Friday 27 March 2009

Three different techniques that are used by coaches to improve performance of athletes

Observation analysis

Direct observation
I have been watching our centre midfielder for the past few weeks. I take a notepad out with me and write down the factors of his poor performance. I also take in what he does well, for example he is a good tackler and reads the game well. However, on the ball he doesn’t see the correct passes early enough and lacks in quality on his final ball.

Indirect observation
I have also watched tape’s back in my office of the different games which show evidence of how the player lacks in confidence on the ball. When approaching the final third he rushes his pass and spoils the chance of a scoring opportunity for the team.

Strengths and weaknesses
The strengths of observation analysis is that the coach will have a full knowledge of how the player is both on and off the pitch, his job is just to monitor how the player is doing and what he’s doing right and what he’s doing wrong.
The weaknesses of observation analysis is that the player will know you are watching him specifically and this will just be adding more pressure to the situation and this may also knock the players confidence and then he won’t be able to play to his full ability.


Fitness assessment

The fitness assessment will normally take place during the course of pre-season. The fitness coach will get the players to do a test as soon as they get back from there break to find out how much fitness they have lost. They will do two tests one is called the bleep test and the other the yo-yo test.
They will then have a re-test at the end of the pre-season schedule and the whole team will have a target they have to get too otherwise they will have to stay behind after training and do extra.

Strengths and weaknesses

The strengths of a fitness assessment are that the coach will be able to see clearly how the players have got in during the pre-season period. He will also be able to see the improvement of the players and who has worked hard and the ones that may have slacked during this course of the season.

The weaknesses are that the players that are doing extra may feel they are hard done by because they probably feel they have tried as hard as possible. Also they may feel one out of the crowd because if everyone else has passed the test and they have failed they could feel like they have let the team down and even not wanted.

Goal setting

The manager and player will agree on a goal setting which they both feel is achievable throughout maybe a short, medium or even long term goal. A short term goal maybe is for him to get a percentage of 90% pass rate in his next match, a medium goal could maybe be to score 3 out of his next 8 games and a long term goal could be to help the team get promotion at the end of the season.
Both player and manager will maybe have a one to one meeting to make sure they both agree on the task ahead.

Strengths and weaknesses

The strengths of a goal setting is that the player has got something to work for and this could maybe give him that extra boost he needed to get that extra 10% out of him in every game. Also the manager will have a reason to be mad at the player if he doesn’t reach these goals that will have been set.

The weaknesses of goal setting are that the player may feel the goal he has been set are unrealistic but daren’t say anything to the manager just in case he disagrees. Having a goal setting could put added pressure on the player which may lead him to underperforming when needed.

Observation analysis

Direct observation
I have been watching our centre midfielder for the past few weeks. I take a notepad out with me and write down the factors of his poor performance. I also take in what he does well, for example he is a good tackler and reads the game well. However, on the ball he doesn’t see the correct passes early enough and lacks in quality on his final ball.


Indirect observation
I have also watched tape’s back in my office of the different games which show evidence of how the player lacks in confidence on the ball. When approaching the final third he rushes his pass and spoils the chance of a scoring opportunity for the team.


To improve this players performance I have been working on different session plans that I can introduce. This will also help the team as they will need to provide the right movement for the player in order for him to practice his passing.
I will also interact with the player myself by telling him what I see him doing wrong and ways which he can improve upon theses factors.


To review the players performance I used a swot analysis. This contains what I feel are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the player during the game. And this will also help me to see what I need to work on the player during training sessions that I am going to set up in order to improve him.

