Sport Coaches’ Handbook

While the impact of coaches on their athletes has been appreciated for more than a century, only recently have researchers reached a consensus concerning the key coaching principles and methods that consistently ensure the most positive outcomes for athletes and coaches. Sport Coaches’ Handbook presents this more holistic approach to coaching and provides possible applications to raise the quality of coaching around the globe.

This groundbreaking reference is for aspiring coaches and current coaches across all sports and participation levels. Sport Coaches’ Handbook is authored and edited by leading international figures in coaching and coach development who have been selected by the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). The book helps coaches to fulfill their chosen role while considering their personal values and philosophy, the athletes they coach, and the environment in which they work. Coaches will find information and insights on numerous topics of critical importance to a successful coaching career:

• Employing ethical decision making with a systematic method to ensure choices are consistent with moral and professional guidelines
• Developing a coaching philosophy and evaluating how to define or sharpen that approach
• Promoting athlete development by enhancing athletes’ psychological and physical growth as well as technical and tactical performance
• Embracing the crucial characteristics that nurture effective leadership in coaching

Each chapter features a practical exercise or self-evaluation that underscores specific points of emphasis and challenges coaches to reflect on their personal experiences and apply their newfound knowledge in their individual coaching contexts. In addition, motivational quotes and subject-related anecdotes about exemplary coaches are highlighted throughout the book to inspire coaches to be even more athlete-centered and successful leaders.

The book’s internationally recognized contributors collectively represent more than 300 years of coaching experience and bring to the book their extensive knowledge of coaching. Sport Coaches’ Handbook is the clear choice for coaches and coach educators dedicated to developing and improving coaches and furthering the profession of coaching.

Audience

Sport coaches, coach developers, sport federations, sport organizations, and coaches’ associations. Also a resource for college courses and libraries.

Introduction: Coaching and Its Development as a Profession
Wade Gilbert

Chapter 1. The Coaching Role
Dan Gould and Cliff Mallett

Chapter 2. Coaching Ethics
Andy Driska, Laurie Patterson, and Sue Backhouse

Chapter 3. Coaching Philosophy
Karen Collins

Chapter 4. Key Coaching Functions
Dan Gould and Kristen Dieffenbach

Chapter 5. Core Coaching Skills
Sergio Lara-Bercial and John Bales

Chapter 6. Program Management
Bob Crudgington

Chapter 7. Athlete Development Models
Joe Baker and Nick Wattie

Chapter 8. Psychological and Social Development of Athletes
Karl Erickson, Martin Camiré, and Jenelle N. Gilbert

Chapter 9. Physical Development of Athletes
Vern Gambetta

Chapter 10. Technical and Tactical Development of Athletes
Damian Farrow

Chapter 11. Career Decision Making in Coaching
William Taylor and Mike Sheridan

Chapter 12. Continuing Education in Coaching
Cliff Mallett, Steven Rynne, and Pierre Trudel

Appendix: Governing Rules and Laws: The World Anti-Doping Code

The International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) is a not-for-profit organization based at Leeds Beckett University whose mission is to lead and develop sport coaching globally. In pursuit of that mission, ICCE has developed an international sport coaching framework and built a global coaching community to strengthen the position of coaching as a profession. ICCE partners and markets include national representative bodies responsible for coach development, international federations, institutions that deliver coach education or represent coaches, individuals who design and deliver coach education, coaches, and the international sport community at large.

ICCE president John Bales and ICCE manager for strategy and development Sergio Lara-Bercial lent their experience and expertise to this project, not only as chapter contributors but also as selectors of leading coach educators to be part of this ambitious collaboration.

ABOUT THE EDITORS
Dan Gould, PhD, is the director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and professor in the department of kinesiology at Michigan State University. Gould’s current research focuses on the psychology of coaching, the role coaches have in teaching life skills to young athletes, and the development of youth leaders through the sport captaincy experience. In addition to his research interests, Gould has dedicated much of his career to applied sport psychology efforts as a mental skills training consultant, coaching educator, and author.

Gould has given over 1,000 coaching education clinic presentations and developed numerous coaching and coaching education programs aimed at coaches ranging from the youth level to the Olympic level. He has written a number of books, including the USTA Mental Skills and Drills Handbook, Sport Psychology for Young Athletes, and Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology, the most widely used text in the field.

Cliff Mallett, PhD, is a professor of sport psychology and coaching in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Queensland (Australia) and an honorary professor at the Technical University of Munich (Germany).

Mallett is an Olympic and World Championship medal winning coach. He is internationally recognized as a leading researcher in sport psychology, coaching, and coach development. His research interests are varied but focus on motivation, mental toughness, and leadership as it pertains to coaching in high-performance sport.

Mallett has been cochair and chair of the research committee for the International Council for Coaching Excellence (2009-2019). He served as associate editor for the International Sport Coaching Journal for several years.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Sue Backhouse
Joe Baker
John Bales
Martin Camiré
Karen Collins
Bob Crudgington
Kristen Dieffenbach
Andy Driska
Karl Erickson
Damian Farrow
Vern Gambetta
Jenelle N. Gilbert
Wade Gilbert
Dan Gould
Sergio Lara-Bercial
Cliff Mallett
Laurie Patterson
Steven Rynne
Mike Sheridan
William Taylor
Pierre Trudel
Nick Wattie

Establishing a coaching philosophy
Exercise: Assessing your coaching role
Key steps to make ethical coaching decisions
Learning as a coach