CHAPTER THREE
DEVELOPING THE SKILLS OF COACHING
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Cont.
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The process of coaching can be simply stated as
a process of planning what you are going to do,
doing what you have planned to do and then
reviewing what you have done.
This ‘Plan-Do-Review’ process of coaching is
cyclical, repeated over and over, and involves
the skills of planning, doing and reviewing.
Many coaches enjoy the ‘doing’ part of coaching
most but all three areas combine to provide the
coach and athlete with the best possible
environment for progress and development.
Cont.
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3.1 The Basic Skills of Coaching
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When a coach first begins to work with
athletes he tends to be initially focused
on developing his competence in the
‘doing’ of his coaching.
There are five basic skills of coaching
that all coaches should use as a
foundation for their work with athletes.
Cont.
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1. Building and Developing Relationships –
the Primary Skill of Coaching
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It does not matter how much knowledge a coach has,
what qualifications they hold or what other skills of
coaching they possess – if a coach cannot build and
develop effective relationships with athletes, he cannot be
an effective coach.
It is important that each coach sees and recognizes the
unique needs of each individual athlete in front of them.
If the coach has a focus on the knowledge, the ‘what’ of
athletics, they may miss identifying the needs of the
athlete.
That is why the effective coach uses their knowledge to
meet the needs of each individual.
They really do, “coach the athlete rather than ‘coach
athletics’”.
Cont.
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2. Providing Instruction and Explanation –
The ‘Telling’ Skill of Coaching
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Coaches need effective communication
skills.
They need to be able to both give and
receive information.
Coaches need to do this with not just
with athletes but with their parents,
partners, other coaches, officials,
administrators and all the other people
who are involved in athletics.
coaches should never forget that good
communication is always a two-way
Cont.
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Coaches use ‘Instruction and Explanation’ to
organize athletes or to convey information,
such as about the session to follow.
In providing effective instruction and
explanation you should always start by
planning in advance what you are going to say.
Try to plan what you are going to say using
language that the athletes will understand
easily.
Before you start speaking, gain attention.
Athletes must be ready to listen to you before
you start to speak.
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There are a number of ways of gaining attention
such as a whistle, a raised hand or simply being
silent as you look at all the athletes.
Try to eliminate any thing which will interfere or
distract the listeners.
To maintain this attention with a group; make
sure that they are placed so that all can hear
and see what is happening.
Face learners away from the sun and other
visual distractions so that concentration is
directed at you, the coach.
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Keep what you are saying to a minimum and
express the content in simple, jargon-free,
language.
Be sure that you are sensitive to the needs of
differing cultures, genders and abilities.
The final key point is always remember to
check for understanding.
Do not simply ask the athletes if they
understand for most will inevitably say, “yes”
Check for understanding by asking questions
and have them tell you what they are going to
do.
Cont.
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3. Providing Demonstrations –
The ‘Showing’ Skill of Coaching
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Demonstrations can be a way of providing
a visual picture of a technique or a drill.
It does not mean that every coach should
be able to demonstrate everything in
athletics themselves.
Before using a demonstration it is
important to decide:
The purpose of the demonstration
What type of demonstration you will
use
Who should provide the demonstration
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Demonstrations can be used for a number
of purposes: -
1) They may be used to introduce a new
skill and show the whole skill.
2) They may act as a ‘cue’ or remember for
an already learned skill.
3) They may be used to provide a simplified
model of a skill or be used simply to
motivate or inspire.
4) They may also be used to
illustrate/emphasis a particular point.
Types of Demonstration
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Demonstrations can be live, provided on
video or by still pictures/photographs.
All provide a visual image and each has
advantages and disadvantages:
1. A live demonstration : -
Can be quickly organized,
can be viewed from different angles and
can be adapted readily to the needs of
the group. For example, just one part of
the action can be repeated for emphasis.
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Demonstration is very important tool for helping
novices in the first stage of learning to gain a
picture of what is required.
Also, young athletes who are learning a new
movement tend to very good at imitating the
movement.
This demonstration must be both:
A. Accurate – provides a correct image, one that
provides an accurate demonstration of the
technical model
B. Appropriate – to the level of the athlete, one
that provides an image that is possible for the
learner to copy.
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2. Video demonstration: -
With a video, you know exactly what image you
are going to show but a live demonstration
cannot be guaranteed in this way.
It can also provide a more accurate image that
can be replicated over and over again without
fatigue.
It can also be viewed in slow motion or ‘frozen’
to analyze a specific movement or position.
