Unit 8 Assignment A
In this assignment I will be demonstrate my understanding of the skills needed for a performance
coach and their application to promote development within changing environments. Within this
assignment I will complete the following:
• Explain the skills, knowledge, qualities and best practice of a performance coach reflecting
on personal coaching ability.
• Analyse the skills, knowledge, qualities and best practice of a performance coach and your
personal coaching ability.
• Evaluate personal coaching ability, suggesting and justifying recommendations for future
personal development.
I will start this assignment by creating a job description that explains the skills, knowledge, qualities
and best practices of a performance coach.
Job description:
As a performance coach it is important to have the correct coaching skills as well as knowledge as
this will help to increase the performance coach's ability as well as benefiting the participants ability
to improve. There are many skills as well as knowledge that a performance coach needs to consider
as well as use, these are all listed below.
Organisation of session – When planning any training session, a coach needs to ensure that they are
displaying high levels of organisation. When planning training sessions to ensure that you are being
organised you need to make sure you are doing the following; knowing number of participants,
knowing the ability level of each participant, make all activities appropriate for participants, they
checked that the equipment they need is available prior to the session, the facility needed are
booked well in advance and they are aware of its safety procedures, at the end of the session the
facility and equipment are left as they were when the session started, they have clear methods of
stopping and starting the session.
Many coaches will keep written records of each session in which they create a logbook with all the
written records. With this they are able to look back at their logbook when creating new sessions in
the future. Another form of organisation a coach needs to have is the ability to easily to change and
adapt the session if something is not working.
It is important that coaches are organised to ensure that players’ progress is increase in order for
them to achieve there sporting goals.
If a coach wasn’t to be organised, then the coach and athletes may see that the session doesn’t
benefit them, it can cause confusion and as well as stress. Not being organised can also lead to a lack
of trust between the athletes and the coach which can overall lead to a decrease in the athletes
sporting performance as they don’t feel they are being supported in the right way.
Advantages of organisation:
• Improves progression of sports performers
• Increases effectiveness of sessions
• Provides a structure that helps both athletes and the coach
Disadvantages of organisation:
, • Can lead to an obsessive nature
• Can lead to poor mental health
• Can lead to less flexibility of the session
Rapport building - One of the key skills a performance coach should have is rapport building, it is
extremely important that a coach an excellent relationship with their team. This is due to the fact
that the team need to be able to trust the coach to ensure that they are able to improve as well as
have positive progress this will allow each player to get the best out of their performance.
If both the coach and the players have a good relationship it will lead to better and positive
communication between them as well as having a positive impact on the players performance,
overall, it will help to better the player performance.
In order to develop a good rapport, the performance coach will have to find common ground with
the team players and themselves. This is lead to helping to develop a close and harmonious
relationship with each sports performer that they work with. Rapport building will increase the
influence the team have they will be able to learn better.
If a coach doesn’t use rapport building, they will see that they won't have a bond with the team they
are coaching because of this they may see that the team show the coach no respect and don’t listen
or follow rule. Due to this the sports performers performance will decrease and they will find
themselves struggling.
Advantages of rapport building:
• Builds trust between the coach and athletes
• Creates a safe environment for the athletes
• Increases engagement from the athletes
Disadvantages of rapport building:
• Different views can cause conflict
• Mental health & learning difficulties barriers
• Religious beliefs barriers
Communication - It is important that a performance coach has strong communication skills.
Communication is seen as one of the most important skills that is required for a performance coach,
this is because all coaches will have to exchange information with athletes as well as parents,
officials, staff at the sports club and other coaches. For all coaches there are three forms of
communication which are verbal, non-verbal and listening skills.
When using verbal communication, it is crucial to keep the language you use simple unless the
person you are communicating with understands the technical language you use. As a performance
coach you should ensure that you are giving the correct information as well as making sure that
what they are saying is appropriate. After any performance coach has given out information it is
critical that they check the persons understanding by questioning the person or observing the
performance of the athlete.
