Careers in Sport
Sport Coach
A sports coach teaches individuals and teams how to improve the way they play their sport by analysing their performances, instructing players in relevant skills and enhancing players' performances.
Coaches facilitate the development of athletes in order to improve performance of the individual or team. This requires the coach to:
- plan, conduct and evaluate training
- evaluate and analyse the sport specific performance of individual athletes and/or teams
- design individualised training programs
- apply a variety of teaching methods and instructional styles
- sports coaches usually specialise in a particular sport. Coaches may operate at a local/regional, state/territory, national and/or international levels.
Coaches are employed by sporting clubs and associations, government agencies, government-funded centres (e.g. the Australian Institute of Sport), holiday resorts and centres specialising in particular sports (e.g. horse-riding schools), swimming centres, health clubs and community institutions. In some sports, coaches may be self-employed in a sports training centre that they own or lease.
Many coaches are unpaid volunteers.
They may perform the following tasks:
- Observe individual's performances to determine the level of instruction required
- Teach techniques for players to acquire additional skills or improve existing skills
- Supervise practice sessions
- Plan, conduct, monitor and adjust an individualised training program
- Implement sports first aid procedures and apply sports first aid
- Supervise the physical development of athlete's by teaching or developing the skills of strength and conditioning
- Aid in the psychological preparation of athletes to meet the need of competition and training
- Organise and liaise with sports science support staff and officials
- Provide information about drugs in sport issues
- Apply the principles of eating for peak performance
- Plan and direct game strategy, sometimes in consultation with club officials
- Analyse the progress of games or competitions, and give signals and instructions to players
- Travel on with teams or individuals.
Be prepared to work long hours, usually in the evenings and on weekends. It takes a great deal of dedication to be successful, so a love of the chosen sport is a definite advantage.
What training do you need?
Certificate III in Sports Trainer provides the skills and knowledge to work as a sports trainer at a regional or State/Territory level. Skills are developed in performing pre and post event taping, developing warm up and cool down programs and assisting with the management of sports injuries under the guidance of a health professional.
Certificate II in Sport Coaching aims to prepare you to assist senior coaches in the planning and instruction for a range of sports. You will be able to teach fundamental skills in your chosen area of sport and coach junior players.
Certificate III in Sport Coaching will prepare you to pursue a career as a coach at a regional or state/territory level.
Completion of either of these qualifications could give you recognition of prior learning for a sports specific National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS) qualification.
Certificate IV in Sport Coaching provides the skills and knowledge to be able to pursue a career as a coach at a regional or State/Territory level and provide in competition assistance to athletes which includes supporting their psychological preparation and conducting post competition analysis of both performance and strategy.
Certificate IV in Sport Development provides the skills and knowledge to administer junior sports program or clinics within clubs and schools in specific sports, training coaches and teachers, recruiting young people, parents and volunteers to sport and scheduling competitions.
Diploma of Sport Coaching provides the skills and knowledge to be able to pursue a career as a coach at an international level, working with high performance athletes and planning, conducting and evaluating high performance individualised and team training programs.
Diploma of Sport Development provides the skills and knowledge in various sport development roles such as managing competitions, sports venues and facilities and talent development of athletes.
What are the career opportunities?
You may find employment with sports academies (e.g. the Australian Institute of Sport and the Queensland Academy of Sport), national and state sporting organisations, schools, tertiary institutions, sports clubs and holiday resorts which provide expert advice to their guests in a specific sport such as golf or tennis.
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Sports Trainer
A sport trainer provides a critical link between the coach, player and allied health professionals. The sport trainer’s prime responsibility is to make sports safer. Without the appropriate immediate care provided by a sport trainer, players and athletes run the risk of suffering from an otherwise preventable injury.
What do sport trainers do?
A sports trainer may perform the following tasks:
- assist athletes prepare for competition and/or training through warm-ups, rub-downs, taping and strapping
- monitor risk situations during training and/or competition
- manage sports emergencies
- assist athletes recover from competition and/or training by assisting with or providing information regarding: stretching, rub-downs, diet, fluid replacement, ice therapy and/or recovery training
- conduct assessments and develop and implement a massage therapy plan for a national/international level sports team or individual
- develop a program of conditioning for players, which may incorporate eating for peak performance, warm-up, stretching and cool-down programs, and information about drugs in sport
- implement strategies for dealing with medical conditions in a sport setting
- write specific rehabilitation programs for injury prevention and develop specific weight programs.
What are the career opportunities?
As in all areas of sport, the number of top professional trainers is very small compared to the number aspiring to these grades.
What training do you need?
Larners/coaches wishing to undertake these qualifications should be established coaches and/or officials and/or participants in the respective sport in which they are seeking a qualification.
- Certificate III in Sport Trainer
- Certificate IV in Sport (Athlete support services)
- Diploma of Sport (Athlete support services)
More information
Sports Medicine Australia (SMA) is the peak body for the sports medicine and sports science industries. Their website provides information for sports trainers, including becoming a sports trainer, membership and insurance, resources, Sports Trainer Digest, ST code of ethics, Sports Trainer jobs and handy hints. More information can be found at: http://www.sma.org.au/
