Professional
development is important in any job setting. As a coach, professional
development is important for a variety of reasons. Professional development
should be accessible to coaches no matter what the cost
is to the school district. First and foremost, the schools want the best
coaches they can hire. In order to achieve this, their coaches must stay up
with the latest findings in their sport. Therefore, they must attend
conferences and continue learning about their sport no matter how many years
they have been coaching. The conferences they go to must also be top notch. These
conferences need to include speakers that have had success with their methods
and know exactly what they are talking about.
In
many cases, new coaches are lacking the financial support to go to conferences.
This in return will only hurt the coach. As a new coach, most of the time they
will have knowledge of the sport they are coaching, but in some instances they
may not. Conferences provide a time where a coach is allowed to hear different
people speak and teach them about that sport. If they are unable to grow in
knowledge from other successful professionals, then they
are being set up to fail. New coaches should be provided with the opportunity
to take the time off in order to better their sport knowledge. Schools and
athletic directors must recognize the importance of this and allocate the funds
to send novice coaches to professional development opportunities.
Alyssa, I agree that school districts need to find a creative way to help fund professional development for coaches. Some school districts opt to bring in notable speakers to help influence all coaches within the district. However, when it comes to the skills of the specific sport, it does become a challenge financially. In order to continue growth, we all must be challenged. Maybe school districts could set up peer interactions with nearby coaches who compete at a different level (meaning a 1A coach teamed with a 2A coach). This could provide an inexpensive way to further develop skills and share ideas. With the competition for funding the days, we all have to get creative and think outside the box. You make a very good point though.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this should be a priority among schools. Even in other fields, a college degree and personal experience in an area does not mean that a new employee knows everything they need to know. The school should be active in ensuring that coaches take advantage of conferences and the tools available to further their knowledge and skill set. The reality is that schools may not feel that this is their responsibility. Whether that is the case or not, professionals of any field should still take advantage of these opportunities, be active in professional organizations, and stay current on the new research and trends in the field.
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