Athletics Coach

**Athletic coach responsibilities **Athletic coach responsibilities are more wide-reaching than they may appear on the surface. Here are some of their core duties:
**1. Supporting athletes' development **Athletic coaches are ultimately responsible for preparing athletes for competing in sports events. They identify the athlete's current ability level and evaluate what needs to improve and how to achieve this. They have a range of training ideas and knowledge that they can share with the athlete to improve their performance, creating sessions and long-term regimes that implement these. This is a mixture of general fitness improvement, practising for the specific sport, individual training and team training if applicable. They require a strong knowledge of fitness and sport to do this effectively.

**2. Monitoring athletes' development **They use methods of monitoring and measuring the athletes' development. This could be measuring stamina or strength levels, evaluating performance in games/events or creating challenging goals for the athlete to achieve in a specific timeframe. This depends on the athlete they work with and adapts as they go along.They monitor the development closely so that they can decide if training is going to plan or if there are any improvements they can make, and in what areas. They adapt the training regime around the athlete, responding to their strengths and weaknesses as they become apparent. Coaches may share the performance of their pupils with other teachers to help create progress reports.

**3. Reporting to the athlete **As the coach continuously monitors the athletes' development, they report this to the athletes so that they can understand their training regime. The coach communicates to the athlete or team about where improvements can be made and the plans they wish to implement to achieve this. They interpret the performance of the athletes and make this simple and clear for sharing with the team or individual. Strategies to win games, new techniques or advanced training methods are useful if they're thorough and the coach communicates them well.

**4. Motivating the athlete**

All athletes, whether professional, amateur or beginner, need motivation from their coach to do well in their sport. An athletic coach needs good motivational skills to support sportspeople even when tired, in bad weather or when they're facing difficulties. They may struggle with energy levels or face troubles in their personal life that lead to poor performance, and the coach needs to adapt to this and provide the motivation that can help them overcome the challenges.Coaches encourage athletes to do their best at all times and aim higher, providing goals and fun activities to make training sessions enjoyable and challenging. This is especially important in educational settings, where children need encouragement to show discipline in the sport. They may not always want to take part in sports activities, so the coach is there to encourage them, make the sport fun and highlight the benefits along with proper technique.

**5. Managing safety and welfare **Most sports come with an element of risk, and it's an athletic coach's job to mitigate these risks and manage the safety of the athletes. This means planning activities appropriate to the age and ability of the participants, ensuring everyone has the correct equipment, providing water, allowing adequate rest breaks and responding to any incidents appropriately. The coach needs to push the athlete to improve but not so much that they hurt themselves. They also provide discipline to rectify any unsafe behaviour, particularly in team sports where it's possible for someone to accidentally hurt someone else.

**6. Teaching and instructing games/sports **Athletic coaches are likely to specialise in a particular sport and be familiar with its rules, regulations and techniques. They share this with clients or students so that they develop a good understanding of their sport and can adhere to all of its expectations. This ranges from how scoring works and how to win a game to advanced rules and methods. The coach prepares the sportsperson to perform well in games and events without breaking the rules.

**7. Encouraging good sportsmanship **Although athletic coaches encourage their clients to do better, they also encourage good sportsmanship. This means being able to graciously accept defeat and aim to do better next time rather than getting frustrated, always competing fairly and showing respect to opponents. Sport is competitive and intense, so the athletic coach needs to ensure that they create a positive atmosphere where the athlete enjoys competing and develops good character. This is particularly important when supervising young athletes who may need support with their emotional development and find it challenging to bounce back from losses.

**8. Managing kit **Almost every sport has special equipment, and the athletic coach often manages this. They may