CHAPTER TWO
Philosophy of Coaching
1
Philosophy is simply the way you see
situations and experiences in your life.
It is the way you view people and develop
relationships with them.
Nothing is as practical as a well developed
philosophy of life and of coaching.
This philosophy determines every
thought, every action and every decision
you make.
Cont.
2
No matter who you are, from where you
come or how you come to be in coaching
you bring ideas, opinions and attitudes
from a lifetime of personal experience.
Without a well defined coaching
philosophy it is difficult to be a
successful and effective coach.
Developing a Coaching Philosophy
3
The key to developing a coaching
philosophy is knowledge; Knowledge of
yourself and knowledge of what you
want to achieve, your objectives.
A. Knowledge of Yourself – Knowing Who
You Are
Why do you coach or
What do you want to coach?
What do you value most in coaching?
Are you, proud of how you act as a
coach?
Cont.
4
B. Knowledge of Objectives - Knowing What
You Want to Achieve
If you ask coaches what they want out of
coaching the answers usually include:
Winning
Fun
Athlete Development
You may think that all three are important,
but which is most important?
Cont.
5
An athlete’s development is affected by the
importance placed on winning or losing.
Striving to win is always important.
A ‘win at all costs’ attitude, however, ignores
the development of the athlete.
Many successful and experienced coaches
argues that an emphasis on the development
of the athlete is more likely to produce better
performance, greater consistency and more
satisfaction for the athlete and coach than an
over emphasis on winning.
Cont.
6
Competition then becomes merely a challenging
and satisfying way of measuring personal
development.
This philosophy has been expressed many times
as:
“Athletes First, Winning Second”
1.3 Philosophy and Coaching Styles - Becoming
a Better Leader
Most coaches, who were athletes, tend to coach
in the style that they were coached themselves.
This is sometimes effective.
Cont.
7
To become a better coach you should
look carefully at the coaching or
leadership style you use most of the
time.
A good leadership style comes from your
coaching philosophy and your
personality and allows you to
communicate more effectively with your
athletes.
In simple terms we can identify three
distinct leadership styles, authoritarian,
8
Cont.
9
The authoritarian and casual styles are
extremes and unlikely to be successful
methods of coaching.
The cooperative leadership style gives
guidance and structure but also allows
the athlete to develop physically,
psychologically and socially.
This style is more in line with the
philosophy of “athletes first, winning
second”.
Sometimes the coach will need to move
Cont.
10
This could be in a disciplinary situation
or when safety is of primary importance,
as in coaching the throwing events.
Good coaches will be able to modify
their style according to the athletes and
their situation.
The coaching style that is recommended
for most situations is the cooperative
style.
Autocratic Style - (do as I say),
11
Autocratic Style – Telling
When using the Telling style the coach:
decides on what is to be done
defines what to do and how to do it
Cont..
12
Autocratic Style - Telling
When using the Selling style the coach:
decides on what is to be done
explains what is required and the objectives
ask the athlete questions to confirm understanding
defines what to do and how to do it
Cont.
13
•Democratic Style - Sharing
When using the Sharing style the coach:
outlines the training requirements to the athletes
invites ideas/suggestions from the athletes
makes the decision based on the athletes‘ suggestions
defines what to do and how to do it
Cont.
14
•Democratic Style - Allowing
The coach outlines the training requirements to the athletes
The coach defines the training conditions
The athletes brainstorm to explore possible solutions
The athletes make the decision
The athletes define what to do and how to do it
Woods Coaching Styles
15
•B. Woods (1998) identified 4 styles of coaching:
Command style - direct instruction, coach dictates
Reciprocal style - athlete takes some responsibility for
their own development - monitored by the coach
Problem solving style - athlete solves problems set by
the coach
Guided discovery - athlete has freedom to explore
various options