The Role of Sports Coaching in the Athlete Performance - Assignment Example

Sports Coaching In U.K., coaching can be paid activity or rewarding voluntary activity and is the one in which thousands of individuals take part every week. A 2009 publication of Sports Coach UK, named as “UK Coaching Workforce” stated that there were nearly 1.1 million coaches all over the country. A large number of these coaches were voluntary. The job is very challenging and coaches face numbers of challenges for instance, when a performance-focused coach has to work with participation-focused players. Teams are consisted of individuals with varying priorities. Some individuals in the team are participation-oriented while others are performance-focused. The biggest challenge is to balance the two extremes. This paper seeks to highlight the similarities and differences as well as characteristics of both types of coaches. Elite Performance Coach versus Participation Coach Coaches assigned such integral responsibility plays substantial role in the development of participants. However, if the motives of coaches are misaligned they can create more problems than they can solve. Lyle, (1999) mentioned the difference between performance coaches and participation coaches. Similarity between Participation Coach and Performance Coach Similar challenges exist for both types of coaches. The list of common responsibilities between participation coach and performance coach is mentioned below. Assessing and acknowledging the different between the two. Recognizing the environment within which they have to coach. Develop the right aim, skill-set, knowledge and approach for their coaching role. Monitor and control what is needed and acclimate an appropriate approach. Elite Performance Coach A large part of the sports in UK is based on participation coaches. Sports teams such as Soccer, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Netball, Hockey, or Cricket predominately have participatory/ recreational focused teams. Performance coaches review, analyze, adapt training to improve, build or change what they do to enhance consistently. Large number of teams, even the formal leagues, would not do anything different irrespective of whether they lose or win. John Lyle, (1999) states that performance coaching involves “particular preparation for the performance of sports.” To be more specific, the author stated that performance coaching is, “cognitive activity, with contributory elements of (skills-based) craft, which are related to interpersonal behavior, managing the training environment, managing the competition environment and specific sport expertise” (Lyle, 1999, p7). John Lyle, (1999) further defined coaching process as “the purposeful improvement of competition sports performance, achieved through a planned program of preparation and competition” (Lyle, 1999). Participation Coach In today’s environment, individuals want to participate safely, to enjoy sports, and to be competitive. The reason for taking part is likely to stay healthy, socially active and for enjoyment purpose instead of ‘winning’. Rather than focusing on winning, participation coaches focus that players enjoy the sport and stay competitive. Coaches ensure that players participating in the sport have sufficient skills require enjoying competition in a safe and effective manner. Participation coach creates an environment where the players would like to keep coming back. Participation coaches are not measured by the ratio of wins or losses, titles or promotions, rather than by level of enjoyment participants experiencing and retention rates. They do not over-pressurize the players for demonstrating good performance. They coach for social and health interventions programs. They offer relaxed session and do not solely focus on skills, practices, and drills. The common areas where participation coaches render heir services include community centers, local outdoor parks, village halls, leisure centers, sports club, and schools (Cote, 2006). Comparing Performance Coaching and Participation Coaching There are number of similarities found between the two types of coaching. For coaches, technical expertise and other occupational requirements are critical. The personal traits of coaches must compliment their occupational qualities. The similarities than can be found between the two types of coaches are: Personal A large number of individuals can be taught how to coach. The effort and time taken to learn the technical skills of coaching may vary and almost everyone can enhance their coaching skills to a certain extent. However, their personal traits decide whether the participant can relate to them. Therefore, the most adequate place to commence is by evaluating the personal traits that an individual needs to possess as the basis irrespective of what level of coach they are(Lyle, and Cross, 1999). Open-Mindedness Innovation and research is continually changing the processes coaches must implement and carry out. Some variations are forced upon while others are advised for example, attending a child safety workshop, using different tools to practice etc. These variations are implemented to enhance and improve the performance, safety, and enjoyment level of an individual while playing. Consequently, a coach has to be open minded to alter their approach. Sometimes, they need to alter their own beliefs in order to adapt to changes. They must not dismiss an improved or new concept because they have been used to their concept for the past 10 years. Being open-minded requires both, criticism and advice from all those who are around them in order to ensure up-to-date practices (Lyle, and Cross, 1999). Good Communicator The biggest ability required for both types of coaches is the ability to converse own instructions and ideas to their players. They must not only communicate clearly while on ground or pitch but must also be able to converse with them off the ground. Along with conversing, both of types of coaches require the ability of listening to other since communication is a two-way traffic. Non-verbal communication is also equally necessary for coaches. Maintain body language that reflects the message the coach is trying to convey is essential trait of a coach. Equality and Fairness There are number of forms, through which discrimination might arise, it is essential that coach adopt such attitude and approach that demonstrate equality and fairness towards all players, especially when working with impressionable and young participants. Discrimination might arise in the form of sexist, obvious racist, ageist, and homophobic. Discriminatory comments and jokes must be banned and no one should be articulated by players or coaches (Lyle, and Cross, 1999). Characteristics of Participation Coach There is no one characteristic that all participation coach. The list comprise of number of characteristics that participation