Kia ora to anyone reading. As part of my role as Coach Development Manager with Volleyball New Zealand, I have decided to share a bi-weekly post.
Personally, I have always had an interest in learning and sharing knowledge. On top of that, I see content creation and developing the profile of coaching/coach development within the volleyball community as one of my many roles and responsibilities.
So… here goes. Enjoy. Please comment, give feedback etc. This post is about making some sense and simplicity of the terms and roles that are thrown around in the coaching ecosystem!
What is Coach Development?
Having filtered through several definitions, ‘development’ is the act or process of growing and progressing. Simply put, Coach Development is the way in which a coach improves. This can involve formal (i.e., workshops, forums) and informal (i.e., on the job experience, listening to a podcast) opportunities. Within the VNZ Coach Development Framework, it specifically highlights that the purpose of the Coach Development system is to maximise coach learning. So, when you see the term ‘Coach Development’, think ‘a collection of opportunities to assist coach learning’. It is important to highlight here that learning is complex and unique to everyone. Therefore, if you function within the volleyball community in Aotearoa, you can expect coach development opportunities to reflect that comp.
So, what is a Coach Developer and what do they do?!
There is no straightforward definition of a Coach Developer. Someone who “coaches the coaches”? A Coach Developer is essentially a people developer, skilled in providing coaches with an appropriate level of support to better their coaching. Volleyball is growing in popularity here in New Zealand. As Wayne Goldsmith highlights, this requires us to have more coaches, good coaches, and passionate coaches. Coach Developers play an important role in a formal setting (teaching, training, assessing) as well as in the way coaches are supported and nurtured on the job (mentoring, positive support). It is also important to highlight that a key responsibility of a Coach Developer is to foster self-reliance and a long-term mindset to learning within coaches. A review on effective coaching literature indicates that effective coaches tend to be more open to coach education and the ideas of others.
So, what is a Coach Development Manager and what do they do?!
Here is where I come in. A Coach Development Manager is responsible for planning and evaluating the collection of opportunities to maximise coach learning and leading a workforce of passionate individuals who can assist with bringing the Coach Development system to life. From observation, there is a wide variety of capacity across the 15 Regional Associations under the volleyball umbrella in New Zealand. Careful consideration needs to be made regarding the level of support provided to Regional Coach Developers. In addition, it is imperative that the collection of opportunities for coaches across all levels of the volleyball landscape are accessible and innovative. Effectively, the role of a Coach Development Manager consists of creating a Coach Development system and building a community of Coach Developers.
Thank you for taking the time to read. Please feel free to add your thoughts below 😊
Roxas, A. S., & Ridinger, L. L. (2016). Relationships of coaching behaviors to student-athlete well- being. Higher Education Politics and Economics, 2(1), 95–109.
