Scottish Cycling needs to recruit and train more coaches who already have a breadth of expertise and experience in the sport: this means you!
Racers and ex-racers have a wealth of sports specific experience that can be utilised and we would like to encourage racers to also consider becoming a cycling coach too.
The majority of coaches in Scotland are primarily parent coaches and these parents do a great job, but if we were to also recruit racers into coaching it would have a significant benefit to riders, clubs and sport as a whole.
The benefits of the racer- coach may be:
- More understanding of some areas of the sport
- A better understanding of the tactical demands of the sport
- Help to create a clear pathway from youth – to – senior in clubs
- A resource for other club coaches
- Focus club activities
However, not all racers make good coaches and coaching skills are learnt over time and this is where we can help.
There are many benefits to coaching, these are:
- The reward of helping develop other people
- The satisfaction seeing people achieve their goals
- Learn more about the sport
- New or improved Leadership skills
- Increased self-awareness
- Improved analysis and reflection skills
Getting into coaching is straight forward. In Scotland and the U.K we have some of the best coaching programmes and opportunities for you to develop as a coach. Please see the following links below for Information.
For more information contact
Scottish Cycling Coaching
coacheducation@scottishcycling.org.uk
Common misconceptions with coaching in cycling |
Reality |
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You can’t coach and race |
Actively coaching and racing at the same time can be mutually beneficial. For example practicing the content of your coaching sessions can be an advantage to your riders. Coaching can add a new exciting element to your racing as you are looking to improve others rather than just yourself.
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There is not enough time to coach, train and race.
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Racing is time consuming we all know that but with even with a couple of hours a week you can start coaching. There are probably more successful racers that actively coach than you think.
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When you start coaching you need to coach kids or beginners |
You should start coaching the people you want to coach. If this is racers then you should start coaching racers. See the coaching pathway for clarity. |
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Coaching is just for youths
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All riders regardless of age and ability would benefit from coaching. Everyone wants to be better! In fact the best bit of sport is improving and that’s what coaches make happen.
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The coaching awards are a barrier to coaching
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Becoming an expert coach takes time and practice much like training to become an expert rider. The coaching guidelines are much less prohibitive than they used to be.
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You need a level 3 to do anything race orientated
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Not the case. At all levels coaching should be about improving rider and race performance.
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