Coaching Philosophy Paper

Jenkins, S. (2010). Coaching philosophy. Sports coaching: Professionalisation and practice, 233-242.

In this article, the author has referred to material from various books and first-hand accounts from actual coaches to gather information on the aspect of a coaching philosophy, and its importance in ensuring the successful transference of coaching skills onto the athletes being trained. The main argument by the author is that, a coaching philosophy is always evolving, and that it might take a coach around 10 years of active coaching to develop a philosophy that is a fit with the personality of the coach. Additionally, a coaching philosophy cannot be separated from the coaching behaviors, underlying values, and beliefs that all actively guide the practice by the coach. The author agrees with the scholars whose material has been used to construct this professionalism in coaching practice.

Lyle, J., & Cushion, C. (2010). Sports Coaching E-Book: Professionalisation and Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.

The major argument of the authors in this article is that a coaching philosophy represents a means for the creation of a unique relationship between the coach and the athletes under his or her wing. The coaching philosophy creates a means for judging the behaviors of the coaches by creating a system where certain behavior can be expected. The authors also outline that the athlete is at the center of the training process, and seeing the athlete as the center of the training allows to enhance their success and encourage them to push themselves to the limits. The approach used by the authors to come up with the article is the collection of the information directly from various coaches with something interesting to say about their coaching philosophy and provide insights on practices that can improve coaching. The authors agree with the scholars whose work has been referenced in this article.

Cushion, C., & Partington, M. (2016). A critical analysis of the conceptualisation of ‘coaching philosophy’. Sport, Education and Society, 21(6), 851-867.

The authors use the approach of critically reviewing existing literature in order to come up with the content for their article. While challenging the information they get, the author’s main point is that present conceptualization of the coaching philosophy is limited in thinking as it does not properly appraise coaching as being affected by aspects such as the social structure of the coaches or even the fact that it is a conscious process which should therefore not be separated from the beliefs and values of the coach as a person. The author does not agree with various scholars on their material, but rather presents a fresh and new way of looking at the issue at hand.

Carless, D., & Douglas, K. (2011). Stories as personal coaching philosophy. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 6(1), 1-12.

In this article, the main points by the authors are that storytelling can be an important way of developing talent among the athletes. As a mediating factor between theory and practice, storytelling is presented as being a simply yet efficient way of showing the athletes what they need to do in order to succeed, as opposed to plainly telling them that they should do one thing or another. The methods used by the authors involved following the paper written by one coach on her coaching philosophy and practice, and how she specifically ties storytelling to her coaching behavior. The authors agree with the scholars that storytelling can have numerous advantages for the athletes who are being trained.

Cassidy, T., Jones, R. L., & Potrac, P. (2004). Understanding sports coaching: The social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice. Routledge.

In this article, the author’s main points are that, the relationship between the coach and the athletes being trained is a personal one influenced by social, cultural, and pedagogical factors. Good coaching practice is one where there is a social connection between the coach and the athletes, and understanding that the athletes are learners and the coach is their teacher. The teacher should understand that all learners have different learning abilities, and that fine tuning their teaching methodology to resonate with the specific needs of each athlete is a key way of ensuring success in coaching and production of capable athletes. The approaches used to collect the information involve talking to different coaches and athletes to get their perspectives, as well as gathering information from books and other relevant media. The authors agree with the points being put forward by the scholars about the philosophy of proper coaching.

Cavanagh, M., & Spence, G. B. (2013). Mindfulness in coaching: philosophy, psychology, or just a useful skill?

The main points by these authors of this article touch on coaching philosophy with the main question being as to whether a coach being mindful during the coaching process is an element of philosophy, psychology, or just a very useful skill. By analyzing the aspect of mindfulness, it looks at the kind of a relationship that exists between the coach and those being trained, and more specifically addresses the need for coaches to treat athletes under them with respect and consideration. Approaches used by these authors involve the reading of various literature that look into the relationship between athletes and coaches, and some good coaching practices that can lead to tremendous success in terms of infusing skills into the athletes. The authors agree with the scholars.

