MENTORING
Sport mentoring is a new dimension of mental preparation and management for athletes, teams, coaches, and sports professionals.
COACH
DEVELOPMENT
The development of mental performance is one of the most dynamic areas in sport, so it is impossible to professionally train a coach without serious content about mental development. The coaching profession has undergone major changes over the last few decades. Whereas 20-30 years ago, a good coach was someone who could understand and pass on technical, tactical, and nutritional knowledge, and who could also act as a psychologist, generational expert, and often as a friend and spiritual caregiver in the lives of athletes, today the expectations of the profession have changed completely. Today, a good coach is someone who does not think that they can acquire and pass on such knowledge to their athletes by themselves. Indeed, these fields have developed to such an extent that it is impossible to keep up to date and have all the latest knowledge in each of them. A good coach, therefore, gathers specialists and manages them, gathering information in such a way that they can pass it on to the athletes in a clear language, as a guide that brings the fields together. This new system of expectations is a major challenge for coaches, and there is a lot of competition in this field. As the background and support areas are constantly evolving, coaches need to be aware of where they can get the support they need for their athletes.
Of the various fields that support sport performance, mental development has a special role to play. This is an area which, however serious the degree of development, coaches need to study and understand in greater detail, even if not at a scientific level, because they need to be able to deal with mental challenges directly, during the competition period, in specific competitive situations. This is why the acquisition of mental knowledge is now a priority in the development of coaches. It is important, however, that coaches are not adequately trained in traditional theoretical teaching, but must be familiarised with concrete, practical examples of “real-life” situations, reactions, and solutions. In addition, these crisis situations must also be adapted to their own personalities, behaviour, and expected reactions.
The mental aspect of coach development is, therefore, a separate, complete programme in which the coaches must acquire profound self-awareness in order to understand themselves, i.e., to be able to control themselves. An indispensable part of the programme is the identification of the personalities and behaviours of athletes, staff members, and referees, and the definition of the necessary conclusions to be drawn
THE STRUCTURE OF
THE PROGRAMME
The standard development programme lasts 6 months and includes not only training sessions, but also the necessary development work, such as email, telephone calls, video meetings, evaluations, and question-and-answer sessions.
PART 1. DAYS 1-2: ME AS A COACH, AS A PERSON
- Personalities in sport
- Personality states (Present – Competition – Crisis)
- Types of behaviour in sport
- Behavioural states
- Effects of various life situations (daily/high stakes/crisis) and their interpretation, in general and in sport
- Self-awareness block (own complex personality and behavioural analysis)
- Generations (basic information, knowledge background)
- Social groups/Household solvency and sport
- Identifying the personality of another person
- Interpreting, accepting, motivating the personality and behaviour of another person
- Defining and understanding “calm” and “crisis” situations
- Personality-based changes of athletes in crisis situations
- Personality-based changes of the coach in a crisis situation
- Influencing and manipulating the athlete
Format: online/in-person
PART 1. DAY 3: THE ATHLETE AS A PERSON
- The athlete as a person and sportsperson
- The athlete’s behaviour and sport
- The decision-making mechanisms of the athlete
- The average person vs the athlete
- Generations (differences, points of conflict)
- The athlete/coach relationship
- Life course curve of different personalities in sport careers
- Interpreting the personality and behaviour of your athletes
Form: online/in-person
PART 2. DAYS 4-5: THE COACH AT WORK
- Setting goals (public-facing/real)
- Setting up athlete profiles
- Trend analysis, interpretation of successful athlete profiles
- Presentation of ESP (personality and behaviour profiling system)
- Mental background and selection process
- Defining, structuring, and managing performance improvement
- Aligning social and coaching expectations, interpreting conflict points
- Compiling a personality-based training programme
- Idolism, the coach as an idol
- Motivational tools for junior athletes with different personalities
- Managing competitions
- Crisis management, managing individual “crisis thresholds”
Format: online/in-person
PART 2. DAY 6: THE COACH AND COMMUNICATION
- Communication work with athletes
- Motivational speeches
- Evaluation speeches
- The coach and social media vs idolism
- The coach and the media
- The coach and family members
Format: online/in-person
DEVELOPING
YOUTH COACHES
The youth coaching profession is considered by professionals to be both the most thankless and the most wonderful profession in the world. The work of a youth coach is less visible, less publicised, and in most cases not celebrated, and the results are measured only after the job is done, when the athlete is an adult. Those who have chosen to work in the field know that this work involves a lot of sacrifice and energy, where the coach gives the best of their ability, but the extent to which this has been effective and efficient is often revealed years later, when they are no longer able to intervene in the process. The responsibility is huge, because not only do they have to educate young men and women to compete and teach them how to get the best out of themselves, but they also must make sure that those who do not become professionals still become happy, healthy people. In other words, in addition to professional duties, the youth coach also has serious educational and guidance tasks, and these two requirements often conflict with each other. 8848 has a serious, deep, and personal relationship with successful youth coaches, so the firm understands and appreciates the challenges that these professionals face every day. For this reason, mental development skills are even more important in the training of youth coaches than in elite adult sport. The coaching programme teaches coaches how to be both an educator who develops young people and a sport professional who motivates and encourages them to achieve maximum results.
