"Developing Your Coaching Philosophy (including British Cycling Research)"

By Bo Hanson - 4x Olympian, Coaching Consultant & Director of Athlete Assessments

Understanding and developing your Coaching Philosophy is a critical and often overlooked exercise.  According to an article published by British Cycling, creating a personal coaching philosophy is…“A much underutilized concept, coaches rarely take the time to stop and fully consider what their own guiding principles to coaching are and how these will provide the underpinning foundations for their coaching practices.” We believe defining your Coaching Philosophy is as critical for coaches as for any business leader to define their leadership philosophy and how they wish to grow their people and business.

The fundamentals of a meaningful coaching philosophy should contain the basic ideal on “Why do I want to Coach?”  Understanding your purpose behind wanting to be a coach assists you to appreciate the critical role and nature of being a coach.  Coaches really do impact the lives of our future generations.  They teach them vital life skills which extend way beyond the principles and techniques of their sport.  In fact, my personal coaching philosophy, is sport is a vehicle to teach life skills which enable athletes to become meaningful contributors to society.  The coach’s role is therefore to develop self-awareness in their athletes to make positive life decisions.  Of course, this also means coaches are to be effective role models to their athletes.

Establishing your coaching philosophy can be approached by considering your motives to be a coach. One of my motives in my business, Athlete Assessments, is to assist athletes by way of educating their coaches.  I want athletes to have had the wonderful experience as I did, of having worked with a coach who is able to adapt to their unique needs and treats them as a whole person who has more to their life than sport alone.  What are your coaching motives?  Knowing what they are, drives you to be your best more often.  It gives you a clear sense of purpose.

Once your own coaching motives have been established, it is vital to begin to understand the motives of your athletes.  For sure, some may link with yours, however many athletes do not participate in sport for any other reason than to have a good time and meet new friends.  The best coaches are able to cater for these needs and those of more elite athletes by way of program adjustment and tailoring.

Ultimately, we are encouraging coaches to become Athlete Centered in their coaching approach. This means putting the needs and development of your athletes at the center of your focus.  Always, this coaching approach relies on knowing how to adapt different coaching styles of Directive, Sharing, Inspiring and Co-ordinating.  These styles can be discovered by undertaking a CoachDISC  behavioral profile which aides your own self-discovery.  You may even uncover your true motivations as determined by your unique personality.

Coaching your athletes effectively is underpinned with a concern for your athlete’s physical and emotional safety.  Nothing, in the eyes of an Athlete Centered Coach is more important than this. Numerous psychological studies suggest when a person’s safety in threatened, they can no longer perform at the optimal level.

When we talk about coaching styles, the ideal approach is to learn how to perform each of the four coaching styles equally well.  The reality is every coach has their style preference as determined by their personality and behavior and as revealed in their CoachDISC profile.  It is possible to develop skills in being able to coach in each of the four styles over time.  A style which most coaches do naturally well is often the Directive style.  This is where the coach tells the athlete what to do and when.  They dictate the program and associated activities.  Although there is a time and place for this style, if over used it never builds the athlete’s emotional commitment and can over time, diminish their motivation to participate in the sport.  British Cycling have begun conducting Athlete Centered Coaching courses in their Level 2 education programs.  Athlete Centered Coaching focuses on coaches being able to perform all four coaching styles and often spending time in the Sharing style where by coaches focus more on asking questions and listening.  This involves the athlete in their own decision making process and ultimately pays off in a race where the coach is not able to make decisions for the athlete.

In the article by British Cycling the following were suggested as factors which influence the way you coach. I have quoted them here:

“ Your coaching motives - The reasons why you take up coaching will undoubtedly affect how you coach.  For example, if you wish to see young people develop socially and learn new skills, you will adopt a supportive, educational approach to coaching and place an emphasis on personal development rather than competitive success.

 The athletes - If you adopt an athlete-centered approach, as is recommended, you should adapt your coaching style to meet the specific needs of your athletes.

The situation - There are some situations in which a particular style of coaching is more appropriate than another.  In certain contexts for example, where safety is an important issue, it might be more appropriate to adopt a directive approach to coaching, in order to maintain control and ensure that accidents do not happen and athletes behave in an appropriate manner.

Your personality - Coaches are human beings and, therefore, have individual personalities.  Some coaches maybe extroverted, outgoing and lively in their approach to coaching, while others may be more introverted and go about their coaching in a quiet, calm manner.  In truth, personality does not matter, provided that appropriate actions and behaviors are maintained, which relate to the situation.

Your knowledge - The more knowledgeable you are as a coach, the more options you will have available to you to plan and deliver effective sessions.  Knowledge will also help you to feel confident and create a positive environment for your athletes.  A coach lacking in knowledge may come across as low in confidence and may be perceived as lacking skills or the ability of knowing how to deal with certain situations.”

Understanding and developing your Coaching Philosophy is a critical.  If you haven’t already, take the time today to focus on this important exercise and see how your athletes benefit.

If you would like a copy of the original study discussed in this article, please contact us with this request.

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As mentioned above, a key to developing your ability to use all four coaching styles, is to first understand what your natural preferences are and what your strengths and weaknesses are.   Athlete Assessments' CoachDISC behavioral profile support this important step.  The CoachDISC profile uses proven profiling techniques and based on decades of behavioral research and many years of top level sporting experience. After completing your questionnaire, which takes just 7-10 minutes, you receive an in depth 23-page personalized report.  Your report analyzes your personal style, strengths and limitations and gives you tools and strategies you can start using straight away.

The CoachDISC profile is suitable for coaches of ALL levels.  The profile is easy and convenient to use and all done online. It only costs about as much as a pair of sports shoes, and carries a money-back guarantee.

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Discover more information about the AthleteDISC profile for athletes and CoachDISC profile for coaches. Or contact us to find out how we can help you further develop your coaching.