Compare and contrast different roles, responsibilities and skills in sport

Football and golf

These two sports are very different in their roles, responsibilities and skills, a main reason for this is that one is a team sport and the other is an individual sport. In football the coach may need to raise his voice at times and have a go at the team not just an individual as it is a team sport, whereas in golf if a player does a bad shot the coach will be able to have a quiet word with them and show the reason why they think the shot went wrong. Another difference in these sports is motivation. Footballers need lots of this to get them ready for the game and most of the time when they feel this they play a lot better but in golf motivation is not too necessary because it is more technical but obviously both footballers and golfers will have lots of motivation to play to the best of their ability. Another different could maybe be a friend, because the football coach won’t be able to get become too good a friend with his players because when he’s picking the team sometimes it might not come down to ability it may come down to that that’s his friend so he’s playing. Where as in golf the coach is only working with one player so the friendlier they are the better.

One similarity of these sports is that the coach will always give you what he thinks is the right advice and what they think will make you a better player in the long run. Also feedback, after a game both coaches will like to tell you how they think you have played and what went well and what didn’t go so well. Both sets of coaches will be role models towards the players because they maybe will have been there and done it all before, and these are the things the players need to take onboard to become a better player.

Roles and responsibilities of a sports coach

Roles and responsibilities of a sports coach

Football – Roles
· Role model- A sports coach has to be a good role model to the team, this will help for example when the coach is taking sessions the players will listen and take in what he has got to say.
· Manager- The coach will have to pick the team for the game on a Saturday and will more often than not pick a team which he thinks can go and win the game.
· Adviser- This could be when a player does something wrong and he can explain and advice them how to do it next time, also it could be an off the pitch situation which the coach gives his players advice.
· Leader- The players need to look up to him and see that he can lead them into success, this may be by motivating the players or being calm and using his tactical knowledge to help.

Football – Responsibilities
· Health and safety- A coach will need to make sure that all the players he is working with are safe at anytime during taking their session.
· Technical and tactical- The coach will need to make sure that his players are learning both technical and the tactical side of the game this will only improve his players in the long run.
· Pass on the knowledge- The coach can pass on his experience of the game to the players in his team; this will help them to know more about football.
· Equal opportunities- They need to make sure they give everyone the same chance to make it into the team and not have favourites. They cannot afford to treat an individual different to another individual.


Golf – Roles
· Role model- In golf you normally have a 1 to 1 session with your instructor he will be more often than not a fantastic golfer so you look up to him as a role model and aim to one day be that good.
· Give advice/feedback- When you hit a bad shot the instructor will stop you and ask what you think went wrong, he will then show you with a demo to help you understand easier and vice versa if you hit a good shot.
· A friend- A coach will also be a friend either in or out of the sport because if you have got something to say they will listen and then give you their advice on the situation.
· Educate the player- You may just be a beginner so the coach will have to go through everything needed to play golf for example, what club to use, what shot to play, equipment, dress code and so on.

Golf - Responsibilities
· Health and safety- A coach will need to make sure that the players he is working with are safe at anytime during taking their session.
· Pass on the knowledge- The coach can pass on his experience of the game to the players in his team; this will help them to develop more knowledge about golf.
· Improving the player- That is what the coach is there to do and he would not be doing his job right if none of the players he was learning were not getting any better.
· Equal opportunities- For example the golf coach would not be allowed to work harder with one player maybe just because he is better than the other player he is learning, this would not give them an equal chance.




Cricket – Roles
· Role model- A sports coach has to be a good role model to the team, this will help for example when the coach is taking sessions the players will listen and take in what he has got to say.
· Manager- Cricket is a team game so at the end of the day the manager will have to pick a team that he thinks will go out and win the match.
· Adviser- This could be when a player does something wrong and he can explain and advice them how to do it next time, for example the player might play the wrong choice of shot and the coach can show what he would have played in that situation. Also it could be an off the field situation which the coach gives his players advice.
· Leader- The players need to look up to him and see that he can lead them in to winning the game.

Cricket- Responsibilities
· Health and safety- The cricket coach will need to make sure his team are working in a safe environment.
· Technical and tactical knowledge- The coach will need to work on both of these because they are two totally different sides of the game. Technical will be working in the nets batting and bowling, whereas tactical will be field positions for example.
· Equal opportunities- The team will have training throughout the week and if the coach is doing his job right he will pick the players that have trained the best and the ones he thinks are right to play in the next game.
· Improving players- When the team are practising in the nets the coach will be able to tell them what shot they should have played or tell the bowler where to pitch it to get the batsmen out, he may know this from experience but this will defiantly improve the players.


