How do I ensure my coaching skills remain current?

Underestimated by many, curiosity is the ultimate superpower that fuels the development of key coaching skills.

In addition to helping coaches learn more about their students and what they need to thrive, curiosity gives them a constant push towards self-improvement – which is what makes the difference between good coaches and great ones.

However, in any continuous professional development journey you need direction. So, what are the most important coaching skills you should look to hone through ongoing training? And what’s the best way to improve them to deliver effective coaching?

At Premier Education, we are proud to employ a large network of highly-skilled coaches who build positive relationships with children every day, helping to encourage a lifelong love of physical activity. In this article we are going to address the different ways coaches can enhance their skills to ensure they deliver the very best experiences in real PE lessons.

Here are a few key components to consider.

The importance of great coaches

A great coach should inspire children and guide them towards new possibilities – creating a fun, safe environment for everyone while unlocking the full potential of pupils who want to excel in that sport.

To achieve all these goals, you’ll need a genuine interest in coaching pupils and a very unique blend of effective coaching skills that can be refined through experience, specialised training, and continuous learning.

7 essential coaching skills you should work on

While you don’t need to be an athlete in order to be a good coach, this rewarding profession can be physically demanding, requiring you to stay on your feet for most of the day and demonstrating basic sports exercises for your students.

In addition, you’ll need to have strong interpersonal skills to teach large groups of students, provide clear feedback and advice, report to teachers and parents, ensure safety at all times, plan coherent and engaging activities, and solve any unforeseen obstacles that might arise from time to time.

That’s why, you should focus on these seven essential coaching skills if you want to refine and refresh your coaching technique.

Communication

Effective communication is critical in nearly every aspect of a coach’s career. When explaining a new exercise or giving feedback on a child’s performance, you’ll need to adapt your language to match the preferred learning style of your audience.

However, communication goes two ways. Coaching skills like active listening and empathy are key to understanding what your students need, building trust over time, and preparing them for an important coaching conversation.

You’ll also need to be approachable and patient, always ready to re-explain anything your pupils may need to review or to welcome their ideas to improve your lessons. After all, every group is unique, and clear communication will help you close any learning gaps, strengthening engagement and teamwork.

Active listening

One of the most important coaching skills, active listening means carefully paying attention to what other people are saying to understand nonverbal cues or hidden meanings behind the conversation.

Occasionally, it also involves giving meaningful feedback – for instance, repeating some of the talking points or asking relevant questions – and fine-tuning your emotional response to match the speaker, requiring a good blend of empathy and self awareness.

As mentioned before, this coaching skill can be instrumental in identifying your students’ true needs and building trust as they feel heard and understood.

Organisation

Impeccable organisation is another key coaching skill. Planning all activities in advance and checking that your equipment is ready to be used will help ensure your lessons are fun, packed with action, and safe.

You’ll also be able to create a well-rounded programme that promotes the personal development of students, focusing on their interests and what they wish to achieve by practising a certain sport. Which skills need sharpening? How can you develop sessions that encourage progression?

Beginning the season with relevant goal setting sessions and regularly reviewing progress over time will simplify your coaching efforts and make them much more effective.

Safety training

Regardless of your coaching approach, safety should be a top priority when it comes to sports and children.

That’s why you should ensure you have the qualifications and training required to tackle a comprehensive range of problems with confidence. And if you feel like it’s been too long since your last safety training, it’s never too late to refresh your knowledge with the right course.

For instance, all of our coaches undergo a full DBS check and their training includes paediatric first aid, safeguarding, infection prevention, mitigation and management, food hygiene, and equality and diversity.

Evaluation

Few coaching skills are more important than the ability to evaluate your students’ performance and engagement without bias.

In addition to tailoring your lessons to improve learning outcomes, you will also gain valuable insights to support your pupils’ growth and track progress towards key goals.

Regular self-reflection and evaluation also enable you to determine the effectiveness of your coaching process, helping you understand what strategies are working and which ones aren’t.

An engaging coaching style

The ability to deliver engaging lessons and motivate kids of all ages is also of vital importance for coaches. Even in a well-organised sports session, if kids are not engaged there’s no fun and no real learning.

For this reason, putting passion and energy into everything you do should be just as important as honing good coaching skills.

By developing your emotional intelligence and practising active listening, you will also strengthen your coaching relationship with students to build trust, adapt your lessons to match their taste, and promote a positive emotional state for the whole group.

Creative and analytical problem solving

Another essential coaching skill is being able to think quickly, both creatively and analytically, to overcome challenges that may arise during a coaching session.

Sometimes broken equipment or sudden weather changes might require new plans or ideas to improvise an alternative session on the spot. Or students might need a different approach to the lesson if they are particularly tired or not in a good mood.

Expert coaches are good at identifying these issues, evaluating individual or collective needs, and creatively thinking outside the box to solve unforeseen problems.

Learning, qualifications, and development opportunities

The key to sharpening your coaching skills and keeping them current is to practice constantly, learn new coaching techniques through relevant books, articles, and workshops, and take well regarded courses to upgrade your qualifications.

Once you gain new insights and enrich your coaching knowledge, another essential step will be to take some time to reflect and connect all the dots. Write down notes to summarise key points and think of practical ways to implement what you learned into your lessons.

You should also ask yourself questions like: Is there anything I should change in my method? What am I already doing well? Are there any new strategies I’m eager to try?

Analysing and re-assessing your coaching process with an open mind will set you apart from other coaches and help you get better every year. Check out more tips and insight into making every session a success.

How Premier Education can help

Ultimately, the best way to develop effective coaching skills is to guide your learning efforts with regular training from a leading provider.

For instance, as the leading provider of sport and physical activity to schools, we can help you unlock your full potential as a coach and take your career to the next level. In fact, you can read all about what sets us apart from other coaching providers, and find out how we bring best practice to every session.

Whether you’re just beginning your journey or looking for a new challenge, we offer the right path to improve your coaching skills, giving you access to some of the best training programmes in the country through Educationwise Academy.

Join us as a trainee and work your way to the top, or connect with a network of 1000+ coaches who are changing lives through physical activity – delivering almost 90 activities, from badminton and football to boccia and hockey.

You’ll see how every member of our team is united behind the same goal: making kids happy, healthy, and active.

Eager to start? Discover what opportunities are available right now and learn about the success stories of coaches who joined Premier Education.