Useful Safety Tips and Online Resources for Coaches

What3Words

Safety is paramount for all coaching activities, knowing your exact location can be a very valuable tool in the event of an accident. The What3Words App is an ingenious invention that can pinpoint your exact location anywhere in the world. It works by dividing the world into 3 metre squares and giving each square a unique combination of three words.

Using your phone, it identifies your exact location, whether you are in a field coaching cross country, in an arena in a large equestrian complex or hacking in the woods. The best part is that you don’t need a wifi signal or a data connection, so it is especially useful for equestrian sport where we may be working in remote areas. The What3Words App is available to download for free and is compatible with Apple and Android devices.

https://what3words.com/about

iCoach Kids – Free Learning Programme Available

iCoachKids is a free online learning programme aimed for coaches, co-funded by Erasmus +.  It has a series of three Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) available to coaches. The objective of iCoachKids is to make sure all children and youth sport participants have a positive experience led by suitably trained coaches leading to a lifelong love for sport and physical activity.

Coaches have a responsibility to safeguard the flame of enjoyment within sport and the MOOCs help to provide coaches with the tools to do so. All children should enjoy their sporting activity. The programme is focused on coaching children between the ages of 5 and 12, however, the principles outlined in the MOOCs can be applied to coaching children and youth athletes of all ages, and adults.

iCoachKids helps coaches lay the foundation to make sport a positive experience through best practical. The programme pools resources together from around the world as well as offering the three MOOCs.

The contents of the courses connect closely to your own personal experience as a coach enabling you to grow and develop your skills further. The course uses reflection and skill development to help you grow as a coach.

The MOOCs are aimed towards beginner and intermediate level coaches but the material is suitable for coaches of all levels. The MOOCs also include free access to MOOC Student Learning Guides. The courses incorporate a mix of taught content via videos and interactive activities, and reflective and applied work competed through ‘real-life’ tasks.

Contents of the MOOCs are based on the European Coaching Children Curriculum (ECCC). They are accessible and comprehensive resources for coaches. Coaches can sign up to MOOCs individually or as a part of a course.

The three MOOCs available are:

• Developing Effective Environments for Children in Sport
• Child and Youth Centred Coaching
• Coaching Children: Planning, Doing and Reviewing

As coaches your top priority should be to create an atmosphere that delivers sports to children in a way that meets their needs and desires. The MOOCs, especially number 1 ‘Developing Effective Sports Environments for Children’ will help coaches create this atmosphere. MOOC 1 has six chapters, including the ‘The role of the children’s sport coach’, ‘How to create a suitable vision for your team or club’, ‘What are the ingredients of a positive coaching environment’ and much more.

1 CPD point available per MOOC completed by HSI Accredited Coaches.

https://icoachkids.org/index.php?r=site/login