I have just started reading Christine's book. Chapter 1 is written by Peter Horton and ends with 4 questions.
The first for me is simple as I only coach individuals it is session issues (behaviour management) rather than team ones.
The second question asks about nurturing and developing talent. I think my role as a coach is undoubtably to nurture and develop talent but I also need to make it an enjoyable experience for the others who may not go on to high performance. I have coached and introduced more than a thousand of people into archery, many are shooting at club level, yet only two have gone on to represent their home nations at international level.
The third question asks if the role of the coach is more important within the professional environment. I would say no. There may be more accountability, in terms of expectation and performance for professional coaches but the volunteers do an equally important job. Most of my coaching is done on a voluntary basis as is that of my colleagues.
The final question asks about accountability. A athlete has an expectation that the coach will deliver what was agreed in their joint coching agreement. Failure to do so by the coach is a breach of trust. Parents expect the coach to exercise a duty of care and to follow the codes of conduct that safeguard their childs wellbeing. National Governing Bodies have expectations about the behaviour and conduct of coaches which are backed up by disciplinary processes for those who fail to adher to them. The ultimate sanction being loss of the licence to coach or criminal proceedings. All the above are stakeholders with expectations but there are also other club officials/owners and sponsors to consider. The possibility of a brand being tarnished can lead to sponsorship being withdraw and this can have a catastrophic effect on the finances of a club. This can lead to the termination of a coaches contract.
