Chapter 1 introduces the concept of developing a coaching philosophy and describes how having a coaching philosophy helps a coach make difficult coaching decisions. This chapter covers the first major task associated with developing a coaching philosophy—increasing self-awareness.
1. Coaches need to understand the value of a coaching philosophy.
2. Coaches must know who they are and what kind of coach they want to be.
Chapter 2 continues the discussion about developing a coaching philosophy. When developing a coaching philosophy, a coach’s second major task involves two coaching decisions: identifying coaching objectives and selecting a coaching style. This chapter addresses the first decision—determining coaching objectives. The three major objectives of sport are introduced and are compared with society’s objectives for sport programs. The chapter also covers the role of winning as a coaching objective and the process of developing personal objectives for coaching.
1. Three major objectives are associated with sport—to win, to have fun, and to facilitate athlete development.
2. Coaches need to keep the role of winning in perspective.
3. Coaches should also consider their personal objectives.
Chapter 3 completes the discussion of developing a coaching philosophy by addressing the second coaching decision that must be made in this process—selecting a coaching style. Three coaching styles are compared in terms of the advantages and disadvantages to athletes. The chapter also includes a discussion on leadership in coaching, how to develop a team culture, and the qualities of successful coaches.
1. Most coaches use one of three common coaching styles (command style, submissive style, and cooperative style), and these styles have various effects on athletes.
2. Coaches need to understand the differences between leadership and management.
3. Certain leadership qualities are associated with successful coaching.
Chapter 4 discusses character education and the duty of coaches to use sport to build character. The difference between character and sportsmanship is addressed, along with coaching strategies that help coaches develop good character in athletes. Also included is a thorough discussion of bullying and hazing as well as coaching strategies that help prevent these undesirable behaviors.
1. Good character consists of knowing what’s right, desiring to do what’s right, and doing what’s right.
2. Sportsmanship is simply good character when participating in sport.
3. The essential elements of character building in sports can be summed up in the core principles of respect, responsibility, caring, honesty, fairness, and good citizenship.
4. Coaches have a duty to promote sportsmanship and foster good character by teaching, enforcing, advocating, and modeling the core principles.
5. Coaches can help develop good character by creating a moral team environment, setting rules for good behavior, and modeling moral behavior and ethical decision making.
6. Coaches need to have zero tolerance for bullying and hazing.
Chapter 5 discusses the issues that coaches encounter when dealing with diverse athletes. This chapter focuses on developmental characteristics associated with maturational differences, cultural differences, and gender differences. Some sensitive sexual issues are also addressed. In this chapter, students learn about dealing with the various physical and intellectual capabilities that coaches come across in athletes at all levels of the sport experience.
1. Coaching teens and adolescents requires an understanding of developmental characteristics during the three stages of adolescence (early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence).
2. Maturational differences are greater between the ages of 10 and 16 than at any other time in the human life span; therefore, coaches must be sure to take maturational differences into consideration.
3. Coaches must recognize the importance of cultural heritage by learning about the differences in the cultural heritage of their athletes and by coaching in light of these differences.
4. Gender differences remain relatively stable over the years, and gender inequality is the main issue regarding opportunities for girls and women to participate in sport.
5. Coaches must be aware of the numerous sexual issues (homosexuality and sexual orientation, sexual harassment, sexual relationships, and sexual abuse) that exist in society and therefore appear in sport.
6. Coaches have a legal responsibility to make reasonable accommodations to help athletes with physical and intellectual differences.
Chapter 6 discusses the importance of effective communication for coaches. Many coaches are unsuccessful not because they lack knowledge of their sport but because they have poor communication skills. This chapter focuses on verbal and nonverbal communication, common communication styles, and the evaluation of communication skills. Information is also provided on how coaches can improve their listening skills and their communication skills with athletes.
1. The way a coach communicates with athletes directly affects how the athletes perceive the coach and how they feel about themselves.
2. A cooperative style of communication shows respect for athletes and others by being straightforward, positive, and confident—and it encourages others to do the same.
