Coach

Industries: Community sport

Overview and responsibilities

Coaching is an incredibly rewarding role which helps individuals and teams to unlock their potential. Coaches are passionate about their sport and pass on their knowledge to those they are coaching. Regularly working with different groups, from preschool children to adult professionals, coaching is visible throughout the sport and physical activity sector and has a substantial impact.

Coaches can – and do – have an inspirational effect on individuals, groups and communities. They are expected to lead the planning, preparation and delivery of sport and physical activity sessions as well as to continuously evaluate and review progress and enjoyment.

Coaches ensure that the culture and environment that they are operating within meets the participants’ needs while allowing them the opportunity to achieve their goals and aspirations. Coaches are expected to tailor their sessions to the individual or group’s needs and must have an inclusive approach.

Coaches rarely work in isolation and regularly work with other professionals such as other coaches, volunteers, parents, youth workers and teachers.

Working hours

Coaches regularly work outside of the normal working day, with sessions largely delivered in the evenings and at weekends.

Education

To be professionally recognised as a CIMSPA Coach Practitioner, we ask that Coaches provide us with evidence of holding a relevant CIMSPA-endorsed qualification, degree or apprenticeship certificate issued by a CIMSPA Awarding Organisation Partner or Higher Education Partner or the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

If you have a qualification or degree that is not endorsed by CIMSPA or is over five years old, or if you have an international qualification, we still encourage you to apply for professional recognition. We may, however, need to ask you for additional evidence of other training you have undertaken as part of your application.

Achieving this level of qualification demonstrates that a Coach is able to work with a group of participants over a period long enough to show improvement against an individual’s needs and aspirations.

Once practitioners have gained a coaching qualification, they often seek out further qualifications to enable them to work with specialist populations, such as children or people with medical conditions, or to work in a school environment.