However, it takes time to organize and is not
always easy to have available where it is
needed.
Cont.
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3. A still picture or photograph: -
It may be of limited value because it
provides only a snap shot of the action.
However, when used as a sequence of
‘stills’ they can be used as a quick and
easy reminder of key positions.
Generally, If you decide to use a live
demonstration, you need to consider
who demonstrates, and can provide an
accurate image.
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If you can confidently and competently
demonstrate the action accurately in
accordance with the technical model,
you may choose to demonstrate it
yourself.
Alternatively, you can choose to use an
athlete.
The athlete may come from within the
group or, more usually, from outside the
group using a more experienced athlete.
Cont.
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A coach may use an athlete to A coach may provide a
provide demonstration demonstration
A summary of the advantages and
disadvantages of demonstration methods:
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Cont.
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You have carefully decided the purpose and
type of demonstration and have begun the
coaching session; you will need to position
the athletes so that all can see and hear the
demonstration.
Inexperienced coaches tend to provide the
demonstration too close to the athletes.
Experienced coaches usually provide the
demonstration at least 15 meters or more
from the athletes.
The next step is to focus the athlete’s
attention on one or two key technical points.
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Demonstrations should be repeated at least 2-3times
from several directions.
This permits the athletes to see different things and the
coach should identify the one or two key points for each
direction so that the athletes are focusing their attention
on these points.
If possible, the demonstrator should move to provide the
‘several directions’.
If this is not possible due to equipment, such as in the
hurdles, or safety, such as in the throws, then athletes
should move to different viewing positions.
After having several demonstrations, the coach should
ask the athletes a simple questions like, “Would you
Cont.
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4. Observe and Analyze – the
‘Seeing’ Skill of Coaching
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Even the beginner coach can begin to
observe and analyze basic principles
like;
was the athlete’s movement from
slow to fast,
was it from low to high,
which part of the body started moving
first?
Focusing on a phase or body part can
assist observations, whether a coach is
novice or experienced.
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The technical model for the event can guide
your observations by identifying the phases
and also the motion of the body parts through
the action.
Technical models may include details on:
How you might break down the action to
improve your observation
The biomechanical principles that permit the
athlete to develop optimum force
Specific coaching points and tips on what to
observe.
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For example, in biomechanics you may learn
simple information on the ‘Law of Reaction’,
Newton’s Third Law of Motion ;
The need to drive back forcefully against the
starting blocks in order to maximize the
speed forwards out of the blocks.
Similarly, in projectile motion and the
importance of the speed and angle of
release;
you can focus your attention on this as the
implement is released in any throwing
event.
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Too often coaches focus their analysis only on
‘faults’ and ‘fault correction’, rather than
identifying and building on what is correct.
If the inexperienced coach only focuses on
what is incorrect, the athletes often lose what
they were doing correctly and become
increasingly frustrated as they fail to
progress.
By focusing on what is correct, the coach
builds a solid movement foundation and
additionally builds confidence and increases
motivation in the athlete.
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Having made your analysis and identified what is correct
and what is incorrect, stop to decide what to do next.
You may choose to either:
Provide a demonstration emphasizing the point you
want the athlete to work on next, such as, “Watch this
demonstration and note what my arms are doing.”
Provide feedback
Do nothing at present, perhaps ask to see it some
more times, “Let me see it again.”
What you decide to do will be based on your coaching
experience meeting the needs of the athlete, taking into
account their energy levels, motivation, concentration,
confidence and skill.
Cont.
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5. Providing Feedback – the
‘Teaching’ Skill of Coaching
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There are two main sources of feedback
available to the athlete and these are:
1. Intrinsic feedback: - is Naturally available
feedback within the athlete as a result of
making a movement.
2. Extrinsic feedback: - is provided by some
external source such as coaches, athletes,
spectators, or watching a video replay.
Both types of feedback are important and their
relative importance depends partially on the
stage of learning of the athlete.
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For example, at the initial stage of learning
the athlete does not have a clear idea of
what the movement should look and feel like.
The skill of providing feedback, if done well,
will provide the type of extrinsic feedback
which also helps to develop the athlete’s
intrinsic feedback like;
Creating athlete’s awareness of what is
happening through questioning can be
very useful, even for a complete novice in
the first stage of learning.
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As the athlete progresses into the
second stage of learning, however, they
have a clear picture in their mind and
also a feel for the movement.
Coaches can encourage the use of
intrinsic feedback for all athletes through
careful questioning like;
“what were you aware of at take-off?”
