Top Tips for Sports Coaching as A Volunteer

International volunteering programmes will quite regularly offer sports coaching as one of the many options available to budding volunteers. Having the opportunity to work with children and adults in schools and the community is extremely rewarding and also beneficial for everyone involved.  

Having the ability to make others feel good about themselves, learn, develop, interact with the community and meet new people are just some of the highlights that sport brings to the fore when you are volunteering. Knowing that you are helping people in less fortunate circumstances than you both in terms of mental and physical health and well-being is a major factor for many volunteers who sign up, but when it comes to the actual coaching, you should be able to offer a range of ideas that will suit the various physical and psychological needs of children, adolescents and adults, depending on who you intend to coach. 

While you will most likely be coaching in a fresh and unfamiliar environment, the fundamentals still apply and once you’re in the swing, you’ll find that playing sport is a universal language. First, you must identify what style of coaching is best for those you will be working with. To help you get those creative juices flowing, we’ve got a handful of practical pointers to help you to get the most out of your sessions while volunteering abroad. 

Be Adaptable and Know Your Audience

As a coach, you must be able to apply the correct style of coaching for the group you are leading. The structure is very important, as any coach will know, but you have to pair structure with enjoyment, and for that to happen you must know how to adapt and ‘know your audience’. 

Having the right expectations from different age groups is one of the most important things to stay on top of, because, for example, children aren’t just small adults; they have different requirements to ensure they get the most out of and develop from your coaching.  

For children, the sessions should revolve around game-based coaching, taking part and generally having fun! On the other hand, adults will be able to have sessions tailored more around progression, competitiveness and instruction-based elements which will help them to get better at the sport they are playing.  

Part of being a coach for adolescent and adult participants is prepping players to have the skills and ability to play the sport to the best of their ability. They should be able to call on the techniques you have taught them in order to succeed. It’s worth remembering that youth sessions shouldn’t just be ‘scaled-down’ versions that you use for adults; they require something focused around developing skills, ideally. For the younger ones, they should be able to refer to the game-style sessions you’ve laid on for them as a way of playing the sport effectively until they reach the next level of their development. 

With kids and youth players, it’s not so much about the end result, but learning and having an enjoyable time. Enthusiasm from you is key, and if you can transfer that enthusiasm, the sessions will become incredibly easy to lead and be part of too!  

Including Competition is Still Good

Although this might sound like we’re contradicting the previous point, adding an element of competition is a wholesome way to enhance the fun factor when it comes to youth coaching. Much like with the younger participants, you can introduce games into every aspect of your sessions, but with adolescents, but now you can allow for the games to have an end result such as a final score, which will add some competitiveness that people of that age need as part of their development in the sport.   

During the sessions, you should identify where different participant's strengths lie and modify games to create an even playing field for all.  

Bring Out the Creativity

English people are known jovially for liking to queue for things. Whether this is completely factual or not, it’s certainly not true for the rest of the world so avoid sessions that involve lining up wherever possible. It’s boring being stood still not doing anything, and when you have large groups, it’s important to opt for coaching that incorporates pairing players up to complete tasks which will keep people constantly active.  

It’s fair to add that not everyone’s idea of fun is the same, so when you are trying to factor in the fun component to your sessions, just know that you need to be as engaging and enthusiastic as possible to get your participants enjoying the sessions to the maximum. If you want some inspiration, just think back to which coaches and teachers got the best out of you and who you looked forward to being coached/taught by when you were a child or youth. This will help you to realise what was effective and then you can transfer this to your coaching style.  

Inspire Your Group

We all know that sport is one of the best ways to inspire others. If you had a favourite football player when you were younger, you no doubt had their name on the back of your replica shirt and tried to be like them when you played. Copying idols on the training pitch is what makes any sport so great, and it boosts positive sports experiences which are regularly linked to continued involvement into adulthood. When you are the coach, one of your key roles is to ignite that inspirational feeling into your sessions and those you are coaching. 

If you can keep your group motivated throughout the sessions, it will be easy to see through expressions and body language. 

Consider the Leading Factors  

As a volunteer sports coach in a foreign country, some of the leading factors that should drive your sessions that are relevant to all age groups are; 

·     Building confidence

·     Boosting self-esteem

·     Increasing motivation  

Sport, for many of us the world over, is about forgetting the stresses and strains in life. If you can make people forget about their hardships through playing sports, you're on the right track. Consider the three fundamentals listed above as they will undoubtedly aid your group to become better at the sport you are coaching. If you build confidence, they will get more involved; if you boost self-esteem they will relax and find comfort in the sport (and in social settings too); and if you increase motivation they will hold their interest in you and the sport.  

It’s also a good idea to ask participants to offer up their own ideas whenever possible. Given that you are in a foreign country, getting feedback from locals who will be able to provide you will invaluable insight into ways that could make your sessions even better for a particular audience you're not used to is really useful. You can ask them to speak to you before or after a session or get them to write something down so that you can collate the suggestions before tailoring your sessions to fit the best interests of those involved. You might be surprised to know that this is often very successful with the younger kids, simply because they have better imaginations compared to adults, so the enjoyment of their session is at the forefront of their minds. 

You might not always hear what you want when you ask for feedback, and children especially can be brutal in their assessment, but take everything on board and adapt accordingly. Any feedback is crucial for bringing the best out of you and your sessions.