Snooker – Roles
· Give advice- A snooker coach will be working one to one with the player so it will be very easy for the coach to get their advice over to the player.
· Feedback- After training or a game the coach will give feedback on how he thinks the player has done, telling him what he did well and what he didn’t do so well.
· Motivator- People will say you don’t need motivation to play snooker but it’s one of the main points of a player’s game. This is because you have to practice day in day out doing the same thing over and over and the coach will be there with you driving you on to do well.
· A friend- The coach will be spending so much time with the player one to one that they need to be friends for it to work. For example is they wasn’t friends the player wouldn’t take the coaches advice as much and would find sessions boring and lose concentration but when you’ve got a mate there you can have a bit of a laugh and enjoy what you are doing.

Snooker – Responsibilities
· Pass on knowledge- The coach will always know more about the game than the player so he can pass on what he knows which should eventually pay off and improve the player.
· Health and safety- The coach will need to find a quiet place which is safe for the player to work in with no distractions.
· Improving the player- There is only a few things to learn in a game of snooker for example potting, safety and positioning. Its more to do with the consistency in how they do it, so the coach will probably get the player to play the same shot over and over till they do it consistently.
· Technical and tactical- The coach will need to make sure that their player is learning both sides of the game. Obviously they will do technical everyday but when it comes to a match they will need to learn a lot about their opponent, what he does good and what he doesn’t this is so they have an advantage and can play to the opponents weaknesses.

3 common skills of a coach

Communication- This plays a main part in any sport because it’s the way the coach and players get points across to each other. A coach should have good communication skills which involve talking clearly to others, also listening to the things players have to say. This could be both on and off the pitch for example if the coach wants to tell a player something during a session he will need to explain what he wants him to do clearly so he understands his role. Whereas off the pitch it could be about a player’s personal life and you need to listen to take in what he’s saying. The coach will also have to give a team talk so he will have to be confident and get across to the players what he wants from them.

Organisation- This is another common skill for a coach to be well organised. They will have to do this both on and off the field of play. On the pitch they will need to set out sessions for the team to help them improve, this will also include planning sessions before hand to make sure that it runs correctly. Also off the field they need to ensure the players are safe at all times.

Time management- As a coach you need to be good at managing yours and the player’s time. This also may include organisation like where the players need to be at what certain time. Time management of a session can vary depending on the amount of intensity and the coach needs to know when enough’s enough. Also the time it could take to get to an away match leaving enough time to have a perfect warm up so they are ready for the game.





Football and rugby coach
These two coaches are very similar and will both need to be good at time management to become a good coach. Most of the time games will be played at weekends so the coaches will need to plan out a week schedule knowing the amount of intensity the training sessions should be, also obviously with a game in mind Friday’s session will just be very light. The players may also need some recovery time during the week and the coach needs to know what day that should be on.

Tennis and cricket coaches
Again these two coaches very much alike and both need to be very well organised. This could be for both training and off the field/court situations. On the field/court the coach needs to organise the correct sessions needed for their team/player to perform, this for a tennis player could include what type of court they are playing on for example if it was grass has the coach organised enough sessions for his player to get used to playing on grass for their upcoming event. Off the pitch, accommodation is key because if it’s not right the player/players might not feel comfy and this could cause them to lose focus on their preparation and the match ahead.

Basketball and hockey coaches
In both of these sports communication is vital. This may need to be used to educate the players, or to let them know when they have done something correct or incorrect. Also being very good at communication this shows you are confident and the players will show respect when you begin to talk. Motivation can also come from communication, making sure your players are up for the game. If the coach didn’t use good communication and the team were losing week in week out maybe the press would say that is the reason for the team under achieving.