Friend:
A manager will have to have a good relationship with his players if he wants to be successful in developing his players. A good relationship with all the players will create a better team atmosphere and spirit. Players will not be afraid to talk to the manager if they have problems outside of sport or in sport, the manager will give the player(s) advice, this shows that a friendship has been made.
Motivator:
A manager has to motivate his players to try and get the best performance out of them, but there are different types of motivation and I think that it is important for managers to try and find out what motivates certain players. For some players it could be a lot of shouting and bawling for others it could simply be a talk and others might motivate themselves. It is also important for managers to motivate players that aren’t performing well to try and get them back to their best and also to motivate players who are not regular starters in the team to keep at the sport and work hard to improve and earn a starting place.
Planner:
A manager has a lot of planning to do on and of the pitch. The planning can be simple but if you forget to do it, it could be prove to be vital. For example forgetting the footballs for training the full session planned is ruined. Most of the planning a coach has to do is to plan the training session to work on the weaknesses and strengths of the team and maybe individuals as well as this planning what equipment is needed to conduct the session for example footballs, cones, bibs etc. A manager also has to plan tactics for a game situation for example: Who’s playing where? What formation? Scouting the opposition etc. The planning role is very similar to the role of managing.
Coaching Responsibilities:
Updating own knowledge:
A coach also has a lot to learn himself it is not all about him teaching others. A good coach will attend coaching seminars where the coach will be taught new ways of coaching and managing as well as this they will learn new training drills, share experiences with other coaches and get expert opinions from top coaches. New coaching and managing techniques can also be learned from books, magazines, the media and the internet.
Management and planning:
A coach or manager has a lot of planning and managing to do, the performers don’t realise how much planning goes on off the pitch. A coach has to plan trainings, matches, tournaments, trips all around his own life, because most coaches or managers in amateur football or the GAA are not being paid and have to plan around their work. A coach or manager would constantly be on the phone or emailing other managers about friendly matches before the season starts, day trips to tournaments in other counties etc.
Skill development:
Personally I think the main role of a coach is to develop players and this starts from a young age. At underage level if the performers have a good coach who can develop the basic skills of the performer this will benefit the performer because he will not be continuously learning how to perform the basic skills at the age where he should be an autonomous performer of the skill.
Safety and security:
A coach has to ensure that the performers he is coaching are safe when they are training or playing matches. This could be simple things like making sure the training facilities are not hazardous searching for divots on a grass pitch, checking an indoor hall for water spills or floor board sticking up, if you are training during the winter at night making sure the pitch is properly floodlit. It is also important for a coach to ensure that the performers are safe and secure while playing matches for example that spectators are not being too aggressive and abusive towards the performers. This is important because especially with young performers the coach is liable to each and everyone of the performers while they are training and playing matches.
Continuing professional development:
If a coach wants to succeed and gain experience and qualifications as a coach it is important for him/her to gain as much experience from seminars and also to do the coaching courses o gain higher coaching qualifications. Being a coach is almost like a step by step programme, what I mean by this is that you need a higher qualification before you can manage coach at a higher level. I personally think the structure that the GAA has in place is a great example of this:
The GAA coaching programme consists of 5 different levels before you achieve Excellence
Theses levels are :
- Foundation level (juvenile/ Assistant coach) 6-8 hours training
- Level 1 (u-14 to Adult coach) 20-40 hours training
- Level 2 ( Underage intercounty coach) 40-60 hours training
- Level 3 ( Adult intercounty coach) 200-240 hours training
- Level 4 (Advanved adult intercounty coach)
Foundation level: This is the first step to becoming a coach, once this award is achieved you are qualified to coach kids from u-12 downwards. This course is completed over 6-8 hours
Level 1: The level 1 course is the next step from the foundation level , once qualified you are able to coach at u-14 level through to adult club level. This course takes 20-40 hours to complete and practical assignments and a logbook are required to be completed to complete the course.
Level 2: level to is moving on from level 1 once this level has been completed the coach will be eligible to coach at underage county level . This level is completed in 40-60 hours. Distance learning, in-service training, practical coaching assignments plus a logbook are to be completed over the course of a season.
Level 3: level three is moving on from level 2 but just like every step up in levels it goes into greater detail. Once this level as been completed the coach will be qualified to take an Adult intercounty team. To achieve certification at Level 3, a series of coaching inputs must be combined with adequate experience at Inter-County level. Distance Learning, In-service Training, Practical Coaching Assignments plus Logbook completion are required to complete the course. The course takes 200-240 hours to be completed.
Level 4: Level 4 is the final level and is the highest that can be achieved ,once completed this course qualifies a coach to become an Advanced Adult intercounty coach. Distance Learning, In-service Training, Practical Coaching Assignments plus Logbook completion are required to complete the course.
