RFU: Community Rugby Shop

This handbook is for sports coaches wishing to develop their practical coaching skills. It builds on the information contained in sports coach UK's 'Coaching Essentials' workshops and resources. It adopts a performer-centred approach, in which good coaching is seen as a way of developing people through improving their performance.

This book is structured around the cyclical coaching process:

• Identifying each performer's needs and goals, and the subsequent planning of programmes, sessions and practices
• Conducting sessions
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the coaching practice

It also examines the coach's ethical and legal responsibilities including the importance of coach training and qualifications, the ethical practice of coaches and the need for a code of practice, the misuse and detection of drugs in sport, and key legal issues (eg negligence, risk, duty of care).

Every chapter includes tasks and information panels to help readers relate the text to their own coaching practice, as well as summary panels to highlight and reinforce the main points. At the end of each chapter, further references are provided and a number of additional tasks are offered for those wishing to apply their knowledge to their own coaching practice and/or generate evidence towards vocational qualifications. There is a set of short answer questions at the end of the book (Appendix A) for those how wish to check their understanding of the content of each chapter.

• 'Summary' boxes at the end of chapters remind you of key points
• Regular 'Tasks' help to consolidate your learning and allow you to test yourself
• Sample coaching evaluation and monitoring checklist to ensure you've covered everything
• References throughout the text point you in the right direction for further reading
• Great stand-alone resource, but can be used in conjunction with the other books in the sports coach UK 'Develop Your Coaching' range to provide a comprehensive coach development programme
• Suitable for all coaches
• Forms part of the Develop Your Coaching series, which contains the titles: Improving Practices and Skill, The Successful Coach, Analysing Your Coaching, Coaching Practice, A Guide to Planning Coaching Programmes, Coaching Young Performers.

Chapter One: The Coach at Work

• Introduction
• What is coaching?
• What is a coach?
• Skills and qualities of a coach
• What knowledge do coaches need?
• What is a coaching philosophy?
• Is coaching and art or a science?
• Summary
• Further reading

Chapter Two: Planning Coaching Programmes and Sessions

• Introduction
• Why plan?
• Long-term goals
• Goal-setting
• Planning coaching programmes
• Planning sessions
• Adapting plans
• Summary
• Further reading

Chapter Three: Conducting Coaching Sessions

• Introduction
• Helping performers learn
• Effective communication
• Coaching styles
• Adapting for specific groups
• Relationships with others
• Summary
• Further reading

Chapter Four: Evaluating performance

• Introduction
• What do coaches measure?
• How do coaches analyse performance?
• Gaining information
• Interpreting and providing information
• Evaluating the coach's performance
• Summary
• Further reading

Chapter Five: Your Responsibilities and Liabilities

• Introduction
• Coaching qualifications
• Code of practice for sports coaches
• Legal responsibilities
• Drug misuse
• Summary
• Further reading

• Appendix: Short Answer Questions

sports coach UK - Formerly known as The National Coaching Foundation, sports coach UK is the leading organisation dedicated to the development of coaching and coaches in the United Kingdom, and has provided educational and development opportunities for coaches of all levels and across all sports. As a registered charity, the organisation has developed a range of titles and workshops to support coaches at all levels. For more information on sport coach UK workshops, please visit www.sportscoachuk.org.