coach possess. Participation coaches: View coaching as two-way exchange of learning and energies. Possess high emotional intelligence Wide vision with emphasis on important details Intuitive, perceptive, inquiring, and curious Innovative learner, creative, developer of coaching methodologies Exquisite self-awareness Open, humble, and nurturing View coaching as an art, a discipline, a calling Demonstrate crisp, nuanced, superb communication Sincerely desire and interest to help clients Characteristics of Elite Performance Coach As defined by the name itself, Elite Performance Coach focuses on performance of the team as a whole. The following are the characteristics of Performance Coach. Performance coaches: Advise the participants ahead of time regarding issues to be discussed Mentions the actions need to be taken Summarizes integral elements of coaching session Schedule follow-up meetings and meetings to measure results Observe the feedback of others Measure the performance Evaluate performance not only when unsuccessful but also when successful Discuss alternative possible solutions Focus on every aspect of participants performance (Cole, n.d.) Trends in Sports Participation A current study resulted in a mixture of bad and good news related to trends in sports participation. It revealed that participation in team sports is at peak at the age of 11. Basketball stands as the most popular game and participation of girls in sports has never been so better. However, frequent participation by girls and boys in sports team is decreasing. A closer look reveals a variety of problems. The most alarming sign is the statistics that more than 70% of participants leave sports programs during their way to high school (Burgess, 2002). A more recent study investigated that participation of American youngsters in organized team sports and exercise. The findings revealed that 72% were participating during the last 12 months, 12% drooped out, and 15% of the students never participated in sports. Perhaps, factors such as race, gender, and location substantially affected their sport participation. This is not only the case in America. Another study revealed the statistics of declining participation among UK youth (Burgess, 2002). Burgess, (2002) states that it is anticipated that sport participation in England by 2026 will most likely to fall by almost a million. The study was spurred by a recent call of ‘British Heart Foundation’ to address the inactivity levels among children and adults. It is making the UK a society of couch potato. The data revealed that same trends are being followed for adults as they did from 1990 to 1996 and for youth from 1994 to 1999 (Burgess, 2002). Coaching Models and Framework It is very unlikely that all governing bodies have the same approach and same view towards coaching. Some governing bodies are more informed than others, and take a more positive, open, and inclusive approach, while other will be elitist, negative, exclusive, and closed. In sports, governing bodies, through specific structures and systems, provide sports coaching to participants in order to prepare for international and national competitions. Within these systems, two integral elements that are linked with performance coaching include “Talent Identification” And “Talent Development.” Current research outlines the complexities in identifying, developing, and selecting the talented sports performance for next generation. The question arises whether the performance coaching be limited to GB official program only (McCloskey, 1999). It is believed that luck plays a huge role in selection of elite performance. Yet, there are some strategies through which, new talent can be identified and selected. It is necessary to radically enhance the training, objectivity, and knowledge of selection systems. Along with that, the net of performance coaching must be spread wider to accumulate the higher number of long-term real talent (McCloskey, 1999). Conclusion Coaches play a diverse and critical role in the development of athletes. The influence of coach is understood better, when view with the model of coaching that involves behavioral and ambient component. Due to the intricate interaction of these elements of coaching, the environment for learning of effective coaches needs to be continually adapted and revisited. There are very limited number of studies related to coaching development, it can be proposed that competence arises when inception of experiences related to coaching are obtained. Informal and formal education, consisting of experience as a coach as well as an athlete, may contribute and prove to be additive to the spur of threshold. By focusing and highlighting the similarities and differences between performance coaches and participation coaches, this paper has contributed to valuable comprehensions to the sources of coaching knowledge. However, more data related to context and activities that direct to successful recreational, coaching, elite, and developmental level is required. Works Cited Burgess, Rob. 2002. New research: participation declining. UK Sport. [online] 14 February. Available at: < http://www.uksport.gov.uk/news/837> [Accessed 14 November 2013] Cole, Bill. The Top 15 Characteristics of Excellent Coaches. [online] [Accessed 14 November 2013] Cote, Jean. 2006. The Development of Coaching Knowledge. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 1(3), p. 216-222. Frost, Jefrey. N.d. Characteristics Contributing to the Success of a Sports Coach. The Sport Journal. [online] Available at: http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/characteristics-contributing-success-sports-coach [Accessed 14 November 2013] High performance coaching. N.d. Mind Tools. [online]. Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2013] Coaches Colleague. N.d. Roles, Responsibilities and Characteristics of a Coach. [online]. Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2013] Sport Coach UK. N.d. What are the ideal characteristics of a coach working with adult recreational participants? [online] Available at: < http://sportscoachuk.org/blog/what-are-ideal-characteristics-coach-working-adult-recreational-participants> [Accessed 14 November 2013] Participation Coaching Curriculum A Guide for Governing Bodies of Sport. N.d. [online] Available at: http://www.sportscoachuk.org/sites/default/files/Participation-in-Coaching-Curriculum.pdf [Accessed 14 November 2013] Lyle, john, and Cross, Neville., 1999. Coaching Process: Principles and Practice for Sport. Chicago: Butterworth-Heinemann. McCloskey, M. J. 1999. Successful sports coaching: Guidelines for adults in children’s recreational activities. Childhood Education, 75(5), 308–310. Performance Management [online] Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2013] Woods, B. n.d. A closer look at some trends in youth sport participation. Available at: [Accessed 14 November 2013] Read More