3. Eight major communication problems are common to the coaching profession.
4. Over 70 percent of all communication is nonverbal; gestures, body positions, facial expressions, and actions are more important than what is said.
5. Using social media effectively is an important aspect of coaching today.
6. Coaches can continually improve their communication skills.
Chapter 7 discusses the importance of motivating athletes and identifies what does and does not motivate them. Although motivation is a complex topic, successful coaches have learned that the key to motivating athletes is to identify their needs and help them meet those needs. This chapter also focuses on enhancing motivation through goal setting and by helping athletes reduce unwanted anxiety.
1. Coaches should help athletes meet the two most important needs of athletes—to have fun and to feel worthy.
2. Coaches should help athletes feel worthy by making them feel competent and successful.
3. Coaches can help reduce an athlete’s fear of failure.
4. Athlete motivation can be enhanced through goal setting, which helps the athletes focus on achieving their own personal goals rather than on winning.
5. Athlete motivation can be enhanced by reducing anxiety and stress.
Chapter 8 discusses the importance of managing and guiding athlete behavior—not only to correct misbehavior but also to help athletes learn essential life skills. Emphasis is placed on using a positive discipline approach and the reasons why this type of approach is more effective than using negative discipline. This chapter also covers the six building blocks of preventive discipline and provides guidelines for corrective discipline.
1. Positive discipline allows coaches to instruct, train, and correct athletes so that athletes develop self-control.
2. Coaches need to determine which athlete behaviors to recognize and whether to reward the behavior with tangible, people-related, or activity-related rewards.
3. Rewards should match the magnitude of the behavior exhibited (small rewards for less significant behaviors and larger rewards for more significant behaviors).
4. Catching and rewarding athletes doing good (rather than disciplining misbehavior) places more of an emphasis on appropriate behavior and develops a positive rapport between athletes and coaches.
Chapter 9 discusses the traditional approach versus the games approach to coaching. Emphasis is placed on using the games approach, which involves learning the sport through gamelike practice activities that create realistic and enjoyable learning situations. This chapter also focuses on technical and tactical skills and how to implement the games approach.
1. Techniques, or technical skills, are the specific procedures used to move one’s body to perform the task that needs to be accomplished.
2. Tactics, or tactical skills, are the decisions and actions of the players to gain an advantage over the opposing team or opponents.
3. The traditional approach to coaching emphasizes playing the game only after practicing the basic technical and tactical skills.
4. The games approach to coaching emphasizes learning the game through gamelike practice activities that create realistic and enjoyable learning situations.
Chapter 10 discusses how athletes learn technical skills. Emphasis is placed on the three stages of learning technical skills, the changing role of the coach as athletes progress through the three stages, and the four steps for teaching technical skills effectively. This chapter also focuses on how athletes learn by developing motor programs, and it covers some principles for conducting more effective practices.
1. Learners pass through a continuum of three stages as they learn technical skills.
2. Each stage requires different instructional strategies on the part of the coach.
3. During the mental stage, a coach needs to be sure not to overteach because it is easy to overload the athlete with feedback.
4. During the practice stage, a coach can provide more feedback and should offer positive reinforcement when the learner performs correctly.
5. During the automatic stage, a coach can shift to strategic and tactical feedback because the learner can perform the skill.
6. The four basic steps of teaching technical skills are as follows: introduce the technical skill, demonstrate and explain the technical skill, have the athletes practice the technical skill, and correct errors.
Chapter 11 discusses how athletes learn tactics and tactical skills. Emphasis is placed on reading the situation, having the knowledge to make good tactical decisions, and understanding the factors that influence tactical decision making. This chapter also focuses on how to teach tactical skills.
1. To improve tactical skills, athletes need to have the ability to read the situation, the knowledge to make good tactical decisions, and an understanding of the factors that influence tactical decision making.
2. Good coaching focuses on helping athletes improve in all three tactical areas.
3. Athletes can improve their ability to read the situation by improving their attention and concentration.
4. Athletes can learn to make better tactical decisions when they understand specific knowledge about the game.
5. Athletes can learn to make better tactical decisions when they understand the factors that influence tactical decision making.
