In every sport there is a coach and there is an athlete. The coach is someone who guides you and teaches you how to preform to the best of your ability. They are the person who helps motivate you to become better and achieve your goals. The athletes job is to preform. They must be willing to listen and learn so they can improve and succeed in whatever sport they are participating in. This is why the coach-athlete relationship is so important. The way to success is to trust, listen and respect each other. Below I will discuss the importance of philosophy, values, personalities and goals.
Philosophy of coaching
A philosophy is someone’s beliefs and values. Your values and beliefs are what make you, you. They are created from past experiences. A coach becomes a coach because they want to help the people who are passionate about their sport become successful. They want the athlete to be the best that they can be. There are advantages to a well thought out coaching philosophy, you can learn about yourself, learn how other respond to your style of coaching and you get to know your athletes on a more personal level. The values that you have will come through in your coaching and will determine if you will be a good or a bad coach.
The coaching philosophy is the coach’s attitude that acts as the guiding principal for the training and development of the athlete or team. (http://guernseysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Philosophy-Coach-Forum.pdf)
The importance of a coach-athlete relationship
The coach-athlete relationship is very important to get the best results out of the athlete and their chosen sport. The coach must possess many qualities that make him better able to relate to the individual. They must understand the best way to get the athlete motivated and preforming. Figure out what gets them going this changes from person to person so the quicker the coach figures it out the quicker these improvements can begin to happen. If the coach and the athlete have a bad relationship this will effect the coach and the athlete alike. Neither of them will be able to preform to the best of their ability.
Values in a coach athlete relationship
Trust
Trust is one of the most important things both the coach and athlete must have for each other. Without trust they will find it hard to make any progress. The athlete must trust the coach to make the best decisions for them personally and the team if they are apart of one. The coach must trust the athlete to do as he/she asks of them. The coach is more experienced than the athlete usually they are retired from the sport, this means that they have a better understanding of what needs to be done to get the best results. When the athlete fully trusts the coach they will respect the rules, strive for the goals set for them and listen to the coach’s methods without question. If the athlete does not trust the coach to do his job then they will not respond well to discipline, not reach the goals set for them and lose the motivation needed to succeed. One if the main goals for a coach is to have each player accept the role they have on the team and embrace it.
( https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu)
Respect
The saying give respect get respect is 100% true when It come to the coach-athlete relationship. if the athlete wants to improve and succeed the must be willing to listen and take on board the advice and criticism of their coaches. Being respectful is understanding that your coach might know better. But the coach must have respect for the athletes input also. They must listen to the athletes needs and sometimes work around their differences and make a compromise. The athlete will not improve and succeed without respect.
( https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/the-importance-of-a-strong-coach-athlete-relationship/ )
Communication
In any relationship communication is a massive factor of weather the relationship is a success or not. The coach-athlete relationship is no different, without communication there will be no progress made within the team or the individual athletes. The coach must be able to tell the athletes where they can improve, what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. But telling the athlete where they are going wrong is no good without the right attitude. The coach must motivate the athlete, encourage them to do better and make them want to try again even if they have failed the first time. Every athlete responds differently to certain communication, some might respond better to motivational speeches, some might respond better to one on one time and other might even respond better to motivational shouting. Coaches can pick a few forms of communication with there athletes these are democratic, autocratic and submissive.
Communication from the athlete’s point of view communication comes from them telling the coach if they are finding difficulty with something. The coach will not be able to help them improve if they do not seek help. They must also tell the coach when they are injured so that the coach can organize professional help so it does not effect their performance in the future.
(www.humankineticks.com/excerpts/excerpts/what-communication-means-for-a-coach )
Honesty
Being honest is another value that is very important in the coach athlete relationship. without honesty there will be no progress made. If the coach is too afraid to be honest with the athlete and tell them where they are going wrong, then that athlete will believe that they have nothing to improve on and this in turn will degrade their overall performance. The athlete must also not be afraid to tell the coach when they are doing something wrong they could be that they are not happy with the type of training they are running or the way they speak to the athletes. Honesty will help the athlete and coach grow and keep improving.
(https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/the-importance-of-a-strong-coach-athlete-relationship/ )
Personalities needed in the coach athlete relationship
The person’s personality is important in the coach-athlete relationship because you could have a personality clash or the coach could have a bad personality just as the athlete also could.
Confidence
Coaches and athletes need to be confident. This will help when speaking up in front of the team or team mates. The coach must be confident when making out drills and telling the athletes what to do. This will show authority and not let the athletes walk over you. The athlete must be able to speak up to let the coach know their feelings about the session and what they might need help with.
( https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-18/edtion-7/coach-athlete-partnership )
Observant
Coaches and athletes need to be observant. The coach needs to be able to observe what the person or people they are coaching are doing to tell them where they are going wrong or right. This allows for clearer communication and faster results and improvements. The athlete needs to be able to observe the drills and skills the coach is teaching them. The better that they are able to observe the quicker they can pick it up and improve on it. The coach must be able to notice when the athlete is finding something too difficult and then step in and help them.
(https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-18/edtion-7/coach-athlete-partnership )
Consistency
For both the coach and athlete consistency is a massive key factor in making it work. If the coach wants to change an athlete’s performance or attitude they must be constant in they message they are trying to get through to them. Athletes will respond better to consistency, they will develop a routine and know exactly what they are supposed to do. The athlete must be consistent when showing up for trainings. If they fail to do this they will not improve and the coach will not have as good of an relationship as they could have with them
( https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-18/edtion-7/coach-athlete-partnership )
Coach education program
The definition of a coach education system is “learning coaching skills provides teachers with the tools to help learners to find their own solutions to problems, take risks and to feel comfortable with challenge and change.” (https://www.learningcultures.org/coaching-in-education)
GAA coaching education program
Becoming a coach
To become a good coach in Gaelic football there is a coaching system in place which “produces and supports the development of coaches and players at all stages of development”( www.gaa.ie ). This program takes into consideration the age groups that you will be involved with which can be children up to 11 years, youths between the ages of 12-17 and adults ages 18 plus. Each group has a specific needs to cater for the different age groups.
The most important aim of the GAA Coach education program “is to ensure that all players and teams are coached by a person qualified to the appropriate level who can enable them to achieve their full potential.”( www.gaa.ie ) This promises to create the most successful and qualified coached to achieve the most out of the team that they are working with no matter the ages or skill. It allows the coaches to strive to improve their TTP (total playing performance)
There are many courses available to create the best coaches in the field. They are situated all over Ireland and all guarantee the best results at the end of the duration of the course.
Some of these courses are:
• CSN Colaiste Stiofain Naofa college of further education- GAA coaching and sports performance.
• Rebel og coaching- GAA foundation course
• Institute of technology Carlow- sports management and coaching-GAA
• Institute of technology Carlow- sports coaching and business management-GAA
These courses will help the person to peruse there coaching career and help them to become better at what they already have a passion for. There are always new courses popping up for both new and experienced coaches, this allows for the person to keep up to date with the specific drills and games that will help their team achieve the best results.
Progression
Coaching can progress to different stages. These stages can include coaching your own parish all the way up to coaching your county. Getting to county level is not easy and takes time commitment and dedication, just as a player has to put time and commitment into getting to play county.