According to the National Alliance for Youth Sports, 90% of coaches have received no formal training. Being a coach myself and a parent of two young athletes, this is alarming to me. So, why is this happening in sports?
There are many layers to peel back on that complex issue, so that is why I reached out to Dr. Tim Baghurst, who is a Professor of Education at Florida State University and the Director of FSU COACH.
Few takeaways from this episode:
- The purpose of FSU coach is to not only provide academic programming and education for coaches, but also to support sports organizations, coaches, & professionals external to FSU with best practices.
- Ensuring coaches are qualified, professionally trained, & up-to-date with current research, creates the best, and most successful, experiences.
- Cost is a huge inhibitor
- Although some transaction may exist, transformational coaches experience the most sustained success.
- Upfront, clear coach-to-parent communication is vital in preventing future parental issues.
- Training, schematics, etc. ultimately does not matter. What does matters is coach-athlete relationship.
