Tips for Coaching Disabled People

In our recent survey of 1,500 coaches we found that 35% stated they would like more training on coaching disabled people.

This reminded me of some research we commissioned in 2013.  This involved interviews with 14 disabled participants to understand their whole sporting lives and experiences of being coached. The results showed just how important confidence is for coaches as many of the participants talked about how they were ignored or pushed into something different as the coach was not sure what to do. As the research concluded

‘Disabled people are aware that some coaches lack confidence and are reluctant to work with disabled athletes. Therefore coaches need to recognise this is being noticed.’

The research then went on to consider what makes a good coach and it appeared to be a combination of technical skill and personality.  Some of the key results around what makes a good coach of disabled people included:

• Coaches may need a combination of sports specific technical knowledge and/or a good understanding of their athletes to effectively support them.
• Disabled athletes value opportunities to share their knowledge about themselves with their coaches.
• Open minded, willing and resourceful coaches were seen as valuable coaches.
• Personality was seen as an important feature of a good coach.
• Athletes who had competed at a higher level had more informed opinions about what makes a good coach.

If you are interested in learning more about coaching disabled people you can have a look at a dedicated section of the website HERE.