What is the aim of the Athlete to Coach Programme?
Working in collaboration with sports, Athlete to Coach aims to provide transitioning coaches with the foundation skills to optimise their current technical and tactical knowledge. This thorough grounding in the principles of effective coaching is designed to support these individuals at the start of their journey towards being a world class coach.
Who is the Programme targeted at?
Athlete to Coach is targeted at recently retired World Class Programme athletes who have been identified and are making the transition into a coaching role within their sport.
How will the Programme work?
During their career, elite athletes acquire a vast amount of knowledge and experience regarding the technical and tactical performance in their respective sports. While these individuals potentially provide a natural and logical resource to move into coaching, the challenge is how these transitioning coaches now transfer and deliver this knowledge in a way that other athletes understand.
As such, this one-year accelerated development opportunity aims to support these new coaches during this transition process, enabling them to shift their thinking and mindset from that of an elite performer to one of a world class coach.
The programme will cover the core skills needed to be an effective coach who is aspiring to reach world class level. The content will be made up of following components; on-going support from a coach developer and sport Sponsor, residential workshops and development days targeted at the coaches’ individual needs.
The objectives of the Programme are:
- To fast track former world class athletes on their journey to becoming a world class coach
- To develop the foundation coaching skills and knowledge in order to become effective when working with high performance athletes and support staff
- To closely work with the sports in order to provide the sport-specific support needed to make this transition to a world class coach
- To introduce coaches to cross-sport and interdisciplinary ways of working
- To provide the skills to facilitate learning and reflective practice to allow the coach to continuously evolve their coaching practice