Coach Development Tools

What is Coach Development?
Coach Development is the process that coaches undertake in order to develop and improve their coaching knowledge, skills, qualities and experience.  This is often the difference between being a beginner coach and a good coach, a good coach and a high quality coaching.
In order to develop as a coach we need to first address what training and support we need to improve. This can be achieved through a Training Needs Analysis.

What is Training Needs Analysis?
As coaches we are always encouraging our players to try new and more challenging training practices and regimes in order to develop and improve their performance.   But have you ever stopped to wonder what training and support you may need, as a coach, to develop your coaching skills and improve your coaching performance?

A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) helps you reflect on where you currently are with your coaching and establish where you want to be in the future (12 months+). The main focus of the Training Needs Analysis is to identify what training, support and guidance you need in order to achieve your coaching goals.

This information can then be recorded in a Personal Development Plan so as to help monitor progress.

What is a Personal Development Plan?
As coaches every year we set our performers goals in order to help them to improve.  In many cases this information is recorded in the form of a yearly plan for the performer.  In turn this is broken down into smaller chunks with challenging yet achievable targets, which encourage success and motivate them towards to larger goal.

A Personal Development Plan is very similar. It will allow all the information from the Training Needs Analysis to be recorded in to a Long Term Plan for your coach development.

Why do I need to do a Personal Development Plan?
As coaches we always look to develop our athletes and help them plan for the future, but we rarely consider our own development.

Consider if we where to improve ourselves as coaches this will not only improve our coaching but the athletes we coach.

How do I undertake a Training Needs Analysis and create my own Personal Development Plan?
First of all we need to establish where we are in our coaching and then where we want to be in the future and we can start this process by undertaking a Performance Profile of our coaching.

Performance Profiling
Performance profiling offers a way of understanding how we rate the qualities necessary to achieve status of a high quality coach and how we currently feel about our own performance in relation to the ideal. The information from this profile can then be used to help us identify areas of training and support required. From this information we can create a Personal Development Plan (PDP) to help the coach improve on those areas perceived as relatively weak.

How to Performance Profile your coaching

Coaching Profile Step 1

1. Think of as many qualities you perceive are essential for a top coach in your sport. Then select and define your top 20 qualities. (A list of suggestions can be found in – Profile of High Quality Coach).
2. Write the 20 selected qualities on the rim of the provided Profile Wheel (An example is displayed with the Performance Profile Wheel).
3. Now use the Definition Chart to clarify what is meant by each quality to stop confusion at a later date.

Coach Profile Step 2

Once you have completed the first exercise use the same profile to do the following:

1. Rate yourself on each quality and mark the rating on the profile, using a 0-10 scale (0= not at all, 10 = very much. Remember to be honest as this will help you chart the areas of desired improvement.
2. Using the same scale, rate how you would ideally like to be in 12 months.
3. Prioritise – identify the qualities you would most like to improve.

Coach Profile Step 3

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What surprised you about the completed profile?
2. Which qualities best define you as a coach?
3. Identify three qualities for potential change?
4. Identify qualities on which you might resist change?

Action Plan for Change

Use the identified areas of improvement to help you plan for your future coach Development.

Use the Coach ‘Personal Development Plan’ to answer the following questions:

1. What are your three main coaching Goals for the next twelve months?
2. List the current, Knowledge, qualities, skills and experience you feel you have that will help you achieve your goals?
3. Now think of what additional Knowledge, qualities and skills you feel you require to meet your goals?
4. How to you think you will acquire these?
5. What support do you feel you need to achieve this?
6. Give your self a deadline date to achieve your planned development.
7. How will you measure your success?
8. Consider any potential Barriers and how you will overcome them.

What happens next?
Once you have completed both your Performance Profile and Personal Development Plan you can either use them for your own purpose or you can contact us for further support at the following details:

Sam Abrey
Coaching Consultant (South East)
sports coach UK
email: SAbrey@sportscoachuk.org
Mob: 07814 516864

or

CJ Lee
Coaching Development Officer
Sport Hampshire & IOW
Email: cj.lee@hants.gov.uk
Tel: 01962 847523

The information from your Personal Development Plan will, will your permission, be recorded on our files in order for us to organise the appropriate courses based on needs of the local coaches.

A member of the Sport Hampshire & IOW team will feedback, support and advise on your completed Personal Development Plan.

This will deliver to .