6. The most effective way to help athletes learn to make good tactical decisions is to have them play practice games designed for this purpose (the games approach).
Chapter 12 discusses how to develop instructional plans for both a season and a practice. Emphasis is placed on the need for coaches to take time to plan. Proper planning enables the coach to keep the athletes involved; to use appropriate skill progressions; to pace the learning and conditioning properly (so the athletes are not overloaded or overtrained); to make the best use of available time, space, and equipment; and to minimize discipline problems. This chapter also covers the six steps of instructional planning.
1. Having an instructional plan benefits coaches and athletes alike.
2. The development of an instructional plan should involve input from the athletes.
3. Appropriate skill progressions are important for both learning and safety.
4. To help athletes optimize skill acquisition, coaches need to properly pace the athletes’ learning of new technical and tactical skills.
5. Coaches need to properly pace athlete training and conditioning so that the athletes can physically adapt to workloads placed on them.
6. Coaches must learn to make the most of available time, space, and equipment in order to maximize the athletes’ experience.
7. Through appropriate planning, the coach can keep the athletes busy working, which leaves little time for disciplinary problems.
Chapter 13 discusses how the skeletal, muscular, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, and nervous systems all work together to make the human body capable of accomplishing marvelous feats. Emphasis is placed on energy fitness and muscular fitness. This chapter also focuses on the principles of physical training and the coach’s role in developing and conducting a physical training program.
1. Training leads to significant benefits, including better performance, less fatigue, quicker recovery, and less susceptibility to injury.
2. Performance in all sports—including golf, archery, and shooting sports—is improved with physical training.
3. Physical fitness is not a permanent condition, so athletes must continue to train in order to condition their body to improve performance.
4. Physical fitness consists of both energy fitness and muscular fitness.
5. Energy fitness refers to the ability of the body to supply the energy needed to meet the demands of the sport.
6. Energy is supplied by the aerobic and anaerobic systems.
7. Muscular fitness refers to the ability of muscles to meet the demands of the sport with optimal strength, endurance, power, speed, and flexibility.
8. Coaches must ensure that athletes complete physical fitness training so they are prepared to meet the physical demands of the sport.
Chapter 14 discusses the basic physiology of the body’s energy systems and how to determine the energy demands of a specific sport. Emphasis is placed on how to assess and monitor energy fitness and how to design an energy fitness training program.
1. Energy fitness is the ability of the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems to use the energy that the body has stored.
2. As energy fitness improves, the body is better able to convert stored carbohydrates and fat in order to generate energy more efficiently.
3. The ATP-PCr system works anaerobically (without oxygen) to provide immediate energy from ATP stored in the muscle cells.
4. The anaerobic glycolysis system also works anaerobically to provide energy (for one to three minutes) from carbohydrates stored as glycogen in the muscles and from blood glucose that is converted to ATP.
5. The aerobic energy system uses carbohydrates and fat, combined with oxygen, to provide more long-lasting fuel for the body.
6. Slow-twitch muscle fibers are used for endurance work, and they obtain their energy from the aerobic energy system.
7. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are used for power and speed work, and they obtain their energy from the anaerobic energy systems.
8. Analyzing the energy demands of each position within a sport allows the coach to design more specific training programs to improve each athlete’s performance.
Chapter 15 discusses muscular fitness, including how muscles work and the effect that training has on muscles. The chapter also covers how to assess muscular fitness and how to design a muscular fitness training program.
1. Muscles contract, thereby moving the bone connected to the muscle.
2. Muscles produce concentric, eccentric, and isometric actions.
3. Flexibility training increases range of motion, improves performance, and reduces the chance of injury.
4. Resistance training can be used to increase muscular strength, muscular endurance, muscular power, and speed.
5. Understanding the muscular demands of the sport helps a coach design a muscular training program for athletes.
Chapter 16 discusses how nutrients facilitate performance. Emphasis is placed on the role of carbohydrate, fat, and protein in nourishing the body. The chapter also covers the roles of nutritional supplements; dehydration and heat-related illnesses; weight maintenance, loss, and gain; what and when to eat before, during, and after competitions; and common eating disorders among athletes.