THE STRUCTURE
OF THE PROGRAMME
The standard development programme lasts 6 months and includes not only training sessions, but also the necessary development work, such as email, telephone calls, video meetings, evaluations, and question-and-answer sessions.
PART 1. DAYS 1-2: ME AS A COACH, AS A PERSON
- Personalities in sport
- Personality states (Present – Competition – Crisis)
- Types of behaviour in sport
- Behavioural states
- Effects of various life situations (daily/high stakes/crisis) and their interpretation, in general and in sport
- Self-awareness block (own complex personality and behavioural analysis)
- Generations (basic information, knowledge background)
- Social groups/Household solvency and sport
- Identifying the personality of another person
- Interpreting, accepting, and motivating the personality and behaviour of another person
Format: online/in-person
PART 1. DAY 3: TALENTED YOUTH, AS ATHLETES AND AS PEOPLE
- Children’s personalities and sport
- Youth behaviour and sport
- The average youth vs the youth athlete
- Generations (differences, points of conflict)
- The youth athlete/parent relationship
- The youth athlete/coach relationship
- Life course curve of different personalities in youth sport
- Interpreting the personality and behaviour of your athletes
Form: online/in-person
PART 2. DAYS 4-5: THE YOUTH COACH AT WORK
- Setting goals (public-facing/real)
- Setting up youth athlete profiles
- Trend analysis, interpretation of successful athlete profiles
- Presentation of ESP (personality and behaviour profiling system)
- Mental background and selection process
- Defining, structuring, and managing performance improvement
- Aligning social, parental, and coaching expectations, interpreting conflict points
- Compiling a personality-based training programme
- Idolism, the coach as an idol
- Motivational tools for youth athletes with different personalities
- Managing competitions
- Crisis management, managing individual “crisis thresholds”
Format: online/in-person
PART 2. DAY 6: THE COACH AND COMMUNICATION
- Communication work with youth athletes
- Motivational speeches
- Evaluation speeches
- The youth coach and social media vs idolism
- The youth coach and the media
- The youth coach and parents
Format: online/in-person
DEVELOPING
REFEREES
The mental foundations of referee development are currently not taught in a complex way anywhere in the world. Yet it is clearly the profession most exposed to mental challenges in sport. Refereeing is about human relations, very serious self-awareness, and the appropriate management of various, often totally unexpected conflicts. However, traditional conflict management is insufficient for successful match management, but requires modelling the expected situations in advance and being aware of the decision-making mechanisms that will guide the referee’s choices. The mental training of referees is a unique programme, which is always adapted to the expectations and rules of each sport. Still, it always includes the following elements:
- Complex self-awareness, the personality and behaviour of the referee, and the resulting decision-making mechanisms
- Making decisions in “calm” and “crisis” situations, the expected reaction of each personality type
- Defining, understanding, and managing definable “pitfalls” resulting from the referee’s personality
- Influence, manipulative methods in match management
- Identifying the personalities of athletes and coaches, identifying and interpreting the behavioural reactions expected during crises and conflicts
- Managing crises
- Managing conflicts
The development of referees is carried out at different levels. Programmes usually last 3 or 6 months and are adapted to the complexity of the requirements of the sport.