Discover the Power of Informing, Forming, and Transforming Your Coaches
Here at the Padel school, we take coach education seriously. We work to ensure all of our coaches pass rigorous standards and gain our full confidence before leading their own sessions.
We believe each coach should not only be knowledgeable about padel but also must express a desire to share that knowledge with their students.
If you’re the owner of a padel club looking to develop your own tribe of coaches, or if you’re a player wondering what it might take to be a brilliant coach, this article is for you. We’ll cover our three not-so-secret methods for developing fantastic coaches who consistently garner positive feedback from those they coach.
Molding a beginner coach into a season veteran is a three-step process:
- Inform
- Form
- Transform
1) Inform
The first step we take with any new coach is to give them as much information as possible, but also to ask questions about their own journeys. We want to know what they know, so we know what we need to teach them.
During training sessions with our director of education, Nick Williams, coaches not only learn new methods for teaching padel but also strategies for being more well-rounded coaches. As you well know, not all experts know how to share their knowledge with others.
Nick gives all of our coaches a great head start with his effective strategies. He works closely with them to ensure they get started on the right foot. He informs but doesn’t overwhelm at this critical first stage.
2) Form
We develop our coaches with hands-on training with yours truly, or any other head coach. We have them shadow a head coach as assistant coaches until we are fully confident in their abilities to train and lead a group.
We regularly seek feedback from students and workshop attendees so we can have a good grasp on how our coaches are doing. Then we put this feedback into practice with even more training as needed.
Forming good coaches involves as much hands-on time as you are willing to dedicate. Invest time early and before you know it, you’ll have surrounded yourself with a stellar team.
3) Transform
Lastly, we look to transform our coaches into their best potential. We help them become better players with a full grasp of the game, but they need not play competitively to coach with us.
With the right attitude and a healthy penchant for delivering effective training to their students, any coach can transform into a strong leader on the court. It will take time and energy, but these are resources well spent as you seek to build a strong team.
Bonus Tip: Come Humble
The best would-be coaches come with an attitude of humility, knowing they have tons to learn. Model humility by confidently teaching them what you know, and always be willing to learn from them as well.
The ways of teaching padel are endless. Seek coaches with great ideas who aren’t afraid to try new things, even if it doesn’t work out on the first go around. Learn to iterate and move forward together as a team.
Good luck as you develop your coaches or seek to become a coach yourself. If you haven’t yet joined our Global Padel Plus Community, do so here. It’s a space to share coaching techniques, discuss match tactics, and otherwise talk all things padel!
Thanks for reading and see you on the court.