1. Nutritional fuel for performance comes from foods that contain carbohydrate, protein, and fat.
2. Vitamins and minerals are not direct sources of energy but are needed to derive energy from carbohydrate, protein, and fat.
3. Diets high in protein usually mean the body is low in carbohydrate and fat, which are necessary for producing energy. To compensate, the body burns off crucial tissue-building protein.
4. Water is an important nutrient used in muscle development and temperature control; athletes should aim to maintain consistent hydration levels while they are exercising.
5. Nutritional supplements can have beneficial effects but also have risks (creatine). Other than sport drinks, coaches should not provide nutritional supplements to athletes.
With regard to nutrition, the role of a coach is to educate the athletes about healthy eating and to model healthy eating habits.
Chapter 17 discusses basic information about drugs and how a coach can develop and enforce a drug-free participation policy. Emphasis is placed on providing preventive education about substance abuse, detecting signs of drug abuse, and knowing how to counsel and help athletes obtain professional help.
1. Coaches must take an antidrug stance and must establish and enforce an antidrug policy with their team.
2. Coaches should be positive role models against drug use and should provide athletes with information about performance-enhancing and illicit drugs.
3. Coaches need to know as much as they can about both performance-enhancing and illicit drugs in order to provide preventive education about all substance abuse.
4. Coaches need to know the warning signs of drug abuse.
5. Coaches must know their role when they suspect drug use and must realize their limitations in counseling athletes.
Chapter 18 discusses the basic coaching responsibilities involved with team management. Emphasis is placed on policy management, information management, personnel management, instructional management, event and contest management, logistics management, and financial management. Although every coach manages a team differently, all coaches need to understand and organize the myriad of details involved in managing a team. This chapter also includes numerous lists and questions to assist in organizing and developing all areas of coaching management.
1. Coaches need to understand the numerous management responsibilities they must undertake when coaching an athletic team.
2. Coaches must handle management responsibilities in these seven categories: policy management, information management, personnel management, instructional management, event and contest management, logistics management, and financial management.
3. Management tasks must be performed in the preseason, in-season, and postseason.
4. Coaches must also be able to manage their time effectively.
Chapter 19 discusses the importance of establishing positive relationships that enable the coach to be productive and successful. Emphasis is placed on four interpersonal skills: knowing and trusting, communicating effectively, accepting and supporting others, and resolving conflict. The chapter also covers the role of parents and how coaches and parents must work together in providing a positive experience for the athletes.
1. Coaches must develop positive relationships with all people who are involved directly or indirectly with the athletic environment.
2. To be successful in working with others, coaches must learn interpersonal skills.
3. Four interpersonal skills can aid coaches in becoming positive influences: knowing and trusting yourself and others, communicating effectively, accepting and supporting others, and resolving conflict.
4. Parents can be a source of conflict for coaches who choose to exclude them from involvement with the team.
5. The coach can help parents be positively involved by providing them with guidelines for parental roles and by explaining the expectations for parent involvement.
Chapter 20 discusses the importance of understanding the legal responsibilities of a coach. Emphasis is placed on the 10 legal duties as preventive measures to make sports safer for all involved. The chapter includes a discussion of the legal system and what constitutes negligence in the context of coaching. Also included are numerous fill-in forms to help ensure that safety measures are documented. These forms can be found in the textbook or online at www.humankinetics.com/SuccessfulCoaching.
1. Risk management involves ensuring that the athletes and all those involved in sport have a safe environment, and it helps the coach avoid litigation.
2. Coaches are encouraged to be responsible and professional when it comes to risk management.
3. The most common type of coaching-related litigation involves tort law where a person fails to perform a legal duty (negligence).
4. The four steps of risk management include identifying the risks, evaluating the risks, selecting an approach to manage the risk, and implementing that approach.
5. Although participation agreements establish that athletes have been warned about the risk of the sport, these agreements cannot prevent lawsuits or absolve the coach from negligence.
6. Coaches should not be coaching without liability insurance, and sponsoring agencies should not permit anyone to coach without it.