“Tell me what you saw when you were
doing that sprint drill?” “What did you
feel at release in those last three
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Be positive to build each athlete’s confidence.
For example, it might be better to say,
“Try to really explode and extend your leg
and ankle off the take-off board”, rather than,
“Don’t be so rigid at take-off.”
When some coaches hear that they should,
“Keep it positive”, they feel to say “Well done”,
“Good effort”, “Excellent!” whether the athlete
has actually done something well or not.
But “Keep it positive” refers to the climate of
practice that you create, not praising poor
performance.
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Experienced coaches frequently sandwich
criticisms between two positive statements,
creating a so-called ‘praise sandwich’.
For example, “You really put a lot of effort into
that last attempt”, a positive statement. Then,
“Your arms were very passive as you sprinted.
On the next attempts try to focus on your arm
action and driving just the upper arms
backwards, forcefully but relaxed”,
Finally, another positive statement “Keep this
effort up and you will continue to make good
progress in your sprinting.”
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Video can also be a
very powerful source
of extrinsic
feedback for athletes.
In training, it can
provide immediate
source of objective
feedback that can be
watched repeatedly,
as well as slowed
down for more
3.2 Communication
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2.2.1 The Skill of Communication – The
‘Foundation’ of the Basic Skills of Coaching
Communication is the two-way process
of exchanging information between the
athlete and coach, and assists
motivation, goal setting and all skills
learning.
Success in coaching depends to a large
extent on your ability to communicate
effectively in a variety of situations and
with people of all types and ages.
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Coaches need to do this with not just with
athletes but with their parents, partners, other
coaches, officials, administrators and all the
other people who are involved in athletics.
Most importantly, for coaches, the skill of
effective communication is essential as a
foundation for four of the five basic skills of
coaching. These are:
Build and develop relationships
Provide instruction and explanation
Provide demonstrations
Provide feedback
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The skill of ‘Observe and Analyze’ is
done ‘inside’ the coach and involves
receiving sight and hearing information
and analyzing this information.
But, since there is no ‘sending’ in this
coaching skill, the skill of communication
is not involved.
Communication is not simply talking and
listening. It also includes forms of non-
verbal communication such as facial
expressions, clothes and appearance
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How you say something includes the qualities
of speech such as volume, tone and tempo.
Choosing the correct speech pattern is one of
the ways to make communication more
effective.
Assessing How You Communicate
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Be honest and answer as you really do
communicate not how you would like to
communicate.
3.2.2 Developing Effective
Communication Skills
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The skill of communication is like any
skill and can be improved by the correct
practice.
Effective communication involves the
following skills:
Learning to use your voice
Developing non-verbal skills
Developing questioning skills
Developing listening skills
Developing and maintaining
A. Learning to Use Your Voice
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Altering the volume, tone and tempo of
your voice are ways in which speech
patterns can make communication more
effective.
Good coaches vary their voice patterns
to maintain interest in what they are
saying and to emphasize important
points.
B. Developing Non-Verbal Skills
It has been said that non-verbal
communication can convey over 70% of
C. Developing Questioning Skills
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In coaching, it can be used for a number of purposes
including:
Getting to know your athletes,
building and developing relationships.
To help you develop your questioning skills,
try to: use questions rather than telling to provide a
balance to your coaching
Think about the purpose of your question and
use open and closed questions appropriately
Plan and phrase your questions carefully,
keep them simple and avoid ‘why’ questions.
Really listen to answers, don’t assume anything, check
you have understood and then think before you speak.
D. Developing Listening Skills
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Listening is a key skill for an effective coach.
Listening skills can be developed by using the
following techniques:
1. Active listening: being attentive, make eye
contact, ensure posture, gesture and facial
expression, show interest that you are
listening.
2. Avoid interrupting
3. Agreeing: show understanding by repeating
4. Asking: questioning to clarify what they said
E. Developing and Maintaining
Credibility
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Athletes accept, respect and more likely communicate with
a coach who has credibility.
This credibility is developed in a number of ways:
Knowledge of athletics: have a confidence in what
you know about athletics and also the confidence to let
athletes know what you don’t know.
Talk only when necessary: don’t talk too much,
identify what is important and what is not.
Clothes and appearance: How you look will affect
people’s opinion of you, Athletes like to feel pride in
their coach if the coach appears professional in dress,
manner and preparation.
Behavior: coaches should be consistent with, and
follow the spirit of, the IAAF Code of Ethics for Coaches.