What is Coaching? Workshop 1

What is Coaching? It is about growing and guiding your athletes and in doing so growing yourself listening to your athletes, understanding their needs and then working with them to help them succeed in their sport leading others.

Coach Foundation Stones Through the Coach Foundation Stones activity you will have an opportunity to think about coaching, to define it and to examine your own strengths and areas for development.

NZ Coach Approach ‘Is a philosophy to unleash the potential of New Zealand athletes by a style of coaching that promotes learning through ownership, awareness and responsibility’.

What will we see from a coach approach Learners who learn, coaches helping the process. The focus on the ‘how’ not the ‘what’ in coaching. Coaching is delivered through quality conversations using effective questions with no pre-determined answers. Above all else we have moved from ‘coaching sport’ to ‘coaching people’. Each individual takes ownership of his/her own performance through enhanced self-awareness.

NZ Coach Approach Continuum Coach-centred Autocratic Instructional Command style Coach has the knowledge Athlete-centred Empowering Participative style Athlete has knowledge Questioning based NZ Coach Approach Continuum

Constructing your coach toolkit There are different styles of coaching, from autocratic or command, to the more empowerment styles. Your coach toolkit is built from your values, style, qualities, skills and abilities.

Coach qualities The qualities of effective coaches are really the qualities of people who work effectively with people. The key qualities are interpersonal ones, people skills.

Coach qualities and skills Personal values Self-discipline Respect Vision Communication Coping skills Ability to set goals Motivation High standards Leadership Ethic of hard work People management Teaching skills Interpersonal skills Psychological skills Organisation Self-knowledge Ability to read people Preparation Understanding of the sport Encouragement Willingness to learn

Some of the skills of coaching Planning Organising Safety awareness Building rapport Providing instruction and explanation Demonstrating Observing Analysing Questioning Providing feedback Building a team culture

Key qualities of successful coaches Knowledge of the sport Caring Ability to motivate Leadership

Coach roles The role of the sports coach is to create the right conditions for learning to happen to teach skills to motivate for better performance.

Coaches may play several roles Role model behaving in a values-based manner which can be mentored by others Teacher passing on knowledge, teaching new skills Trainer improving players’ fitness and performance Motivator providing positive reinforcement Manager organising practice, planning for competitions Mediator providing advice, settling disputes Friend providing empathy and support Leader providing a philosophy and vision for your players Disciplinarian being firm but fair Challenger asking questions, stretching athletes through challenge

“Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” Heywood Broun, Writer

Coach philosophy Your philosophy is your set of values and beliefs. It is really reflecting on why you are doing what you are doing. “Your athletes are much more likely to become what you are than what you want them to be” (Martens, 2004, p.8)

Developing a coaching philosophy includes developing greater self-awareness to get to know yourself better deciding what your objectives are in coaching. Your objectives will shape many of your behaviours as a coach believing in something - the basis of a coaching philosophy.

Questions to develop a coaching philosophy What do you want to accomplish? What do your athletes want to accomplish? What are the priorities for all of us? What are your responsibilities? What methods will you use to achieve your goals?

Questions to develop a coaching philosophy (continued) How will you define success? How will practices and games be organised? What are the team ground rules? What are the commitments and consequences? How will you develop a team or group philosophy and set of values? (Adapted from NZ Coach Development Framework, 2007)

What are Values? “Values are standards or principles that guide your actions and beliefs” (Lee & King, 2000)

Values are contributed to life experiences and reflected in our behaviour our core values which guide our actions the core of character.

Values and behaviours Values guide our personal behaviour and the way in which we interact with our families and within our environment. Values assist us to distinguish right from wrong and provide meaning in the way we conduct our lives.

Values and behaviours Values sit at the base and make up the foundation of who we are. Values are our beliefs, the things we hold important and the things we will not give up on when the going gets tough.

Some examples of personal values Honesty Integrity Approachability Caring Courage Creativity Independence Ethics Morality Reliability Dedication Punctuality

Some examples of team values Loyalty Conscientiousness Competitiveness Fairness Inclusion Winning mentality Collaboration Equality Understanding others Listening

Some examples of cultural values Bi-cultural understanding Regionalties Family/whanau Understanding of diversity Faith Tradition Respect for the environment