Becoming a better coach - 'Continuous Professional Development' - What's it about and why do I need it?

Sport is continually changing and this places challenges on all those involved, particularity its coaches. Coaches are recognised to be at the very heart of sport and therefore it's important that they keep up to date with latest developments to ensure they are providing the right environment for those that they coach. Whether you are beginner coach or have been coaching for many years it's just as important to keep abreast of new developments and continually find ways to improve yourself.

There are many things you can do to improve your coaching ability and knowledge. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) does not mean you have to keep going on new levels of courses, whilst courses can prove extremely beneficial there are many other things that you could do as well, such as:

• One off workshops or seminars
• Read this website! Hopefully this will signpost you to plenty of places in which to obtain new information
• Get hold of some coaching books, journals or latest coaching research
• Visit websites of coaching organisations or for sports that you are interested in
• Talk to other coaches
• Observe other coaches
• Ask other coaches to observe you

The future for coaching is looking bright. There has been a recent focus in coaching by the government which is improving and professionalising the industry. In the future coaching qualifications will be much more focused and provide lots of opportunities to do one off workshops which may be specific to the technical aspects of your sport or about general issues such as coaching children.

As you can see there are plenty of ways to gain further coaching knowledge. The whole focus of this website is to point you in the right direction and to help you access the information you want. Good luck ...