Renshaw, I., Davids, K. W., Shuttleworth, R., & Chow, J. Y. (2009). Insights from ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory can underpin a philosophy of coaching. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 40(4), 540-602.

This journal address coaching from the aspects of the human movement being dynamic and non-linear at the same time. This therefore means that even in their learning, different athletes will understand different things in a different manner and at different paces as well. For this therefore, coaches need to foster their skill transfer mechanisms by considering the dynamic nature of human beings, and also the ecological psychology that shapes thinking and practice. The collection of this information has been attained through reading information from various books and websites, and then analyzing and compiling the information based on the thesis the paper was looking at from the beginning. The authors fully agree with the scholars.

Nelson, L. J., & Cushion, C. J. (2006). Reflection in coach education: The case of the national governing body coaching certificate. The Sport Psychologist, 20(2), 174-183.

According to this study, the main argument put forward by the authors is that coaches are learners too, and their learning is best achieved through reflection on proper coaching experiences. This understanding spans wider to acknowledge the role that experiences and reflection play on the kind of coaching that coaches actually deliver. The authors referred to a case study of the United Kingdom National Governing Body which manages coaches and provides them with an environment that promotes reflection. Though little is known about the impact of such a course on coaching practice and knowledge, the authors agree that having such a governing body could be an important step towards ensuring coaches get the relevant skills they need in order to do their work efficiently.

Camiré, M., Forneris, T., Trudel, P., & Bernard, D. (2011). Strategies for helping coaches facilitate positive youth development through sport. Journal of sport psychology in action, 2(2), 92-99.

The article presents results complied from studies done over years with excellent youth coaches. The role of coaches in facilitating advanced sporting performance among the youth cannot be stressed enough. Coaches play the mediating role between the youth and sports, and present them with the chance to harness their skills and develop additional skills that can increase their success in sporting activities. Some of the outlined strategies include understanding that the coaching process is a learner-instructor process and the learner has educational expectations which they expect to be met in order to value the coaching as being helpful. The authors agree with the other scholars that coaches also play an influential role in acting as the role models to their athletes, and that coaches who behave appropriately may actually encourage athletes to pursue success.

Martens, R. (2018). Successful coaching. Human Kinetics.

Successful coaching can be attributed to a suitable coaching philosophy. Even before a coach can start looking towards developing a strong coaching philosophy, they should understand that their personality influences the kind of work they do, and that beliefs and values without the proper behavior cannot be successful. A proper philosophy will allow the coach to suitably apply the knowledge and skills they have towards improving the lives and skills of the athletes. The information has been collected from reviews done on proper coach philosophies and the steps it takes to develop these skills that make up the philosophy. The authors agree that aspects such as setting coaching objectives and choosing a suitable coaching style are among the few things a coach can do to improve their coaching abilities.

References

Camiré, M., Forneris, T., Trudel, P., & Bernard, D. (2011). Strategies for helping coaches facilitate positive youth development through sport. Journal of sport psychology in action, 2(2), 92-99.

Carless, D., & Douglas, K. (2011). Stories as personal coaching philosophy. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 6(1), 1-12.

Cassidy, T., Jones, R. L., & Potrac, P. (2004). Understanding sports coaching: The social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice. Routledge.

Cavanagh, M., & Spence, G. B. (2013). Mindfulness in coaching: philosophy, psychology, or just a useful skill?

Cushion, C., & Partington, M. (2016). A critical analysis of the conceptualisation of ‘coaching philosophy’. Sport, Education and Society, 21(6), 851-867.

Jenkins, S. (2010). Coaching philosophy. Sports coaching: Professionalisation and practice, 233-242.Lyle, J., & Cushion, C. (2010). Sports Coaching E-Book: Professionalisation and Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Martens, R. (2018). Successful coaching. Human Kinetics.

Nelson, L. J., & Cushion, C. J. (2006). Reflection in coach education: The case of the national governing body coaching certificate. The Sport Psychologist, 20(2), 174-183.

Renshaw, I., Davids, K. W., Shuttleworth, R., & Chow, J. Y. (2009). Insights from ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory can underpin a philosophy of coaching. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 40(4), 540-602.