Winter 2023 | Page 62

Knowledge and its Application
|| COACHING

MORE THAN A KNOWLEDGE-CENTERED DISCIPLINE :

Coaches As Practitioners

DAVE SIMEONE // DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS , UNITED SOCCER COACHES
Coaches fulfill many different roles in dealing with players , teams and parents as well as organizations such as clubs , high schools , colleges and a host of others . Coaches function as teachers and managers , as leaders and psychologists ; they develop businesses and budgets in addition to being well versed in the technical aspects of our sport . Let ’ s not forget the necessity to direct organizational culture as well as understand organizational politics . Coaches serve in all these capacities simultaneously and have to determine when to insert themselves as required or requested . This demonstrates the depth of the amalgam of their experience as well as their function .
During the last 10 years there has been a shift in coaching education with the intention to improve what coaches gain , what and who they become in the process . This vision of improved coaching education , whatever pathways and activities that are involved , continues to be complex . If these changes are to be significant , go beyond educational rhetoric and permeate into effective practice , then more time dedicated to practical application and how we educate and assess coaches is necessary .
The prevalence of technology and online education has had its benefits . Combined with the effect of the pandemic on in-person education , we became more insulated from one another . We compensated for this shift by creating and offering more information , courses and programming that was to be delivered in this virtual realm accompanied by assignments and reflection .

Knowledge and its Application

Our nature , as human beings and coaches , includes a healthy sense of curiosity , taking into consideration our individual differences in learning or our individual competencies . Our interest in and enthusiasm for information also means we are ambitious and motivated . We ’ ve come to know and accept that knowledge that is related to the skills , for example , of communication or people management is necessary but also requires context , connection and modeling in addition to theory .
Let ’ s start with the training environment where , typically , coaches spend much of their time . Naturally , this is when and how they imprint and impact players and
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62 | Soccer Journal