Introduction
In the present day, professional, organized sports may be regarded as activities in which success is determined by multiple aspects. While a considerable number of athletes focus on competitions, they fail due to a lack of attention to the harmonious development of proper athleticism. This paper addresses the impact of a coach on an athlete’s progress within a framework of the stages of the Long-Term Athlete Development model and leadership.
Main body
The Long-Term Athlete Development model is individual athletes’ systematic, progressive, and planned development initially designed for sports programs’ improvement. It helps define “what needs to be done at each stage of human development to give every child the best chance of engaging in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity” (Ellerton, 2019, para. 4). The model introduces the following seven stages:
- Active Start (0-6 years old). This stage is characterized by the development of fundamental movement skills, speed, agility, balance, and coordination for further progress. At this stage, a coach should be aware of children’s chronological and developmental age, emotional development, physical activity frequency, and attitude to it. In other words, sports should be perceived as fun and not a burden.
- FUNdamentals (6-9 years old). This stage is characterized by children’s motivation to improve their physical skills. At this stage, a coach should consider a child’s current level of physical and emotional development along with a positive attitude to sports activities. In addition, he should encourage active involvement in multiple activities to promote specialization and avoid burnout.
- Learn to Train (8-12 years old). This stage is characterized by the conversion of fundamental movement skills into sports ones. A coach should consider a child’s emotional, physical, and intellectual development, age, motivation, and trainability, along with the peculiarities of growth that may affect motor control and coordination.
- Train to Train (11-16 years old). This stage refers to the promotion of sports habits. A coach should be aware of the peculiarities of growth, their impact on physical skills, and athletes’ motivation.
- Train to Compete (15-23 years old). At this stage, specialization is complete, and a coach should be aware of athletes’ physical literacy, motivation, sport-specific skills, readiness to change, and endurance.
- Train to Win (18+ years old). At this stage, people may be regarded as full-time athletes. A coach should consider all basic characteristics and support further motivation and development.
- Active for Life (any age). Athletes should be motivated the participate in sports activities. A coach should monitor their emotional and physical developmental characteristics along with satisfaction from sports.
At the same time, the coaching leadership style may impact an athlete’s behavior as well. There are the following five coaching leadership styles:
- Democratic Coaching. A coach provides an athlete with the freedom of decision-making and accountability for results helping only when necessary. This style encourages, motivates, empowers, and improves an athlete’s communication and cooperation.
- Holistic Coaching. A coach pays attention to all aspects of an athlete’s development, forcing them to take care of emotional and mental well-being as well. In this case, an athlete is provided with a broader vision of all life aspects’ interconnectedness for success.
- Authoritarian Coaching. A coach controls an athlete’s activities and makes all decisions. This style leads to an athlete’s lack of motivation and low self-esteem.
- Autocratic Coaching. A coach focuses on excellence and perfectionism, ignoring any dialogue between him and an athlete. This control may either positively impact an athlete’s discipline and commitment or deteriorate his self-esteem.
- Vision Coaching. A coach provides clear directions, motivates, and empowers, nurturing partnership and cooperation with an athlete who feels motivated and satisfied.
Conclusion
All in all, it is possible to state that a coach plays a highly important role in an athlete’s multifaceted development. At all stages, he guides and controls an athlete’s physical, mental, emotional, and intellectual development, paying attention to individual peculiarities, age-related conditions, and motivation. At the same time, a coach may substantially impact an athlete’s behavior and achievements by choosing an appropriate leadership style that may either empower him or deteriorate his self-esteem.
Reference
Ellerton, H. (2019). What is the LTAD model and should you be using it? Human Kinetics. Web.