Coaching

Put simply, coaching is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the ‘here and now’ rather than on the distant past or future.

There is a huge difference between teaching someone and helping them to learn. In coaching, fundamentally, the coach is helping the individual to improve their own performance: in other words, the coach is a facilitator, helping the athlete to learn.

Coaches are well placed to help athletes reach their potentials. They also play a key part in getting children and teenagers to engage in sport and physical activity.

Sport can be a vehicle for positive development and sports coaches are in a great position to promote the active lifestyles, inclusion and engagement in physical activity. However, this promotion doesn’t happen overnight. It takes guidance and an understanding of the power of sport and the abilities and physical attributes of the person being coached. Coaches should be equipped to deliver on these expectations and unlock athletes’ potential.

DSAuk have written and contributed to several articles related to coaching people with dwarfism. In addition, many organisations have articles on coaching disabled people available on their websites. Links are given for further reading.

Sportscoach UK-factsheet-Dwarfism

PDF | 343 KB size

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SportsCoach UK - Coaching-Disabled-People-Information-Sheet

PDF | 1 MB size

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Gymnastics

Click on the thumbnail to view the interactive flip book, or click below to download as a PDF document.

Download

British Para-Swimming Toolkit

PDF | 5 MB size

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Kicking up a Racket Resource Para Badminton

PDF | 1 MB size

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Badminton Short Stature Club & Coach Resource

PDF | 1 MB size

Download

 

Links to other organisations

UK Coaching – Coaching Disabled People

England Athletics – Disability Athletics Resources

Research Article – Impact of Coaching on disabled peoples participation