Reader,
I have been having discussions recently with colleagues who work in coach development around not only the value of formal coach education, but the importance of support for coaches within their club.
I am fortunate to have a role with a club in New Zealand as Head of Coaching, which is dedicated to providing support to staff, but this is not something every club has.
Whilst we have formal processes in place for delivering workshops at the club, as well as formal observations and feedback, and coach development plans, I believe the most impactful are informal coach conversations.
Whether this is pitch side before or after sessions, on the phone or over coffee, it has struck me that the real impact in supporting coaches is sharing experiences, listening actively, raising awareness and supporting coaches to reflect on their practice.
So what can coaches who don’t have access to this kind of support do to help themselves?
Three Things to Consider
- Get a mentor. All coaches benefit from a mentor or sounding board. Someone to test ideas and share challenges with. If you don’t have a mentor, I would highly recommend getting proactive to find one. I have been lucky to have some really good mentors over the years in the form of coach educators or coaching colleagues who have helped raise my awareness around gaps, strengths or opportunities in my coaching.
- Reflect with colleagues. I try to encourage staff to reflect with their co-coach at the end of the session for a few minutes. If this approach doesn’t work, you could reflect in your own way, writing thoughts down, considering what went well or what could be improved.
- Stay curious. The best coaches are constant learners. We all have to stay open-minded and curious, whether it’s watching sessions, speaking to coaches, or actively networking with coaches who are more experienced, we can learn from watching, discussing and connecting with people both in coaching or other disciplines that can add value to how we deliver on the grass.
One thing to try this week
Ensure you actively reflect after your next session. Don’t just pack up, leave and move on.
Whether it’s with a colleague or even someone at home, find a way to be active in reflecting on your practice. This could be across a variety of areas, like coaching interventions, communication, planning and delivery, technical or tactical detail or even your relationships with players in the group.
One Critical Resource on the Topic
Check out this Masterclass Discussion with Bristol City U18 coach, Trevor Challis, which focuses on the importance of mentors in coaching.
