a practical overview of the many disciplines necessary to be an effective coach.

PART I

FUNDAMENTALS OF COACHING

INTRODUCTION

Coaching: So Much More than X’s and O’s

Coaching is an increasingly popular field, and more and more coaches are earning fulltime employment across a variety of sports and activities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017), growth in coaching from 2016 to 2026 is expected to increase by 13%. In fact, in 2016 there were 276,100 coaches/scouts in the United States, which excludes the many coaches nationwide that work part-time.

Many coaches lack the proper training to consider themselves qualified to do their job. If a dentist, teacher, or electrician must go to school to train, for example, then why not coaches also? Unfortunately, there are not many coaching education programs within the United States, but if you are reading this, chances are you are enrolled in one. That is a good start!

The roles and responsibilities of a coach are numerous. Although many would assume that coaching revolves around the x’s and o’s of a performance, the majority of a coach’s job occurs away from competition. The Society of Health and Physical Educators America (SHAPE America, 2018) recently released an updated edition of the standards a coach is expected to uphold, for which I was delighted to serve as a contributor (Table 0.1). There are 42 standards across seven domains, and if anyone thinks that coaching is easy and just requires passing out some equipment and good things will happen, they are sorely mistaken!

Table 0.1 The National Standards for Sport Coaches (SHAPE America)

Domain 1: Set Vision, Goals, and Standards for Sport Program
Standard 1:	Develop and enact an athlete-centered coaching philosophy.
Standard 2:	Use the American Development Model with the intent to develop athletic potential, enhance physical literacy, and encourage lifelong physical activity.
Standard 3:	Create a unified vision that corresponds to strategic planning and goal-setting principles and in alignment with the appropriate stage(s) of a long-term athlete development model.
Standard 4:	Align program with national, regional, and local policies and/or needs of the community and individual athletes.
Standard 5:	Manage program resources in a responsible manner.
Domain 2: Engage in and Support Ethical Practices
Standard 6:	Abide by the code of conduct within their coaching context.
Standard 7:	Model, teach, and reinforce ethical behavior with program participants.
Standard 8:	Develop an ethical decision-making process based on ethical standards.
Domain 3: Build Relationships
Standard 9:	Acquire and utilize interpersonal and communication skills.
Standard 10:	Develop competencies to work with a diverse group of individuals.
Standard 11:	Demonstrate professionalism and leadership with all stakeholders.
Domain 4: Safe Sport Environment
Standard 12:	Create a respectful and safe environment which is free from harassment and abuse.
Standard 13:	Collaborate with program directors to fulfill all legal responsibilities and risk management procedures associated with coaching.
Standard 14:	Identify and mitigate physical, psychological, and sociocultural conditions that predispose athletes to injuries.
Standard 15:	Monitor environmental conditions and modify participation as needed to ensure the health and safety of participants.
Standard 16:	Reduce potential injuries by instituting safe and proper training principles and procedures.
Standard 17:	Develop awareness of common injuries in sport and provide immediate and appropriate care within scope of practice.
Standard 18:	Support the decisions of sports medicine professionals to help athletes have a healthy return to participation following an injury.
Standard 19:	Model and encourage nutritional practices that ensure the health and safety of athletes.
Standard 20:	Provide accurate information about drugs and supplements to athletes and advocate for drug-free sport participation.
Domain 5: Create a Positive and Inclusive Sport Environment
Standard 21:	Implement a positive and enjoyable sport climate based on best practices for psychosocial and motivational principles to maximize athlete and team well-being and performance.
Standard 22:	Build inclusive practices into the program for all groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender/gender identity/gender expression, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, nationality, etc.) which are aligned with current legal and ethical guidelines.
Standard 23:	Understand the importance of including athletes with disabilities in meaningful participation in established sport programs and consider options for athletes who cannot participate in traditional sport opportunities.
Domain 6: Conduct Practices and Prepare for Competition
Subdomain: Plan
Standard 24:	Create seasonal and/or annual plans that incorporate developmentally appropriate progressions for instructing sport-specific skills based on best practices in motor development, biomechanics, and motor learning.
Standard 25:	Design appropriate progressions for improving sport-specific physiological systems throughout all phases of the sport season using essential principles of exercise physiology and nutritional knowledge.
Standard 26:	Plan practices to incorporate appropriate competition strategies, tactics, and scouting information.
Standard 27:	Incorporate mental skills into practice and competition to enhance performance and athlete well-being.
Standard 28:	Create intentional strategies to develop life skills and promote their transfer to other life domains.
Standard 29:	Understand components of effective contest management.
Subdomain: Teach
Standard 30:	Know the skills, elements of skill combinations and techniques, competition strategies and tactics, and the rules associated with the sport being coached.
Standard 31:	Develop and utilize pedagogical strategies in daily practices.
Standard 32:	Craft daily practice plans based on sound teaching and learning principles to promote athlete development and optimize competitive performance.
Standard 33:	Use appropriate motivational techniques to enhance performance and athlete engagement during practices and competitions.
Subdomain: Assess
Standard 34:	Implement appropriate strategies for evaluating athlete training, development, and performance.
Standard 35:	Engage athletes in a process of continuous self-assessment and reflection to foster responsibility for their own learning and development.
Subdomain: Adapt
Standard 36:	Adjust training and competition plans based on athlete needs and assessment practices.
Standard 37:	Use strategic decision-making skills to make adjustments, improvements, or change course throughout a competition.
Domain 7: Strive for Continuous Improvement
Standard 38:	Regularly engage in self-reflection or peer-reflection to deeply examine situations, generate potential solutions, and think through those solutions.
Standard 39:	Develop an evaluation strategy to monitor and improve staff and team performance.
Standard 40:	Improve coaching effectiveness by seeking to learn the latest information on coaching through various avenues of coach development.
Standard 41:	Engage in mentoring and communities of practice to promote a learning culture and continual improvement.
Standard 42:	Maintain work-life harmony and practice self-care to manage stress and burnout.

Adapted and reprinted with permission from SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators, 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191 (www.shapeamerica.org).

All domains are important, but which one is perhaps most important? Well, based on the number of components it could be argued that Domain 4: Safe Sport Environment (9 Standards) and Domain 6: Conduct Practices and Prepare for Competition (14 Standards) are quite important. Therefore, coaches must realize that the most important parts of their jobs revolve around actual coaching and doing so in a safe and supportive environment.

The International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE, 2013) also developed standards for the sports coach (Table 0.2). Although less detailed than those of SHAPE America’s, they again reinforce the many challenges and responsibilities of a coach.

Table 0.2 The ICCE’s primary functions of a coach

1. Set the vision and strategy

The coach creates a vision and a strategy based on the needs and stages of development of the athletes ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
• Acknowledgements
• PART I FUNDAMENTALS OF COACHING
• PART II COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE
• PART III THE BUSINESS OF COACHING
• PART IV COACHING ACROSS LEVELS
• Index