Sports coaches help individuals and teams to improve in their sport. They assist players and athletes by developing and improving their skills and perfomance in their respective sport.

As a sports coach, it is important to provide assistance, support, encouragement and motivation to the individual or team. A sports coach needs to teach players/athletes a range of effective techniques to help them to gain new skills and to enhance and further develop existing skills.

Some of the tasks that a sports coach may perform are:

• To plan training programs that develop and promote the physical development of the individual or team
• To recruit new players/athletes
• To supervise regular training sessions
• To arrange entries for players/athletes into competitions, tournaments, presentations and games
• To establish game plans and strategies to utilise players/athletes skills and abilities
• To analyse and monitor the progress of games or competitions

To become a sports coach, you would need to:

• Have a thorough knowledge of your sport and possibly some playing experience
• Have a high level of communication skills
• Have an understanding of the developmental needs of athletes
• Be flexible and enthusiastic
• Be able to organise and plan

You may also need to complete an accredited coaching program to ensure that you are well informed for the position.