Tom shines a light on each learning tool and support mechanism UK Coaching is employing (below) but first presents a summary of the subtle differences between each programme.
A coach developer is your companion and critical friend
There is a lot of ambiguity in how the coaching industry defines and uses the term coach developer.
Coach development is a distinct process from coach education and, to clear up any misunderstanding, Tom explains how UK Coaching deploys its team of coach developers.
A coach developer, says Tom, is there to be a coaching companion; a thinking partner; a critical friend to the coach – supporting the person rather than a curriculum.
The intention of our suite of programmes is to offer support and to encourage coaches to consider how they want to make best use of the coach developers at their disposal.
“There is no catch. There is no one here trying to mark you or assess you; we are genuinely here to help you be the best you can be,” says Tom.
Explaining the fine distinctions between each programme, he adds:
“On Focus (aimed at coaches), we recognise that coaches working with athletes at the performance stage of the athlete development pathway probably need a sense of community, rather than a primary focus on one-to-one coach developer support. So, we have set up learning groups, initiated by a coach developer, whose role is to create an environment that fosters meaningful conversation.
“Whereas on Horizon (aimed at head coaches and senior coaches), the role of the coach developer is to be that one-to-one support. They will be in situ with a coach three times through the year, with opportunities to debrief and chat. It is very applied, and the coach developer visits the coach in their environment. So, it’s personal support. The only consistent thing is that every coach’s support will look different based on their needs.
“On the Explore programme (aimed at coaches, head coaches and senior coaches), it’s slightly different again as it is co-created. Coaches have an idea of the path they want to tread, and we will ask them: ‘What do you want your experience to be over the next nine months? Who do you want to meet? What do you want to learn? What don’t you want to learn?’
“Every coach is assigned their own one-to-one coach developer, but we can tap into our pool of coach developers to offer specialised support depending on their differing wants and needs. So, Phil, who I’m supporting one-to-one and who is a fencing coach, comes to me for X, Y, Z, but may go to Marianne to get A and B.
“So, it’s giving coaches more autonomy in their holistic development. We want to give coaches a voice and choice in their learning and development rather than it being linear and prescribed.
“Elevate is the female coaching programme and is very much based around community and network, recognising that a lot of female coaches in that space need a professional network of support to help them develop their coaching knowledge and advance along their sport performance pathway.”