As all coaches know this question is too simplistic. As a coach, you are expected to be a leader, a teacher, a parent, a counsellor, a guide, a dictator, a sounding board, a psychologist all at different times for different people or the same persons. However, given the theme of the magazine is around TRAINING, let’s take a closer look at how this plays out in your role as COACH. The coach role requires the person charged with that responsibility to prepare an individual, or a group of individuals (team) for their best possible effort(s) so that these may translate into the best possible results. This preparation includes three phases – • • •
pre-event or pre-competition coaching, in-competition coaching, and review and setup for the next event or competition coaching
Competition in sport is easy to understand.
In business or corporate life, competition is occurring every day. In fact, in many markets, it is even occurring 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. For ease of understanding the topic of Training though, I will use sport as the prime exemplar and make application to business or corporate when necessary. Phase 1 of getting properly prepared for competition is the leadup to the event. It is in this phase that the majority of training will occur. Of course, the Coach will have outlined what the event is; what is expected of individuals and of the team if it is a team event; what the various roles are of the athletes competing; and finally, what are the technical, physical, mental, tactical and team skills required to give the individual and the team best chance of meeting the desired outcomes. In other words, the Coach’s outline provides all concerned with the WHY, the purpose, for pre-event preparation. The WHY gives meaning to the often arduous and tedious TRAINING that needs to occur in order for an athlete and a team to have themselves ‘game ready’ to deliver their skills.
Training provides the muscle memory opportunities through continuous repetition of a skill or a drill. Training gives the body an understanding of the physical demands that the actual event will demand. Training gives the mind the tactical decision making needed for in-game situations, all the various scenarios or rehearsal circumstances that an athlete or the team may encounter. In the workplace, Training is used similarly. For making the business systems and tasks that require a set or safe or procedural response, then staff will learn through courses, repetition, and generally by doing. Often such tasks come with in-built feedback direct to the person, by online/course checking that the task has been learnt or performed correctly, or by a supervisor providing detection and correction of errors.