In this assignment I will be demonstrate my understanding of the skills needed for a performance
coach and their application to promote development within changing environments. Within this
assignment I will complete the following:
• Explain the skills, knowledge, qualities and best practice of a performance coach reflecting
on personal coaching ability.
• Analyse the skills, knowledge, qualities and best practice of a performance coach and your
personal coaching ability.
• Evaluate personal coaching ability, suggesting and justifying recommendations for future
personal development.
I will start this assignment by creating a job description that explains the skills, knowledge, qualities
and best practices of a performance coach.
Job description:
As a performance coach it is important to have the correct coaching skills as well as knowledge as
this will help to increase the performance coach's ability as well as benefiting the participants ability
to improve. There are many skills as well as knowledge that a performance coach needs to consider
as well as use, these are all listed below.
Organisation of session – When planning any training session, a coach needs to ensure that they are
displaying high levels of organisation. When planning training sessions to ensure that you are being
organised you need to make sure you are doing the following; knowing number of participants,
knowing the ability level of each participant, make all activities appropriate for participants, they
checked that the equipment they need is available prior to the session, the facility needed are
booked well in advance and they are aware of its safety procedures, at the end of the session the
facility and equipment are left as they were when the session started, they have clear methods of
stopping and starting the session.
Many coaches will keep written records of each session in which they create a logbook with all the
written records. With this they are able to look back at their logbook when creating new sessions in
the future. Another form of organisation a coach needs to have is the ability to easily to change and
adapt the session if something is not working.
It is important that coaches are organised to ensure that players’ progress is increase in order for
them to achieve there sporting goals.
If a coach wasn’t to be organised, then the coach and athletes may see that the session doesn’t
benefit them, it can cause confusion and as well as stress. Not being organised can also lead to a lack
of trust between the athletes and the coach which can overall lead to a decrease in the athletes
sporting performance as they don’t feel they are being supported in the right way.
Advantages of organisation:
• Improves progression of sports performers
• Increases effectiveness of sessions
• Provides a structure that helps both athletes and the coach
Disadvantages of organisation:
, • Can lead to an obsessive nature
• Can lead to poor mental health
• Can lead to less flexibility of the session
Rapport building - One of the key skills a performance coach should have is rapport building, it is
extremely important that a coach an excellent relationship with their team. This is due to the fact
that the team need to be able to trust the coach to ensure that they are able to improve as well as
have positive progress this will allow each player to get the best out of their performance.
If both the coach and the players have a good relationship it will lead to better and positive
communication between them as well as having a positive impact on the players performance,
overall, it will help to better the player performance.
In order to develop a good rapport, the performance coach will have to find common ground with
the team players and themselves. This is lead to helping to develop a close and harmonious
relationship with each sports performer that they work with. Rapport building will increase the
influence the team have they will be able to learn better.
If a coach doesn’t use rapport building, they will see that they won't have a bond with the team they
are coaching because of this they may see that the team show the coach no respect and don’t listen
or follow rule. Due to this the sports performers performance will decrease and they will find
themselves struggling.
Advantages of rapport building:
• Builds trust between the coach and athletes
• Creates a safe environment for the athletes
• Increases engagement from the athletes
Disadvantages of rapport building:
• Different views can cause conflict
• Mental health & learning difficulties barriers
• Religious beliefs barriers
Communication - It is important that a performance coach has strong communication skills.
Communication is seen as one of the most important skills that is required for a performance coach,
this is because all coaches will have to exchange information with athletes as well as parents,
officials, staff at the sports club and other coaches. For all coaches there are three forms of
communication which are verbal, non-verbal and listening skills.
When using verbal communication, it is crucial to keep the language you use simple unless the
person you are communicating with understands the technical language you use. As a performance
coach you should ensure that you are giving the correct information as well as making sure that
what they are saying is appropriate. After any performance coach has given out information it is
critical that they check the persons understanding by questioning the person or observing the
performance of the athlete.
